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cam081

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2012
Messages
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ok guys I just finished my trade as a small engine mechanic. thanks to the Australian government I get a nice little cash hand out so I am going to shout my self a new lathe. I am looking at a al-336d does anyone have one or can anyone give my some advice on them? I have attached pic and the specs of the lathe. thanks cam
ORDER CODE
L682D
Model
AL-336D-DELUXE

Digital Readout System Fitted
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Quick Change Toolpost Fitted
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Leadscrew Covers Fitted
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Coolant System
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Tool Height To Suit
12mm

Distance Between Centres
900mm

Swing Over Bed
300mm

Swing Over Cross-slide
180mm

Swing In Gap
450mm

Centre Height
150mm

Spindle Bore
38mm

Spindle Nose Size or Type
D1-4 Camlock

Bed Width
180mm

Headstock Spindle Taper
5MT

Tailstock Taper
3MT

Cross Slide Travel
170mm

Compound Slide Travel
75mm

Leadscrew
Imperial

Cross Feed Range (X-Axis)
0.009 - 0.236mm/rev

Longitudinal Feed Range (Z-Axis)
0.04 - 1.2236mm/rev

Metric Thread Steps & Pitch Range
32 (0.4 - 7mm)

Imperial Thread Steps & TPI Range
36 (4 - 60tpi)

3 Jaw Chuck Diameter
160mm

4 Jaw Chuck Diameter
200mm

Spindle Steps / Speed Range
18 (65 - 1810rpm)

Motor Power
1.5kW / 2hp

Voltage
240V

Weight (nett)
595kg

700.jpg
 
Why do You accept an imperial leadscrew in a metric country like Australia?
Unless there is a 127 tooth wheel inside the gearbox ,all the metric threads will be approximations.
Good but not exact (Close but not cigar)
 
ok thanks for your input niels I don't know about the lead screw I will ask. it doesn't really bother me as 99% of my work is on old engines like pre 1930 so the threads I will be cutting are imperial. thanks cam
 
I have an AL540 that I have had for 10 years, I don't have a readout on it, but I think it's great. Mine has a metric leadscrew and of course a 127 tooth gear as standard so I can do imperial threads. Mine is 3 phase, so I get double the speeds due to a 2 speed motor.
Having a foot brake was a must for me, it makes threading so much easier by being able to withdraw the tool and stop the lathe dead.

Paul.
 
hi Swifty I haven't done much threading but I was thinking the brake would be great to have the lathe I use at work has it and its so handy to have. I wish I could go a little bigger but I only have single phase 10amp power.. thanks cam
 
Cam, I only have single phase 10 amp power as well, but I have a phase converter to give me 3 phase power. Machinery House have them now, but I purchase mine direct from the manufacturers. I needed 3 phase, as the mill I kept when I finished work needed it, so I bought the lathe to match.

Paul.
 
Cam, I am sure you will love it. These are the first of the industrial quality lathes. A friend has one and has had a good run out of it for a few years. The only problem he had was a crash jammed the gear box on the saddle instead of shearing the pin so he had some time fixing that. Can't blame the machine for that really. Over and above the AL320G that was as big as I could fit in my shed, you get geared threading, foot brake and DI4 quick change chucks. If I could have fitted the AL336 in, I would have got one!

Whilst I have added most of the features you get for standard, I wish I had the DI4 chuck and the foot brake. Just note that the 38mm spindle is not quite that big all the way through, Chis had to ream his spindle out to take 38mm stock. Mine is the same but I have not tackled that. Push them for a deal leading up to the end of the financial year. I can usually get 10% out of them if not on special. I think you will find 16mm tooling will fit but Chris mostly uses 12mm.
 
hi swifty how hard is the phase converter on the power?

thanks for the reply rodw how much smaller was the spindle? I have a lot of 12mm tool I use in my al50 now but I was hoping to run some bigger tooling so that's great info. thanks again cam
 
Hi Cam, I'm sorry, but I have no idea how much power the phase converter uses. My power bill is certainly not excessive, if I stop and think about it I suppose that the phase converter doesn't run too long. I don't just turn it on and leave it running until I'm finished for the day, if I stop machining for a while I always turn it off. My biggest problem is that I forget to turn the compressor off, only find out once I'm in bed and I hear it start up. I suppose that I could read the power meter before running the converter and check the power used.

I just checked my power bill for the last 3 months, it worked out less than $2.50 per day, and that included running the aircon over the warmer months. Whilst not necessarily working on my machines every day, I certainly used them a lot over that time.

Paul.
 
hi swifty how hard is the phase converter on the power?

thanks for the reply rodw how much smaller was the spindle? I have a lot of 12mm tool I use in my al50 now but I was hoping to run some bigger tooling so that's great info. thanks again cam

Cam, I can't quite remember the detail on how Chris fixed his spindle. Next time I see him (maybe tomorrow) I'll try to remember to ask for you. I don't think it misses by much. If you sight down the spindle bore, you can see the constriction.

With the BXA style tool holders, like what comes standard on your lathe, if you can't get a tool down to centre height, all you have to do is mill something off the bottom of the tool holder for that tool only.

