Thread: safe lifting points of hafco 960b lathe

John,

The lathe manual should give lifting instructions. Lifting via a pipe through the headstock spindle is NOT a good idea.

In case you have no instructions available when the lathe arrives I have attached a copy of the CQ6230 lifting chart which should give you something to work from. Use a soft sling NOT a chain, and pad the edges of the bed where the sling touches it. Make sure the sling will not bend the leadscrew and feed rod. Balance the lathe by moving the tailstock to the end of the bed, and saddle towards the tailstock until the balance point is reached, and lock them in place so they cannot shift while you are lifting.

Good luck and be careful.

Frank

You cannot lift the 960 with straps around the bed, they will foul and bend the leadscrew and drive rods. You have a couple of options:

You can run straps around the webs between the two sides of the bed (ie in the middle of the ways). It is a bit unwieldy like this because the balance is out a bit and the lathe is then top heavy but if you have an assistant or two to keep the lathe upright and run the saddle right down the far end of the ways it will be OK.

The other way to do it which is the way the manual recommends and the way I did mine is to make up a lifting fixture. This consists of a plate, in my case I used 1/2" steel, which sits underneath the bed spanning a couple of the webs up close to the headstock. A vertical all-thread rod is threaded and double nutted into that plate and a lifting eye threaded to the top of the rod. That fixture is then used to lift the lathe. Because I was working on my own I ran a second plate down onto the top of the webs so the lifting fixture was firmly clamped to the lathe and couldn't move about.

Sorry I don't have pictures but I re-used the bits and pieces afterwards for other projects.

Rgds - Gavin

Originally Posted by Gavin Newman

You can run straps around the webs between the two sides of the bed (ie in the middle of the ways). It is a bit unwieldy like this because the balance is out a bit and the lathe is then top heavy but if you have an assistant or two to keep the lathe upright and run the saddle right down the far end of the ways it will be OK.

I lifted my AL1000C via this method... I used a fibre sling and put another through the headstock to balance the load.. The headstock sling only carried enough weight to balance it and stop anything untoward happening..

thanks for the replies, sounds a little tricky as i will be doing this on my own.
I doubt the driver could help hold and steady the lathe as he's operating the hoist.
So the other option is to have him roll it in the shed on its pallet as normal.
Have an old style shed with 4mm angle angle iron frame spanning 6 meters, the lathe will be placed near the wall.
Not sure if this frame could support the weight if placing a beam across 2 of the angle iron spans,although had lifted a 2 liter motor on only one of these frame spans which was closer to the center of the span, previously.
Any members used the shed roof frame to lift this type of weight.

Another ?, does silicon or sealant need to be lightly placed near the bolt holes, before placing the lathe on its tray.
Will be adding a pump except i was intending to use an evaporative aircon pump for the coolant, much cheaper.

I lifted mine from the shed, but they are made out of 75 x 75 x 5mm. If you lifted a motor off 1 truss you should have no trouble lifting it between 2.

I hear of a lot of people using sealant when using coolant. I think if your using coolant it would be wise, and is not going to hurt anything.

Dave

Personally I'd be wary of lifting it that way, there's quite a difference in the weights involved and, especially given you are going to be on your own, things will move fast if the trusses start to give way.

Given the amount you have invested in the lathe I'd be thinking about hiring a lifting crane or similar from someone like Kennards. When I installed my 960 I went the their industrial lifting place and hired a gantry to do the lifting. From memory it was around the $100 mark which is a lot but I thought of it as cheap insurance when compared to the cost of a dropped lathe with me underneath it.

John,
I used the same method as RC to move my 960B. A sling through the webs in the bed to lift and one around the headstock to balance, but with little load on it. This worked fine. I bought an engine crane from H&F to shift it. It wasn't that expensive and I figured I can use it to move my mill as well. So in time the crane will pay for itself.

HI,
My Brother and Nephew Lifted My Al-960 off its Pallet with my Overhead Gantry and Then used My Shop Crane to put it in Place. We used a 4 MT long Lifting Sling. We had one end looped around the 3 Jaw Chuck and the other end was around one of the Bed Webs. From Memory, because the Sling was so long I think the end of the Sling that was around the Web came back onto itself with a Shackle through its EYE. Then the Shackle as well as the Sling went through the Crane Hook. This Set up allowed the Load to Balance itself. The Set up is a bit hard to describe, but from Memory I think I'm right. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should You lift with a Bar or Pipe through the Headstock as this will create a Leverage Point - Think about it, Lifting with a Bar through the Headstock will put excessive Strain on the Headstock and its Spindle Bearings. Gavins Lifting Method is quite Good.
My Lathe has been Working Fine, I am very Happy with My AL-960. Definitely use Silicone around the Bolt Holes as this well stop the Coolant Leaking through into the cabinet. I am very interested in Your intention to use an Evaporitive Air Con Pump for a Coolant Pump Please tell more ???.

