Your opinion counts

[Janos]

Hey there all,

I have a bit of a problem, I have been working for a dedicated hardinge lathe Owner/Operator for quite some time and I an tring to sway him to getting a Haas but he only had talked to a guy that said that they are not able to repeat within .0002". We do a lot of close tol. work and the mini mill has no problem staying on task and as long as the workholding is good it repeats woth no problem. Soooo my question is, I would like to hear from all the people that use the different kinds of lathes on a daily basis and what would your selling points be. Either good or bad I would hear it all.

Thanks Janos

[PBMW]

My SL10 will not repeat within .0002 without someone right on top of it to change offsets. Just won't do it. Steel, Alum, Stainless. Don't matter.
My Daewoo on the other hand will with no issues what so ever.
If doing close tol stuff, I wouldn't even think of putting it on my Haas. I do lots of other production stuff that it does well. But close work ain't one of em.
Not bashing Haas. Just telling the truth. My little Minimill does great. holds tol very well. My SL10 does not. Now this could well be just my machine. But it's the only Haas lathe I own, and I'm not likely to own another one to see if I was wrong or not.

[M-man]

My daewoo can keep that dim, strange that we make jokes about the brand, but it is really much of a machine compared to what it costs.

[Janos]

It is funny that you both favor a Daewoo , I talked to another Daewoo owner sometime back and he too had a Haas and said similar things about it.

[M-man]

I must add that I never tried a haas. But it seems to be some low cost american junk, that is just the feeling I ve got about the brand, I might have it all wrong.

[PBMW]

I don't think they are junk. I think they are a great bang for the buck. I also think the factory needs to take a serious look at their service network. It needs some work. I think the lathes are not as reliable as the mills. That may not be the case...but it is in the experience of my two Haas machines.
With a Haas, you take lighter faster cuts. the material removal rates are prolly close...
If I did not have the service issues I have, I would buy another Haas. But the issues I have seen in my shop and every other shop in the Puget sound area that I have any dealings with (many) have nothing good to say about the local reseller and their service.
My local reseller also deals with Matsuura. I'd like one of their horizontals. But I'd have to get it serviced through Selway. Not going to happen
It ain't the machine that keeps me from buying one...

[M-man]

yes, mabe they are alright.Depeends of what needs you got.

[Geof]

Originally Posted by M-man I must add that I never tried a haas. But it seems to be some low cost american junk, that is just the feeling I ve got about the brand, I might have it all wrong.

Most times I have encountered this type of opinion it has come from a person native to a location a number of miles south and east of you. Whenever I have asked give me some specific experiences on which the opinion is based there are none. I have Haas lathes and mills and I am fortunate to be in a location where I do get good service and my service needs have been minimal. My SL10's can keep to +/-0.0005" without bother but going down to +/-0.0002" is not possible without babying them, however, if you look at the specs for the machine that is it in diameter measure. The Z is better than the X because the imprecision is not doubled. But this thread started with a comparison between a Hardinge and a Haas...this is not sensible they are in different classes.

Incidentally I export a lot of product to Sweden and my Swedish customers are very happy with the quality of the stuff I produce on my 'junk' machines.

[PBMW]

Geof
I know you have a number of Haas machines. Mills and lathes. Do you have any problems getting parts in a timely manor from the factory? Ever had any issues of sending the wrong parts, non working or damages parts?
I'm just curious. I've had those issues. Just wanted to know if it was just me...

[Geof]

Originally Posted by PBMW Geof I know you have a number of Haas machines. Mills and lathes. Do you have any problems getting parts in a timely manor from the factory? Ever had any issues of sending the wrong parts, non working or damages parts? I'm just curious. I've had those issues. Just wanted to know if it was just me...

It varies. Had you asked a year ago I would have said delivery was prompt and correct. However, in April this year I ordered two of their new indexers and got the royal run around until they were delivered a couple of weeks ago. We have ordered replacement coolant pumps and had them within two or three days but recently we had to replace a hydraulic unit on a SL10 and the wrong one was shipped..promptly I might add. Then it took three weeks to get the correct one!!!

Overall I am very satisfied though. I now have 18 machines purchased between mid 1999 and a couple of months ago and I can count the number of times I have needed repairs on fewer than ten fingers. Probably the total accumulated lost time due to repairs is less than about eight to ten weeks so I really do not have grounds for serious complaint.

[PBMW]

That's encouraging.
I spoke with Vince Selway about the service issues and he told me that his company was trying hard to improve the service issues some people have had. I have my machines serviced by an independant company now, so I was curious about Selways service (which you don't use) and the factory's. I called the factory a year and a half ago about my lathe, the head of service told me he would get right back to me. That was a year and a half ago. Never heard another thing from him.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by PBMW That's encouraging. I spoke with Vince Selway about the service issues and he told me that his company was trying hard to improve the service issues some people have had. I have my machines serviced by an independant company now, so I was curious about Selways service (which you don't use) and the factory's. I called the factory a year and a half ago about my lathe, the head of service told me he would get right back to me. That was a year and a half ago. Never heard another thing from him.

We have had issues with Selway as well. They are not very prompt, not very professional, and offer very spotty service.

We've only needed to use them twice, for the initial setup and one service call that they had to come out twice for. We're already wishing they didn't have a monopoly on servicing Haas machines in our area. We'd absolutely go somewhere else if we had a choice.