You are buying a huge upgrade. Take care, the bigger lathes have so much grunt. It was a bit scary for me when I upgraded and I became very safety conscious! I had a boring job in Ally today. I started with a 12mm boring bar which chattered and screamed a bit until I remembered I had a 25mm bar itching to be used. That fixed the chatter and I opened out the bore taking 2mm cuts which meant the diameter grew 4mm at a time! And yours is bigger again!
 
hi rod I use a cl38 at work and it has heap of grunt to be honest is has spoilt me a bit and I am scared of it. I am really crapping my self at what my big lathe will be able to do when I get it set up and running if you have a look you will find the thread on it. thanks cam
 
hi rod I use a cl38 at work and it has heap of grunt to be honest is has spoilt me a bit and I am scared of it. I am really crapping my self at what my big lathe will be able to do when I get it set up and running if you have a look you will find the thread on it. thanks cam

Cam, I caught up with Chris today, he showed me a huge 2' long rat tail file that he used to open up the spindle. He said he sent 3 hours on it running around 300 rpm and followed up by wearing out a few brake honing tools on a drill extension rod to smooth the bore. He said you have to be careful not to damage the spindle taper.

Cheers mate
 
ok guys I just finished my trade as a small engine mechanic. thanks to the Australian government I get a nice little cash hand out so I am going to shout my self a new lathe. I am looking at a al-336d does anyone have one or can anyone give my some advice on them? I have attached pic and the specs of the lathe. thanks cam



Sure do mate, I didn't get the deluxe model. The DRO and QCTP was an after thought.

Great machine for the price, had mine for 3 years now, holds size well, takes decent size cuts. Have cut 1000's of metric threads on it and never had a problem (and I am fussy with my threading) One of the best investments I have made. Go for gold buddy.

 
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thanks every one for your input. I am going to get one I called up to see if they have one in stock only to be told it will be about 5 weeks before they have any in. that's ok I thing it will be worth it. thanks again cam
 
The only problem he had was a crash jammed the gear box on the saddle instead of shearing the pin
You can always may a few brass pins . Makes fixing after a crash faster cheaper.
Tin
 
You can always may a few brass pins . Makes fixing after a crash faster cheaper.
Tin

Just unlucky I guess. I asked Chris last time I saw him and he said the pin that should have failed didn't and a roll pin in the saddle gearbox broke instead so it was a big job to strip and repair it.
 
Just unlucky I guess. I asked Chris last time I saw him and he said the pin that should have failed didn't and a roll pin in the saddle gearbox broke instead so it was a big job to strip and repair it.
__________________

sounds like the factory installed pin was hard. I was told many years ago by an experienced USAF machining instructor that the best way to prevent this is to remove the factory pin and install brass. This is especially a good idea when you have new students starting on the lathe about every three weeks.

I tend to do a lot of hand feeding. but if you auto feed the pin replacement is a good idea.
Tin
 
ok guys i have had the call the lathe is here and inspected ready to pick. bring on Saturday morning i hate having to work 5 days a week. work always gets in the way of the important stuff. cam
 
Mine wont go, crook motor or something. New machine only lasted about 2 hours and motor seemed to overheat and throw the reset button out. Documentation is almost useless and apples to another older device. Waiting for a new motor to arrive from H & F.
 
Cam,
I have basically the same lathe, but bought in the UK.

http://www.chesterhobbystore.com/crusader-lathe-deluxe-3980-p.asp

There are three main items that you should look out for.

The first is the spring leadscrew protector, get rid of the part nearest to the head otherwise you will lose over 1" of forwards travel of the toolpost at least.

The second is the faceplate. Fit it and see how close you can get to it with that spring cover in position, also, you will have to reposition your cutting tool if you want to skim it up, as you should do each time you use it. You will find that if you fit the cutting tool in the normal position you won't be able to wind the cross slide out enough to get to the outer edge of the faceplate.

The third and most vital one is the chuck splash guard. It is totally too small and you will find that it restricts the toolpost movement dramatically.

I actually sent my machine back and had all those things put right before I would accept the lathe back.

They took off the spring covers and fitted a much larger commercial chuck guard.

I do have a list of all the little mods done to this machine that makes it now a joy to use and it will hold size to a couple of tenths over many items.

http://chestermachinetools.forumchi...ackstop-7282839?pid=1286072406#post1286072406

http://chestermachinetools.forumchi...ock-fix-7282736?pid=1286071434#post1286071434

http://chestermachinetools.forumchi...ilstock-7282746?pid=1286071543#post1286071543

http://chestermachinetools.forumchi...s-slide-7284193?pid=1286083315#post1286083315

http://chestermachinetools.forumchi...in-dial-7284234?pid=1286083695#post1286083695

http://chestermachinetools.forumchi...in-dial-7284315?pid=1286084251#post1286084251

If you look down to the lathe in this shot you can just about see the larger chuck guard that they fitted. This allows the full range of movement of the toolpost without hitting anything.

DSCF0558_zpsbde716a1.jpg


Another word of warning, DO NOT remove the lathe gap bed before your guarantee is up, it will invalidate it.

Hope this helps a little.

John
 

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