Lathe arrived today, The pallet wood boards holding the gearbox end were broken, the wood used had knots in it.
The lathe was sitting on the gearbox cover and motor, Would this cause any damage?
Had hand spun the chuck and soon after some oil started leaking, this was a light brown color, the oil through the min max inspection window is as clear as water.
I assume the service person oiled the lathe before arriving, which is what was leaking after hand cranking the chuck. (i hope!).
The oil level is below minimum, what type of oil do i use.

purchased a cheap air con water pump for $80, still in the process of setting up, should be running within 2 days, i cant see why it won't work.

Will post details when running.

The end cover on these lathes is quite a solid casting, the indicator of damage would be whether the two studs that the case sits on are bent at all.

To check for leaks take the chuck off, top up the gearbox and clean up around the spindle and the headstock in general then run the lathe for a short period and then check for signs of leaks. It may be that the oil you are seeing is from the protective layer of grease or, as you say, the fitters may have been a bit messy when topping up the gearboxes.

When I rang H&F they recommended Valvoline Ultramax 46 (or Castrol HySpin 46) for both the headstock gearbox and the carriage gearcase.

For the QC gearbox (which is a total loss system) I use either that oil or 32 weight hydraulic oil (which I also use for general oiling around - leadscrews etc). For the ways I use Vactra #2 ways oil.

There seems to have been a surge in people buying AL960Bs of late - it would be interesting to see how many of us have this lathe now.

I have just done this (monday!)

When the lathe arrived an its pallet, I put it down on a pair of load skates and pushed it close to where I wanted it.

Then I set up the stand (and used the 50mm feet that Gavin describes elsewhere), Got it level and put the dynabolts in the concrete. I needed to shim one end on washers. There are more elegant ways of levelling 'tho- see previous threads. I got it dead level with a builders level and less than 0.1deg with a digital level.

I then moved the stand out of the way and pushed the lathe on its pallet on the skates into position, lifted it up, pulled out the pallet and pushed the stand under. did up the bolts

To lift the lathe, the manual suggests a lifting plate and eyebolt. None is apparently supplied. There is a warning not to use slings around the bed due to damage to the leadscrews etc. H+F suggested a bodgy method of looping a sling through the webbing of the bed and a second sling around the headstock for balance.

The fixed steady is fitted to the bed of the lathe when it comes. I took it off and used the plate that secures it to the bed as a lifting plate. I used a long eyebolt (10mm) and a piece of 1inch thich board to make a bed clamp (the soft board against the top of the ways). Under the 'lifting plate" (ex steady), I used a washer that was a good fit in the casting and double nuts. Another nut and washer clamped the board against the ways. Obviously dont be tempted to use the entire steady as an eyebolt.

It was very easy to get the balance spot on and the whole exercise was a breeze in the end (after a sleepless night).

To do the lift, I used a chain block and a frame that I rigged up. My workshop is wooden stud walled, gal roof on wooden rafters and no ceiling. I made a vertical frame (from some 6x2 ) that fitted from the floor to the rafters about 8ft from the wall, dynabolted the bottom to the floor and screwed it to a pair of rafters. A 75mm square steel fence post then went from a horizontal in the frame to the top plate of the wall. It was easy to adjust the lifting position.

Welcome to the 960 club. What's the first project??

Russ

Here are some phots of the setup. None of the actual lift- I was busy!

The manual recommends a shell 27 weight oil, slideway type for the ways (a bit 'tacky'), and hydraulic type for the rest. Shell can supply the exact oils specified in either 205L or 20L drums !!!!

I rang H+F, who specifed a castrol magnaglide 68 slideway oil and 46 hydraulic for the rest. My castrol supplier can also do the same convenient lifetime supply sizes.

I went on the scrounge and visited a couple of local engineering firms. They had previously used a 32 weight magnaglide (closer to liang dei's manual specs) but had (on advice) changed over to light hydraulic oil. The pro is that it is easier to get and swarf does not stick to it- the con is that watery coolant washes it off.

Neither bloke uses watered down coolant for corrosion reasons (one uses the cutting oil straight, one his own concoction.

I've never been happy with the thought of using water based coolant on my lathe or mill, I do most cutting dry, when I need coolant/oil I've been using Fuchs Ratak 40S.

Neat cutting oil is nowhere near as good at removing the heat as the soluble oil solutions but I figure that I'm not driving my cuts to the point where overheating is a real issue so I'll stick with the oil. On the other hand the neat oil a lot better at preventing wear due to cutting forces so on balance I think for the type of work I do it balances itself out nicely.

I feed the oil from a gravity tank and I capture and filter the used oil so the 20 litre drum I bought should last me for quite some time.