Who knows about Takisawa TSL-800D lathes?

[taem]

Novice here. I have read the thread about the Webb/Takisawa TSL-800D with great interest and can see that there are some satisfied owners out there. I am currently looking at a good condition Taiwan unit where the present owner seems not to know much about the machine (I think he is selling from buyer's remorse. He advertised a lovely Clausing 13x40 but when we arrived, began pushing the TSL-800 which he had recently bought and decided he didn't need) The Takisawa is a better size for us, and looks to be in good shape, but has limited tooling (has a 8" 3 jaw Buck chuck, steady rest qctp live and dead centers jacobs chuck, but the 4 jaw chuck he bought he says won't fit) There is no collet closer. It has an A1 spindle mounting system. The motor is a 3-5 hp dual speed 3 phase motor and is a much better size for us than the Clausing. Our intended use is making parts to repair farm machinery and shop projects, one off mostly, no production. The ways are good, head has no vibration or bad sounds and it appears to have little wear.
So here are some questions: is there any availability of used parts for this? I didn't see much on ebay or craigslist. Are there any specialty houses that might carry this sort of thing? I see that Takisawa has a distributor in the US but all the stuff on their site is modern industrial. We would like to get a collet closer (it has none) and if we can't adapt the 4 jaw chuck and faceplate, ones of those (I think this would be possible, even thought the present owner had given up)
Next, I pretty much know how to set up a variable speed controller to take our shop 220 1 ph to 3 ph, but how do you do it with this dual speed motor? Any special knowledge for that?
Last is price: he says he has "$4000 in it and wants to get his money back" Given the lack of tooling and his obvious desire to get rid of it, I would offer him $3000 and try to get him to throw in something else we can use. He has a nice shop with two Bridgeports, a SB heavy 10, the Clausing and every collet ever made, so I think we could pick up something. Does this price seem reasonable? Any obvious pitfalls I have overlooked?
Any comments are greatly appreciated.

 

[mksj]

They are very good lathes according to others that have owned them. You have two main options for 3 phase power from single phase, one would be an RPC (or Phase Perfect digital converter) and keep the current wiring and dual speed motor intact, or a VFD directly wired to the motor. With a VFD you would wire the motor for 5 Hp and then use the variable speed probably in a range of 30-75Hz. Native single phase input 5Hp motor VFD's are uncommon ( Yaskawa and Invertek have models), otherwise you can typically use a larger 3 Phase input VFD in a derated mode, so something like the Hitachi WJ200-075LF.

You should be able to get a semi-finshed back plate and modified for use on the chuck. Collet closure will probably be expensive if from the manufacture, JFK makes custom collet closure systems. Otherwise one could look at a chuck mount hand wheel type like an Atlas which are pretty quick to change out collets.

5-C LEVER CLOSER

Pratt Burnerd/Atlas 5C Front Hand Wheel Speed Chucks

Pratt Burnerd/Atlas 5c Front mount hand wheel speed chucks

atlaschucks.com

 

[Winegrower]

I and two local friends all have TSL-800D lathes. These lathes are really impressive, and seem to share a lot of the basic design with Mori Seiki and Victor. It’s built solid, weighing maybe twice as much as similar sized lathes. A Japanese design, thrust bearings everywhere make the controls butter smooth.
They are still being made in Japan, and have a US sales office, but they do not stock parts. The one time I was looking for a part, the guy there offered to check in Japan, but I realized there was an easy fix. After all, I have a machine shop.

There was a collet closer and faceplate on eBay a week or so ago, so components show up occasionally.

I can’t imagine anyone being unhappy with a Takisawa lathe.

 

[trogan]

I and two local friends all have TSL-800D lathes. These lathes are really impressive, and seem to share a lot of the basic design with Mori Seiki and Victor. It’s built solid, weighing maybe twice as much as similar sized lathes. A Japanese design, thrust bearings everywhere make the controls butter smooth.
They are still being made in Japan, and have a US sales office, but they do not stock parts. The one time I was looking for a part, the guy there offered to check in Japan, but I realized there was an easy fix. After all, I have a machine shop.

There was a collet closer and faceplate on eBay a week or so ago, so components show up occasionally.

I can’t imagine anyone being unhappy with a Takisawa lathe.

I thought they moved manufacturing of the TSLs to Taiwan. Also it’s encouraging to hear they are still being made. Another forum had someone suggest they don’t make them anymore despite that they are still shown on the takisawa site. I wonder what a new one costs. Do you have a name for the US distributor you mentioned? Thanks

 

[Nesse1]

Every time a Takisawa 800 thread pops up, my heart sinks a little over regret for allowing a local machine to slip through my fingers. The seller bought it from a widow, and the machine was still in its original parking spot in her (husbands) garage. It was an original made in Japan machine, and looked to be in good shape. The seller was hard to get a hold of, but an even bigger problem was moving the thing! It's heavy, and I don't have the proper equipment to move it. In the end I wound up buying a lesser machine, which is more than adequate for my needs, BUT, I still yearn for a Takisawa!

 

[Winegrower]

The seller was hard to get a hold of, but an even bigger problem was moving the thing! It's heavy, and I don't have the proper equipment to move it.

It's in the 2500 pound region, so I was able to lift it off the end of a rented tilt trailer by sticking the HF hoist forks under the trailer, then roll it around and position it on blocks without significant issues. To get it on the trailer at the seller's place, we rolled it on skates to the tilted trailer, then winched it up into position.

I thought they moved manufacturing of the TSLs to Taiwan

Yes, you're right. The company is still based in Japan, but the manufacturing is in Taiwan. At least, that is my sincere belief.

 

[trogan]

Every time a Takisawa 800 thread pops up, my heart sinks a little over regret for allowing a local machine to slip through my fingers. The seller bought it from a widow, and the machine was still in its original parking spot in her (husbands) garage. It was an original made in Japan machine, and looked to be in good shape. The seller was hard to get a hold of, but an even bigger problem was moving the thing! It's heavy, and I don't have the proper equipment to move it. In the end I wound up buying a lesser machine, which is more than adequate for my needs, BUT, I still yearn for a Takisawa!

“The one that got away.”

 

[Nesse1]

The Taiwan Takisawa's are famous for the paint falling off them, in sheets! The primer was...orange? Just a minor inconvenience, though!

 

[Winegrower]

The Taiwan Takisawa's are famous for the paint falling off them, in sheets! The primer was...orange? Just a minor inconvenience, though!

Pretty much true. But it's a handsome orange.

In my case, the seller had his assistant brush on a new coat, done pretty skillfully and smoothly, including over the sight glass windows.

 

[sdelivery]

Depending on the age parts are available in Taiwan. . So many machines share the mechanicals and castings, with the electronics and software provided by the company selling the product.
This is actually a good thing as the Taiwanese manufactures use commonly produced parts and tend to be available through the aftermarket.