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

Ron, Give Modern Tools 03 9761 2929 Melbourne a call, they supply Taiwan machines such as my Liang Dei LD1216 Lathe. They may be able to match you up with a tail stock. I have found them very friendly and knowledgeable about their products.
 
I work away and am back home this weekend so i will take some photos and measurements and post them up.
Thanks for the number Bob, i will give them a call when i get the measurements.
The previous owners are letting me have a look "under the house" this weekend too, maybe he threw it under there!
I got minimal tooling and accessories with mine, hopefully i find a big box of goodies in the great abyss..
Doug, how did you eventually identify the original manufacturer of your AL-900A?

Regards,

Ron
 
Ron

It was a long and involved process. I found a sticker on the back of the bed. In searching online for Taiwanese lathe companies I found a number of them and emailed all. Only one responded (after quite some time), he recognised the sticker and identified the company and what had happened to it. (closed down long ago). But the email address I had for him no longer works as otherwise I would have given it to you. His company was a contemporary of Shengwai.
 
Ok thanks Doug,
i will have a look all over the lathe and see if i can find any other identifying stickers apart from the one that "never sold them"

On a side note, do you think these AL-900's are bad for our health? we now know of 2 that have done away with their owner.

Ron
 
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Ron

I think it works like this, you get to your 50s and can now afford a lathe, that you never bought because you never had the money.
These lathes were 1980s, so add 30 to 40 years and it is no surprise to me that long term owners are falling off the perch.
With my lathe, the owner would have bought it sometime in the 1980s when he went contracting (self employed auto electrician), died a couple of years back, far as I know he was in his 60s.

Given how good a quality they are and if reasonably looked after and not worked day in day out and thus heavily worn, then there are still good ones to be had.
Provided the owners haven't discarded essential parts!
 
Hi all,
What a weekend!
Evacuated from home due to local bushfires, H-M website down and bonus missing parts!
Hope everyone is safe in the bushfire zones, we had no power, internet, land-line or mobile service for 24 hours.
But, i did still manage to explore "under the house" and found the missing tailstock and the fixed and travelling steadies which i had forgotten about.
I also found some tooling and an old micrometer set, so it was worth driving past the fire on the side of the highway at Bodalla.

Cheers,
Ron
 
Ron
Excellent. I did think the tailstock shouldn't have wandered too far away unless something weird had happened. The steadies are a bonus for sure.
Regards
Doug
 
Ron. I use hydraulic for the ways and general rust prevention. Also use it in the Norton head. Regards Doug
 
Well done Ron, Lucky you for finding the missing tailstock and steady that you had forgotten. Now you can get to work on that new to you lathe, hope you have a lot of fun.
rontlz said:
Where is the best place to buy some way oil? Is hydraulic oil ok to use
Click to expand...
You might find way oil a bit hard to find, any oil is better than none, but I'd be inclined to use a straight SAE 30 grade oil without any additives. I'd also use that in the gearbox, although you might want to see if you can determine what is already in there, some oils don't mix that well.

I have since noticed in the copy of the owners manual they say use SAE 20 grade oils throughout. I suggested 30 because my lathe book says use 30 and that's what we used when I( was an apprentice. I also use chainsaw bar oil on the tumbler change gears because it doesn't throw off so easily.
 
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