# new lathe



## cam081

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






Quick Change Toolpost Fitted





Leadscrew Covers Fitted





Coolant System





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


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## Niels Abildgaard

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)


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## cam081

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


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## Swifty

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.


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## cam081

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


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## Swifty

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.


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## rodw

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.


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## cam081

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


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## Swifty

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.


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## rodw

cam081 said:


> 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!


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## cam081

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


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## rodw

cam081 said:


> 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


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## rcfreak177

cam081 said:


> 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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## cam081

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


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## Tin Falcon

> 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


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## rodw

Tin Falcon said:


> 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.


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## Tin Falcon

> 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


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## cam081

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


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## gardnep

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.


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## Blogwitch

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.






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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## Swifty

I've never removed the gap in my lathe bed, too hard to get them back in the correct position despite having dowels.

Paul.


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## cam081

hi gardnep I am sorry to hear about your lathe I can say I have done around 75hours work with mine and had no trouble.

hi john thanks for your input you are spot on about the screw cover some time its a real pain. I have been lucky so far and have been able to just change my set up to get around it. I don't think I will ever have to take the gap out as I have another much much larger lathe I can use if needed.

thanks cam


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## Blogwitch

Cam,
In all honesty, the first mod that needs to be done is the tailstock one, to stop the MT spinning, it only takes an hour and does a permanent cure. Many have now been done, and not only on this type of lathe, and only good vibes back.
The second one is the locking up of the cross slide, if you are making lots of bits all with the same diameter, that really does solve the problem of cross slide creep. I know it looks complicated, but in fact, if it is done in easy stages, a couple of hours should see it tucked nicely away.
Again, very good feedback from people who have done this mod and not only on a lathe, it can be used on any dovetail either to give a bit more friction or total lock up.

John


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## Moper361

I Realise this is an old thread but just thought id drop a line and see how everyones al336s are hanging in .I am actually looking at these with interest as ive been looking at al250 but to me it seems to make sense to go for al336 
Bigger spindle bore
Foot brake
More threading options 
The list goes on 

Yes its a bit more in price but think id be kicking myself if i went al250 road .

Any feed back would be good to here on mods and how there hang uo after a couole of years


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## rodw

There is not really anything to mod if you buy the D version. A friend has one and its been used almost daily for years and its still hanging on.
It still has the same sized spindle as the AL250G  but it has a geared head and removable chuck. 
I think the biggest issue with them is the  spiral feed screw covers stop you from getting  close to the chuck. The AL960B does not have this problem and neither does the 250G as it has no covers!


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## Moper361

rodw said:


> There is not really anything to mod if you buy the D version. A friend has one and its been used almost daily for years and its still hanging on.
> It still has the same sized spindle as the AL250G  but it has a geared head and removable chuck.
> I think the biggest issue with them is the  spiral feed screw covers stop you from getting  close to the chuck. The AL960B does not have this problem and neither does the 250G as it has no covers!


Rod is there another version of AL250G as the ones i have been looking at have 26mm bore and AL336 that i have looked at have 38mm bore bothe have gear head and also gear box for thread cutting however the AL336 can do both metric and imperial without to much fuss aposed to the AL250 is a little limited to metric .Also AL336 has foot break but neither the 250 or 960 have this option


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## rodw

Ooops sorry, I was referring to the AL320G I had previously not the 250. But if you have the room, the 336 is better again. Yes I would like a foot brake but heck, I bought my 960B equivalent for $4k used from H&F and when I polished it up it looked like new!. Some of the accessories were still in their original wrapping! and it had coolant and a DRO which H&F don't offer for it.


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## Moper361

rodw said:


> Ooops sorry, I was referring to the AL320G I had previously not the 250. But if you have the room, the 336 is better again. Yes I would like a foot brake but heck, I bought my 960B equivalent for $4k used from H&F and when I polished it up it looked like new!. Some of the accessories were still in their original wrapping! and it had coolant and a DRO which H&F don't offer for it.


Yes seems like you were in the right place at right time Rod
I do like the 336 and i have a similar version in thailand but its a 750 between centers and is perfect for fitting in a room with limited space .But theý do not seem to have the 336 here and smaller than a 900 between centers .This is why i was looking at the 250 however it has its disadvantages of no foot brake however i think a simple foot brake could be fabricated to fit out of small motorcycle disck rotor and callipar etc.It does have smaller bore but in reality the work i do is small and ive never really needed it maybe twice in 8 years on the lathe i have i also have access to my fathers larger lathe around the corner .I would like to know what the threading gearbox and gear head gears are made out of on the AL250 as a lot of plastic is being used these days .I knoww 336 is all steel but 250 im not sure and this is what keeps throwing me of the 250 .there is a nice Boxford over here again smaller but in very nice condition with quite a lot of tooling and a mill attachment it also includes a nice german made drill press but both 3 phase 3000 aud however i really dont know if its a decent deal or not


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## deeferdog

I have the AL250 lathe and it suits me down to the ground. MT 3 in the tailstock is a real bonus. I fitted a brake about a year ago, works fine. I posted about it, here is the link if you are interested. Cheers, Peter. https://www.homemodelenginemachinist.com/threads/lathe-brake.27173/


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