I am new to turning and am currently looking at three lathes available
here in Canada in my price range and am seeking advice from any and all
who have experience with any of these models.

King Canada KWL-1016C
General International 25-100M
Delta Shopmaster LA200

In article , rasberry
wrote:

I am new to turning and am currently looking at three lathes available
here in Canada in my price range and am seeking advice from any and all
who have experience with any of these models.

King Canada KWL-1016C
General International 25-100M
Delta Shopmaster LA200

I've never been impressed with King, GI looks solid and I used to that
Delta, but I would include in that the small Jet/PM (which I recall is
available at some locations)

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This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read
RV and Camping FAQ can be found at
http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv

I'm a pen turner that is looking for unused pen kits, pen kit parts,
unfinished or broken pen kit pens, tools, or any pen making supplies.

Need this for a volunteer project, must be inexpensive.

Al

To reply to me directly: Just remove "REMOVEandADD" from my address at





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In article ,
"Al" wrote:

I'm a pen turner that is looking for unused pen kits, pen kit parts,
unfinished or broken pen kit pens, tools, or any pen making supplies.

Need this for a volunteer project, must be inexpensive.

Al

To reply to me directly: Just remove "REMOVEandADD" from my address at


Al... you don't need to post this every day, and what is your project?

--
--------------------------------------------------------
Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org
This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read
RV and Camping FAQ can be found at
http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv

On Sun, 14 Dec 2008 07:58:15 -0800, Ralph E Lindberg wrote:

Al

To reply to me directly: Just remove "REMOVEandADD" from my address at


Al... you don't need to post this every day, and what is your project?

Considering his message came from individual.net and went through servers
in Germany and Belgium, I'm a mite suspicious.

Came from me in SoCA, USA?

I'm putting together a "learn to make pens" learning outing for Boys & Girls
club.

Al (never been to Belgium or Germany but I'm sure they are nice)

BTW: Sorry for the double post. My first post left some stuff out so I
thought I'd try it again, SORRY!

"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message
news
On Sun, 14 Dec 2008 07:58:15 -0800, Ralph E Lindberg wrote:

Al

To reply to me directly: Just remove "REMOVEandADD" from my address at


Al... you don't need to post this every day, and what is your project?

Considering his message came from individual.net and went through servers
in Germany and Belgium, I'm a mite suspicious.





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I have 2 "news" servers. One is COX cable and it is terrible!!! I
subscribe to another (newsfeeds.com) that lets me access almost every
newserver. What you are seeing is "newsfeeds" anonymous stuff.

You can be as suspicious as you want... doesn't hurt my feelings! It also
doesn't change the fact that I live and work in the San Diego area of
California, USA. I suspect that I have been "lurking" this group longer
than you have been posting here? In fact if you search hard enough you
might find one of my rare posts from years ago?

The world often turns out not to be as we suspect...

Al


"Dave Balderstone" wrote in message
news:141220082138032123%dave@N_O_T_T_H_I_Sbalderst one.ca...
In article , Larry
Blanchard wrote:

On Sun, 14 Dec 2008 07:58:15 -0800, Ralph E Lindberg wrote:

Al

To reply to me directly: Just remove "REMOVEandADD" from my address
at


Al... you don't need to post this every day, and what is your project?

Considering his message came from individual.net and went through servers
in Germany and Belgium, I'm a mite suspicious.


individual.net is a fantastic, low cost, anti-spam, no binaries, NSP
based at the University of Berlin, so I'd be suspicious if his post
(and this one) DIDN'T pass through servers in Germany and Belgium.




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In article ,
Larry Blanchard wrote:

On Sun, 14 Dec 2008 07:58:15 -0800, Ralph E Lindberg wrote:

Al

To reply to me directly: Just remove "REMOVEandADD" from my address at


Al... you don't need to post this every day, and what is your project?

Considering his message came from individual.net and went through servers
in Germany and Belgium, I'm a mite suspicious.

So did mine, so what.

--
--------------------------------------------------------
Personal e-mail is the n7bsn but at amsat.org
This posting address is a spam-trap and seldom read
RV and Camping FAQ can be found at
http://www.ralphandellen.us/rv

On Mon, 15 Dec 2008 05:08:14 -0800, Al wrote:

I have 2 "news" servers. One is COX cable and it is terrible!!! I
subscribe to another (newsfeeds.com) that lets me access almost every
newserver. What you are seeing is "newsfeeds" anonymous stuff.

And your path today shows "MISMATCH". You may be perfectly legit, but
I've learned to be suspicious of posters who hide behind anonymous and/or
misdirecting news servers. If my suspicions are unwarranted in your case,
I apologize.

If you're just trying to avoid spam, try getting a decent newsreader with
good filtering ability and/or open another account that you check
infrequently and use that return address in your posts (as I do with
fastmail).

This is the last that I'll post on this except if anyone has any questions.

