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

Tom

Mine does not have the tumbler gear lever on the side. I has 3 shafts along the bed. Thread cut, drive shaft and on/off shaft. It also has the flat
face from the Norton box all the way down to the gear 2 gear selector levers. This is why I think it is the 900A. But essentially the same machine as yours. Regards Doug
 
Hi Doug and everyone else,

i just purchased a Hafco AL-900A from a deceased estate also.
Upon closer examination of all the parts it appears i am missing the tailstock,
I rang Hafco and was told by a young sales rep that they never sold my 40 year old lathe!
Strange i said as it has your badge on it and thats where i got your phone number.

Does anyone have a suggestion on what might fit and where i could source one in Aus.

Regards,

Ron
 
Ron.
Ditto to NortonDommi's comment.
As to the tailstock, from my research any tailstock from any Taiwanese lathe of that era with the same bed cross section should fit.
Your task will be to find a scrap yard etc. that has a dead lathe discarded out the back.
There are some of the original companies still in business in Taiwan from the 1980s. Who knows, they may still have a compatible tailstock.
Again, the task will be to find them.
Can you not back track through the previous owner's family what he did with the tailstock, it should not be too far from the lathe?
 
Trying to backtrack now, but the lady says i have everything that she had!
You would think that a replacement tailstock for that size lathe should be able to be purchased new?

Doug, mine being the same model and seller as yours would it be the same original make as yours?

Ron
 
Ron

Your 3 points addressed in order:

She thinks.
Chances are she doesn't know. But you can only take these things so far.....
The similar scenario with mine is that for reasons unknown the former owner removed and discarded all the height stops from the quick change tool holders, thus rendering them into slow change tool holders - and he did that why??????
Also, he removed and discarded the "bridge" that retains (goes under the bed) for the 3 point steady and discarded that - why?????

We are talking 1980s lathes. 40 odd years is way longer than most technology goes without 3 or 4 or more generational changes in design.

There is an online sourcing site (bit like Alibaba) for Taiwan, see if you can find out its name and have a look in there for one of the original companies. IIRC a number of those names are mentioned in this thread or other threads about Taiwanese lathes, say some of the ones that the Yanks have that have been nameplated as Jet, Enco etc. At the end of the day, they all came from about 12 companies in Taiwan.
Mine is a Shenwai. I am told that it is very early as it does not have the step where the Norton head contacts the bed. But having said that, the latter stepped ones had the same tail stock to the best of my knowledge.
Hafco never sold mine either, despite their sticker being on it......
Ultimately, you need a tail stock with the same footprint ie., same bed cross section and with the same centre height. Other than those 2 criteria it can be any shape or design, it just has to fit.

Regards
Doug
 
It appears that Hafco not only has no clues about what they sell, they also have no idea who they sold it to. The bottom line is because they don't have any useful competition, they simply don't care.
 
Ron, how about putting up some detailed dimensions of the bed profile and height to centerline of your lathe, and we can cheque to see if ours will fit. Then you will know if you can order a new tailstock with the confidence that it will fit.
 
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I would check with Grizzly. Some of their older lathes were the same as these. They still have some parts and the tail stock from some newer models may fit.
 
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