Hafco AL900A lathe, is anyone able to identify what it really is?

Hi all,
A bit of an update from me (NSW South coast),
Hope everyone is weathering the current **** storm we are currently facing,
i had a bit of a scare, helped my son mount a security camera at his workshop as there has been some looting
due to everyone packing up and staying home from the industrial area. He rang me the next day to tell me a lady
his wife works with has a confirmed case of covid-19. Department of health rang him and said his wife has to self
isolate in their house away from all other family members. They said he can still work so long as he obeys social
distancing rules! i thought that was pretty lax from the government and have put myself in isolation to make sure.

Anyway, the main reason for my post is that it is now time for me to lift my lathe up off the floor and on to its stands,
i have one of those engine lift cranes but i am unsure how to lift the lathe safely without damaging anything with chains etc.
i read that it weighs approx 300kg? i have two lengths of heavy chain and two heavy duty nylon tie down straps.
Any thoughts or suggestions on how to sling it, i am unsure how to stop the chains from slipping in at the bottom when i
lift from a central point at the top. Also do i need to space the chains out away from the 3 shafts running along the bed so
that the chain does not put any side pressure on them.
Thoughts, suggestions?

Regards,
Ron
 
Hello Ron

The slings were way better an idea than the chains for me.
I would be pretty wary of lifting it with an engine crane those things
have a bad sense of balance.
Give that more thought.
As, like the rest of us, you now have unlimited spare time, I would set it up so that
as the lathe lifts, insert stable blocking every 1" or so or maybe 1/2".
Thus if the crane slips or does anything weird, the worst that happens is the
lathe drops a small amount.

Make sure you have an escape plan and sufficient clear area that if anything
goes wrong you can get clear. Trying to catch a 300kg lathe or having it
fall on you is not a survivable scenario.

In my case, I lifted my lathe from a strong back in my shed using a 1 tonne
chain block just enough that I could drive the trailer out from under it.
Then lowered onto 1" diameter lengths of water pipe and did the old Egyptian
trick of slowly moving it, grabbing each pipe as it came out from
under the lathe and putting it at the front.
It takes some force to get it to roll and just as much force to get it to stop
rolling!
Slowly slowly catchy monkey.

It also takes multiple broom sweepings and then vacuuming before the shed floor
is actually clean enough to get an acceptable smooth surface.

I had no problem with the slings moving in, as both were routed around
"webs" cast into the bed, one near where the tailstock lives the other
close to the headstock. So the lift was internally on the bed, not externally.
I left the cabinet attached to the lathe to provide a
counter balance to the lift.
Carriage down at the tailstock end to counter balance the headstock.
Tailstock and carriage both locked down tight and re-checked till OCD
was satisfied.

I found that the lathe was "squirrely" when I took the weight with the
chain block. I only lifted till it was 1/2" clear of the trailer bed, having it move
around and find its happy position in the trailer
The top heavy nature of the headstock is a major concern and complication
to a safe lift, as is also the "squirrely" behaviour of the lathe, which is why
I don't like your engine crane.

Ratchet straps are NOT lifting slings. Lifting slings are not expensive,
buy some. Be aware that it is easy to buy short ones only to then realise
they should have been longer. Plot your hook point and using say some
rope measure the actual length of sling you will need. You may get
a surprise how deceptive your initial guess was.

You says "stands" rather than "stand". How about some photos of your
lathe, one down from above showing the bed and if there are any webs
in it.
Also some photos of the stands.
Your situation may require a very different solution than mine did.

Please be careful.

Don't be afraid to make a "no go" decision if you are not confident
about safely making the lift.
 
Many threads on lifting lathes around here. I have a Hafco AL356 and I have now found out it has holes in the base for bars to go through for slings/chains.
I went for a simple lifting plate under the ways. Locked the tailstock at the end of the bed, wound the apron about 3/4 of the way down and started lift, adjusted apron for balance.
Lathe weighs 650 kg dry and I can lift easily and safely wet with a full tank of coolant. single lift point.
You can run the sling/chain through the webs for location. Yes, stay well clear of the leadscrew etc.
Yours not being on stand I'd use a sling around back of chuck and another through the ways and around the ways at the tailstock end. Lock the tailstock at the end of the bed and wind the apron to adjust balance. Use a lifting bar. D-shackles are handy to lock things in place as is whipping with a bit of light rope.
 