The reason that I use newsfeeds.com is for the retention and the coverage.
Many people use these servers for swapping programs and staying anonymous.
I don't! Unfortunately I have no choice which features I like and which I
don't care about. I like newsfeeds because if there is a newsgroup that I'm
interested in I only have to fire off an email message (if they don't
already carry the group!) and they add it on short notice. Also, I can
ignore a particular newsgroup for months and always catch up with the
postings that I've missed.

That said, although it's been many months since my last postings, I'm not
new here. I'm also not new to Usenet. I've been communicating in this
fashion since 1989 when I had a university account. In all of my time on
Usenet I've never been accused of wronging anyone! In fact, I still feel a
little odd posting my wanted message. At one time time/space was so rare
that posting anything for sale, for trade, or even wanted was severely
frowned upon. Now it is the norm, unfortunately, and we have to wade
through a mountain of s#1t to get to the nuggets if information and
discussion. I often get so burned out by the garbage that I take a few
months away.

Al


And your path today shows "MISMATCH". You may be perfectly legit, but
I've learned to be suspicious of posters who hide behind anonymous and/or
misdirecting news servers. If my suspicions are unwarranted in your case,
I apologize.

If you're just trying to avoid spam, try getting a decent newsreader with
good filtering ability and/or open another account that you check
infrequently and use that return address in your posts (as I do with
fastmail).





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Posted Via Newsfeeds.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Service
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.Newsfeeds.com

On Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:16:28 -0800, Al wrote:

This is the last that I'll post on this except if anyone has any questions.

The reason that I use newsfeeds.com is for the retention and the coverage.
Many people use these servers for swapping programs and staying anonymous.
I don't! Unfortunately I have no choice which features I like and which I
don't care about.

That said, although it's been many months since my last postings, I'm not
new here. I'm also not new to Usenet. I've been communicating in this
fashion since 1989 when I had a university account.

OK, you've quieted my suspicions. BTW, before Usenet there was Fido and I
participated in that. In fact, I started programming computers in 1956.
So I'm not some young whippersnapper sniping at my elders. Although as
creaky as I'm getting, I sometimes wish I was :-).

rasberry.... i'm a turner in Calgary and have been turning for a number of years now....started with an old coronet late...went to a union jubillee full size...sold that...got a jet...and now own a General 25-200....advise...if you think you may get hooked..look at the general 200 vs the 100...the differences are substantial...if you can justify the small price difference having variable speed and a more powerful moter, more weight, are well worth while....over the years the cost will seem incidental....this 200 machine turns as well as anything I have worked on...if you get hooked you're going to want to upgrade sooner rather than later....check it out and happy shavings to you!!!!

Ken

"rasberry" wrote in message ...
I am new to turning and am currently looking at three lathes available
here in Canada in my price range and am seeking advice from any and all
who have experience with any of these models.

King Canada KWL-1016C
General International 25-100M
Delta Shopmaster LA200

On Sun, 04 Jan 2009 13:45:03 +0000, KC wrote:

rasberry.... i'm a turner in Calgary and have been turning for a number
of years now....started with an old coronet late...went to a union
jubillee full size...sold that...got a jet...and now own a General
25-200.


....this 200 machine turns as well as anything I have
worked on...if you get hooked you're going to want to upgrade sooner
rather than later....check it out and happy shavings to you!!!!

Ken

I also have the 200 - you forgot to mention the swivel head and the
outboard 18" swing. It's a great lathe.

But General has had some problems with the speed control circuitry. My
first one didn't work out of the box, the second one lasted for a year.
I'm now on the 3rd and keeping my fingers crossed.

But General is very good about service and is now offering a limited
lifetime waranty. So if you're willing to take a chance on an occasional
outage, it's still a great lathe.

--
It's turtles, all the way down

On Sun, 04 Jan 2009 10:56:35 -0600, Larry Blanchard
wrote:

On Sun, 04 Jan 2009 13:45:03 +0000, KC wrote:

rasberry.... i'm a turner in Calgary and have been turning for a number
of years now....started with an old coronet late...went to a union
jubillee full size...sold that...got a jet...and now own a General
25-200.


...this 200 machine turns as well as anything I have
worked on...if you get hooked you're going to want to upgrade sooner
rather than later....check it out and happy shavings to you!!!!

Ken

I also have the 200 - you forgot to mention the swivel head and the
outboard 18" swing. It's a great lathe.

But General has had some problems with the speed control circuitry. My
first one didn't work out of the box, the second one lasted for a year.
I'm now on the 3rd and keeping my fingers crossed.

But General is very good about service and is now offering a limited
lifetime waranty. So if you're willing to take a chance on an occasional
outage, it's still a great lathe.

I too have the same General, the first controller failed
even before I start using it. The company that's sell it to
me replaced it immediately. Now, after using it for less
than a month the controller look like it's going to failed
soon. The two years warranty coming up very shortly, what
should I do (call the seller or General)? Further, anyone
know what's wrong with the controller and maybe replacing
certain parts in the circuit board?

Thanks

On Sun, 04 Jan 2009 10:56:35 -0600, Larry Blanchard
wrote:

Hi Larry,

Did you also buy the bed extension, any good? Further, do
you have any suggestion for a lathe duplicator for this
lathe. I use this lathe for turn parts like pen and small
objects?

