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General Maxi Lathe - problem starting

R

ringwood

Joined
Mar 9, 2007
Messages
3
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0
Location
Seattle, WA
Hi: I just purchased a General Maxi Lathe. I set it up, turned it on and the digital readout (that indicates your speed) says "SAFE", but the lathe doesn't turn. We've tried everything we can think of to get it going. The manual doesn't have any information useful for this problem, nor does the General website. Has anyone else run across this or does anyone have an idea about what's up? Thanks very much! (p.s. I am brand new to the forum--it's great).
:confused:
 
D

drjcbarton

Joined
May 31, 2005
Messages
55
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0
Return to point of purchase. I spoke with my local Woodcraft owner about the Maxi when it first came out and he told me they had to replace an electronics board in their demo machine right away and that there appears to have been a number of units sold with defective control boards...
 
K

KEW

Joined
Jun 9, 2005
Messages
340
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0
Location
North Metro Atlanta
I'm afraid I know nothing about your lathe and this is a total "shot in the dark", but since it says "safe" there may be some sort of safety which prevents the lathe from turning on if it is in an unsafe condition.
I can think of two reasons a manufacturer might do this.
1) the spindle lock is engaged
2) the RPM needs to be set to 0 before the motor will energize.

It would be impressive if your lathe has either of these lock-outs, but I would check before returning the machine.
 
C

CPeter

Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Messages
10
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0
Location
Barnstead, NH
General did in fact have problems with the circuit board and delayed shipping for almost three months getting it worked out. They finally got second or third generation board installed in the machines in their stock and started shipping about the first week in February. A friend of mine has one it for the money it is a very nice machine. It definitely is NOT a mini.

CPeter
 
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