Attachments

  • Lifting plate.JPG
    Lifting plate.JPG
    919.2 KB · Views: 167
We used a lifting plate as well on the Jet DBD1340. Had no issues with balance.
Pierre
 
Careful thought and planning usually will avoid any tears after the event. Once The lift starts to go pear shaped, it's too late to fix. If in doubt, don't.. A lathe is a very top heavy machine so care must be taken to avoid it tipping, once it starts you won't stop it. Moving the saddle and tail stock to the tailend will help with longitudinal balance.

Front to back balance is another problem, if slinging from under the bed, place blocks of wood above and below the feed shaft and lead screw so that the blocks take the load not the shafts. Also placing a shorter sling around the chuck to counter any desire to tip. Its not taking a lot of weight, just preventing it slipping over. I considered mounting a length of stout pipe from chuck to tailstock with another short sling to aid stability but in the end we didn't do it. It was enough as it was.

When I lifted my 12x16 about 360Kg. I hired a dingo machine with fork blades and a lifting hook. So I was able to get the blades under the machine at both ends, and a sling from the bed to the hook for added stability. I had a mate who had a riggers ticket from some years earlier, and although it was out of date, he still knew what he was doing.

We first lifted the lathe from the trailer onto the floor, it was still in shipping crate, so we uncrated it, then lifted it onto the two piece stand. bolting into place.

Finally lifting it onto a rigid steel base frame, that had been previously made. The whole thing was now too heavy for the dingo to lift, 500KG max., so the frame, lathe and stand were then pushed into position up against the back wall of garage. Jacking screws were used to level up the base frame. Then the lathe was secured to the base frame with hold down bolts and jacking screws, until level.

After cleaning and lubing the lathe was checked with test cuts and final adjustments made, it was pretty close anyway, only needed a tweak on the hold down bolts and jacking screws.

Job done, Dingo returned to hire shop, we returned home for well earned beer or three. Unfortunately no pictures I was unaware of the picture rule.

take care,

Downunder Bob
 
Last edited:
Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions, much appreciated.
I noted your point about the tie downs not being lifting slings and did not use those, i will look into getting some.
My lathe does not have any lifting holes in the bed and i looked at placing a plate under the bed but i was not happy with that.
I needed to move it away from the wall a bit to clean at the back a little more so i had a go with the chains.
I had some large C channel that fitted over the lead screws perfectly and held the chain out so i cut it in half so i had 2.
I fiddled and adjusted the chains until i was happy that they sat where i wanted them and i ran a stabilising chain around
the chuck back to my lifting point as well. I slowly took the weight up with the crane and it was a bit lower at the tailstock end
so i moved the apron towards the headstock until it levelled out. i had it about 15mm off the ground and moved it to the centre
of my floorspace and lowered it back down. It seemed stable and didnt try to tip when i moved it about with the crane.
My stands are two seperate pedestals with cabinets built in and have a large splash tray that ties them together at the back.
i have cleaned and painted them and the chip tray that sits under the lathe. When i am finished cleaning the lathe i will have
a go at lifting it up on to them, making sure i have a clear path and plan for a speedy getaway if needed.
when i have it on the stands, where is the best place to adjust / shim it to make it level? how accurate should it be.

Ron

P.S. Doug, i am pretty sure my lathe is identical to yours.
 
Last edited:
G'day Ron, first of all welcome to the group.

Glad to see that you got the move done without any dramas.

If you are going to need to move your machine out away from the wall on a regular basis, making up a set of machine skates might be a good idea. I'm halfway through making a set for my self. I'll be writing it up with pictures when I get back to it.
 
Hello everyone again, I was wondering if anyone here has MT5 taper they could measure for me.
I am getting a MT5 arbor made up to go in to my lathe spindle and the inside of the spindle has a
lip 90mm in from the front edge. I looked up the size of the large diameter end which is 1.7480"
I would like the diameter 85mm from the large end if possible please.

Ron
 
G'day Ron,
Standard tapers in Imperial and Morse tapers in Metrickery. It should be possible to work out exactly what you need from these.
Often on the larger tapers contact is only in two bands with the centre portion of the female socket relieved. The male taper is one unbroken surface.
 

Attachments

You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top