Hafco AL 356V Lathe Review

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[@BattyEngineering]

Appreciate your videos Ted! Great to see another Aussie machinint on KZbin

[@TedRoza]

Thanks for your comments, always greatly appreciated. Your welcome anytime 😊

[@paularbon1093]

Thanks Ted for your review. I was interested in the variable speed, I have not seen that in use before.

[@TedRoza]

@paularbon1093 Hi Paul. I hope I was able to answer a lot of your questions. The variable speed is a Great tool as you can see, with many applications on how to use it, whether on a Lathe or Milling Machine.

[@ianmoone2359]

Awesome review thank you Ted. Learned a few new things about my new lathe, especially the saddle lock & how the speeds & feeds selections work, which as you well know from our frantic discussions on my end, had me totally bamboozled. 😂 I can see myself returning to this well done review multiple times in future as I come to grips with setting / selecting feeds & speeds. It’s always handy to have a review like this to refer back to, to refresh the memory from time to time. I was re-watching your carriage stop video only last night & thinking that it might well have to be one of my first projects, just for the protection factor that it affords. If you still have the diagram / plan I would appreciate a copy immensely please? I have seen online there’s a few others looking at the AL356V as a potential purchase who will no doubt find this invaluable as well. I’m glad you took the time to make this more detailed review,because you have had a year of actual use to figure all this stuff out, which was why my vid was only an “overview” not a review because I haven’t owned mine or used it at all long enough to give a detailed user review as you have done here. Between us we at least might be adding to the corpus of knowledge on KZbin about this specific model which has been sadly lacking up to now. Thanks sincerely for your top effort. Praise well deserved IMHO. 👍👍👍🇦🇺

[@TedRoza]

G'day Ian. Thanks for your generous comments. Hope the review helps you immensely.

[@petermurphy5138]

Great to see another user of the Siamese twins (AL-356V & HM-54GV), might have to share some pics of mods I’ve done to my pair

[@TedRoza]

G'day Peter. Thanks for your comments, greatly appreciated. I Have done a few Mods as you can see. I am in process of fitting Z & Y axis Power Feed Assemblies.

[@gafaff]

I have the AL346V, a little smaller. but a very capable lathe. The variable speed drive on these machines is a vector style, which is excellent at maintaining speed as it comes under load. One common "mod" is to adjust the brake setting on the drive to get a faster chuck stopping action that's closer to a mechanical brake, handy when threading up to a shoulder.

[@TedRoza]

G'day. Thanks for your comments, greatly appreciated. My electric brake stops very quick, so no problems there. The 346v is also a great lathe,

[@badjuju6563]

Hey Ted, any chance you can show the inside of the electrical cabinet please?

[@TedRoza]

Is it OK to ask why you want to see the inside of the electrical cabinet . Anything in particular ? & where are you situated.

[@TedRoza]

Easy enough to show. Np

[@badjuju6563]

@@TedRoza Hey Ted I am in QLD. Ive just converted an al-410 from 3p to 1phase and added a speed pot... I Guess I made a geared al-410v ;-)

[@hilltopmachineworks2131]

Nice lathe. Perfect size to get some good work done, but not take up too much shop space.

[@TedRoza]

G'day Tom. Thanks for your comments always appreciated. Just the right in-between size, with a 2" or 53mm spindle. I had an 8" alloy round stock in the reverse jaws, which worked out great

[@hilltopmachineworks2131]

@@TedRoza That 2" bore is nice. My 13x40 lathe only has a 1 9/16 bore so basically anything over 1.5" won't go thru.

[@ginaanastas3851]

Thanks Ted, whats your view on the overal quality/ prescision of the lathe? if you were in market again would you buy same?

[@TedRoza]

@ginaanastas3851 Hi There. The AL-356 is an Excellent lathe supporting a 52mm Spindle which is an ideal size. Couple with the 8" chucks with a D1-5 lock system, which make it a good size to work with. There are tons of Great Specifications, which makes it an Excellent all round Lathe to work with. I highly recommend this size Lathe. Mine is a single phase or 240v, which suits my needs quite well. There is a 3 phase version 440v, but not necessary for my application. I Recomend you fit adjustable feet = pads & level the Lathe correctly before final use. Hopes this helps you. Ted

[@melgross]

Very nice.

[@TedRoza]

Thanks for your comment 👍🏻