"Jo-Anne & Edward Tabachek" wrote in message
...
I looked at and touched one of these at a dealer's show room last February
and was quite impressed with the quality of castings and machining. Tool
rest banjo and tailstock moved smoothly and easily. I did not try to move
the headstock. The one that I saw was the electronic VS model; General
also makes a mechanical VS model that is less money. This kind of lathe,
with the longer bed, would, I, believe make an excellent machine for a
furniture shop. It would be good for hollowing with a captured boring
bar, but the less than 20 inch swing would be too limiting for many
turners. On the other hand the price is a whole lot less than a 20 inch
260. I did not think the supplied stand was up to General's old standard.
It looked and felt flimsy. This piece of metal would need modification and
beefing up. Might be better to have a custom steel or wooden stand
fabricated or DIY.

I would be tempted to wait until the clones come out. Like the way King
copied the 25-100 Maxi lathe, exactly. And sold it for a whole lot less
money.



I'm not sure if King copied the Maxi lathe. I don't doubt that it looks like
the Maxi but I think the basic designs come out of a factory and the
manufacturers like General International and King then have them painted and
labelled for their companies. If asked what the difference is, the stock
reply is that "our inspectors use tighter specs and better internal parts
that you can't see". I must admit in the case of the bigger lathes being
discussed the General 260 looking bed is a bit of a wrinkle in my point.
Billh