A new General Lathe model?

[David Gillie]

One of my reasons for going to the IWF show in Atlanta this year was to get a close up look a the General lathes (I learned on a General some 30 yrs ago).

If I had my pick, I'd get the Powermatic 24" swing or the top of the line VicMark, but with turning as a hobby, $3k for a lathe isn't an option.

The Canadian General has a model that has an 18" swing that is a remake of thier 12" swing model. It's the old style and is capable of outboard turning for larger work. (problem with outboard turning is you have to pull the lathe away from the wall to work from the "back").

I was impressed with thier new Tiawan (International) model 25-600 which is a 16" swing, but the head rotates to accomodate larger turnings and it slides all the way up and down the bed like the Powermatic. Thus larger turning are done at 90 degrees rather than "from tha back"
I was really impressed with the design and had not seen any literature on this model and still can't find any on the General site.

My reason for posting is to ask if any of you have seen this lathe (or bought it and used it) and what is your opinion of it?

Thanks
~dave

 

[Doug Dubowski]

I have seen nothing to date on this lathe but would certainly like to hear more about it. I am looking hard at a Nova DVR 3000 lathe that this one would seem to compete with for features. Have you tried sending anything to General?

DD

 

[David Gillie]

Well, of course, I saw the lathe "in person" at the show.

They did have a crappy spec sheet on it for the show, but it's still not listed in literature anywhere else.

I was quite impressed with it!

 

[Doug Dubowski]

Received this from General Canada today

"Good afternoon,
Here are the next catalogues pages that I am sending to you.

Please note that these wood lathes
will be available for mid-november approximately.

the prices are going to be:

25-600 m1 @ 1329.00
25-650 m1 @ 1769.00

Hope this helps JDM"

For the most part the two models look the same from the pictures sent, but the 650 has an extra emergency stop button at the tail stock end of the lathe and has a different speed control mechanism. The 600 looks mechanical (much like their other lathes). Not sure if the prices are in Canadian or US funds, but suspect US (what is the price of the Jet 1642 in US?). Both appear to have an extension on the banjo to which the tool rest is attached that could serve the purpose of an outrigger attachment. Asked for more details on the specs. If received I will post here.


DGD

 

[David Gillie]

Having had a chance to look at them up close, they are identical. The 25-600 is mechanical speed control and the 25-650 is electronic. It seems to be a well thought out design. Kind of looks like they took a lot of the good ideas from the Powermatic (but spared us the paint color)

Both models have the movable off button, come with an excellent cage and guard. The ones at the show did not have the outrigger tool rest, but the pics General sent me had the outrigger in the pic. It's 1-1/2 hp 220v,3ph that runs on 110 power. Kind of weird.
It's a 1-1/4" x 8 thread with a #2 MT (I had to get a new insert for my Nova chuck and I have to get new face plates).

I passed the crappy little spec sheet around at my local AAW chapter and they liked the looks of it.

Well, mine is now on order (25-600) and another fellow in the club has his (25-650) on order too. Seems like a great deal for the money.

 

[Doug Dubowski]

Would appreciate if you could provide any feedback on the performance of the lathe once you receive it from General. They are starting to promote the lathes in their fall promotions flyer (25-600) and a local rep here indicated 1-2 day delivery from Montreal, where they are stocked. I was looking for a lathe with all of these features, but with a shorter between centres distance, because of limited space. The Nova DVR 3000 fits that bill, but appears to be running about $800 more than the 25-650. Most of this is tied to the stand accessory for the Nova ($500! Cdn). At leas the General lathes come with the stand.

Have never heard of a comparison or feedback on the relative differences between the variable speed motor on the DVR compared to other electronic variable speed solutions found on other lathes such as the Jet, Powermatic, and now the General.

DGD

 

[Whit]

$500 for a stand for the DVR is a waste of money. I built my stand out of 2x10s and 3/4 plywood. Cost: Under $100. It's heavy but I also made provision for 350 lbs of sand as well. Works great and is very stable.

Our club has a General lathe (can't remember the number) with electronic speed control. It seems to work very well as does the speed control on my DVR. The DVR is quieter and puts more torque/HP to the drive spindle largely due to no belts while the General speed control adjusts slightly faster.

Overall, I prefer my DVR. With the General we have a slight misalignment between the headstock and tailstock (minor, but it's there) and some vibration issues which are more important. The DVR does not have these problems.

Hope this is of some help.

Whit

 

[Doug Dubowski]

Has anyone had the chance to get one of these new General International lathes delivered and if so, how do they shape up?

 

[David Gillie]

We are still waiting for ours but will let you know how they are when they arrive.

 

[woodman]

Hi All I have the 25-650 it is a great machine EXCEPT for one thing. if you have a catch while turning a bowl it trips the inverter and the lathe stops. I have had it for a few months. Mark

 

[KEW]

For the record, I believe you must be talking about the Woodworking show which was earlier this year. The IWF will be 8/20 to 23/08.

Woodman, I hope yours does better, but that is not a good start.

Here is one guys experience with this lathe:
http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbth...62&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=3&vc=1

I hope he just got a lemon, but given General's reluctance to stand behind their machine, I'd stay away.

 

[john lucas]

The Jet 16 will let you turn outboard and the Powermatic 3520b will swing 20" with lots of power and just like the Jet you can slide the headstock down to the end to turn larger. You can also add a short bed extension to the powermatic and set it lower so it will swing 30" and you can still use the tool rest without needing a free standing tool rest.

 

[n7bsn]

For the record, I believe you must be talking about the Woodworking show which was earlier this year. The IWF will be 8/20 to 23/08.
....
I hope he just got a lemon, but given General's reluctance to stand behind their machine, I'd stay away.

Kurt, if you look at the date stamp on the original post, you will note it was made almost 4 years ago

There are a number of issues with this lathe, including that the internal shaft (inside the head-stock) is reduced from the external.

Put together is why I didn't buy that model

 

[KEW]

Thanks!
I was scratching my head, but didn't think about the post date.

Woodman,
I wish you the best, but be prepared for the worst.

 

[Greg Keddy]

Hi All I have the 25-650 it is a great machine EXCEPT for one thing. if you have a catch while turning a bowl it trips the inverter and the lathe stops. I have had it for a few months. Mark

Kurt, if you look at the date stamp on the original post, you will note it was made almost 4 years ago

There are a number of issues with this lathe, including that the internal shaft (inside the head-stock) is reduced from the external.

Put together is why I didn't buy that model

I know I am late to the game with this post, but for those still looking at the General International 25-650, they have released a new model, the 25-650AB. They upgraded the motor to 2HP and the inverter to one that can handle 3HP so the stalling issue should be fixed. They also upgraded the tailstock and got rid of the headstock spindle reduction (why they though reducing it was a good idea, I'll never know).

I dont own one of these (yet) but if anyone out there does, it'd be good to get their impressions because I am looking at buying one in the (hopefully) not too distant future.

 

[hughie]

[]$500 for a stand for the DVR is a waste of money. I built my stand out of 2x10s and 3/4 plywood. Cost: Under $100. It's heavy but I also made provision for 350 lbs of sand as well. Works great and is very stable.

I agree as I make all my own stands with hollow legs to allow for extra weight. On a standard 1m bed lathe you can get the stand out one sheet of plywood, $500 is allot of plywood.

By and large the General range looks to be a good solid design, Although a couple of them look suspiciously similar to some chinese models available down under. If I had my pick it would probably be the 12'' swing EVS maxi.