G'day everyone,

I finally bought a new lathe to replace the old 7x14 mini lathe (Sieg C3). I wasn't planning on replacing the old lathe for another 1 or 2 years, especially after adding the big 3HP motor to it. But it still struggled to machine large diameter bar stock, which is something that I needed to do for an upcoming project. With that in mind, I decided to replace the lathe.

I've bought a Hafco Al250 G. The total cost was just under $2700 Aud. It was on sale due to end of financial year sales, but it normally retails close to $3000.

It is marginally bigger than the old Sieg, its a 250 x 500 lathe, but it is much heavier and solid. About 4 times an heavy. It is comparable to a Sieg SC6 or a Precision Matthews PM1022v. However this has the advantage of having a geared headstock spindle and a proper gearbox for the headstock and leadscrew. Which means no gear changes. This also gives the added benefit of giving the spindle a mechanical advantage when running speeds lower than 1400 rpm.

The lathe also has hardened ways, which is an improvement over the old lathe. It has a much larger chuck and carriage, which should help increase rigidity when doing large work. I also think that at this size its no longer a mini lathe, rather it is a bench lathe.

Timestamps
0:00 - Intro
2:04 - Unboxing and getting the lathe up onto the workbench
5:04 - General Overview & Power feed
10:08 - Power feed and Spindle Gearbox
13:18 - Chuck, Electronics and Backsplash
17:09 - First Test Cuts
19:59 - Run Out and Chuck Cleaning
22:11 - Test Cuts in 42mm Steel

#machining #lathe #newmachineday

New Lathe Day

Hafco Al 250g