Thanks

On Sun, 04 Jan 2009 13:45:03 +0000, KC wrote:

rasberry.... i'm a turner in Calgary and have been turning for a number
of years now....started with an old coronet late...went to a union
jubillee full size...sold that...got a jet...and now own a General
25-200.


...this 200 machine turns as well as anything I have
worked on...if you get hooked you're going to want to upgrade sooner
rather than later....check it out and happy shavings to you!!!!

Ken

I also have the 200 - you forgot to mention the swivel head and the
outboard 18" swing. It's a great lathe.

But General has had some problems with the speed control circuitry. My
first one didn't work out of the box, the second one lasted for a year.
I'm now on the 3rd and keeping my fingers crossed.

But General is very good about service and is now offering a limited
lifetime waranty. So if you're willing to take a chance on an occasional
outage, it's still a great lathe.

On Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:35:15 -0800, Turner wrote:

Hi Larry,

Did you also buy the bed extension, any good? Further, do you have any
suggestion for a lathe duplicator for this lathe. I use this lathe for
turn parts like pen and small objects?


No, I didn't get the extension, but it's hard to really screw up what is
just a milled chunk of cast iron :-).

I have no experience or info on a duplicator.

As I mentioned, I've been happy with General's service, so if you're
having trouble call them.

And if anyone who has one of these lathes is, or has a friend who is, an
EE we'd all like to know what he/she thinks of the circuitry.

--
It's turtles, all the way down

"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message
om...
And if anyone who has one of these lathes is, or has a friend who is, an
EE we'd all like to know what he/she thinks of the circuitry.

No EE but electronincs tech I am. Also a professional machinist ( more than
you needed to know, I'm sure). The only reason(s) that I would ever own an
electronic variable speed lathe a
(1) It was cheap.
(2) It was easily convertable to step pully drive.
EVS is a (very, very) minor convenience. Speeds for turning wood are VERY
non criticle. What are you going to do ten years down the road when it stops
working and there are no replacements?

On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:38:18 -0800, CW wrote:

are you going to do ten years down the road when it stops working and
there are no replacements?

Get it repaired? I can't imagine the kinds of components on the board
(yes I've looked at it) becoming unavailable. In fact, the board looks a
lot like some model railroad throttles - Hmmmmmm :-).

Why did I choose this lathe? I have a tiny shop/shed. The only place
for a lathe is on top of a storage cabinet in one corner. The General
was the biggest lathe I could find that would fit in the space.

By reversing the bed so that the outboard tool rest was on the tailstock
end, I can turn an 18"+ bowl. Nothing else that fit would swing over 12".

Because of the mounting space and my ancient back muscles, the swivel
head is a great advantage. Turning outboard would have been almost
acceptable, but even there swinging a tool handle to the far right runs
into the wall.

As far as the utility of variable speed, I belong to a turners
association and I'd guess most of the members own lathes with variable
speeds. We have demonstrations at every meeting and the speed control on
the club lathe (Powermatic) always gets a workout :-). I can see where
variable speed would be less needed for someone who mainly does spindle
turning.

Finally, the General was not only the biggest lathe I could fit in, it
was by far the heaviest. That sucker just doesn't vibrate! And the
price, while more than the other minis on the market, was a lot less than
some full size lathes with less features.

Those are my reasons. YMMV. I still consider myself a novice at
turning, so nobody should take my comments as gospel.

PS: A friend has the large General lathe and he loves it. It has not had
any problems with speed control.

--
It's turtles, all the way down

On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:07:25 -0600, Larry Blanchard
wrote:

Hi Larry is your email real, like to email you? :-)

On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:38:18 -0800, CW wrote:

are you going to do ten years down the road when it stops working and
there are no replacements?

Get it repaired? I can't imagine the kinds of components on the board
(yes I've looked at it) becoming unavailable. In fact, the board looks a
lot like some model railroad throttles - Hmmmmmm :-).

Why did I choose this lathe? I have a tiny shop/shed. The only place
for a lathe is on top of a storage cabinet in one corner. The General
was the biggest lathe I could find that would fit in the space.

By reversing the bed so that the outboard tool rest was on the tailstock
end, I can turn an 18"+ bowl. Nothing else that fit would swing over 12".

Because of the mounting space and my ancient back muscles, the swivel
head is a great advantage. Turning outboard would have been almost
acceptable, but even there swinging a tool handle to the far right runs
into the wall.

As far as the utility of variable speed, I belong to a turners
association and I'd guess most of the members own lathes with variable
speeds. We have demonstrations at every meeting and the speed control on
the club lathe (Powermatic) always gets a workout :-). I can see where
variable speed would be less needed for someone who mainly does spindle
turning.

Finally, the General was not only the biggest lathe I could fit in, it
was by far the heaviest. That sucker just doesn't vibrate! And the
price, while more than the other minis on the market, was a lot less than
some full size lathes with less features.

Those are my reasons. YMMV. I still consider myself a novice at
turning, so nobody should take my comments as gospel.

PS: A friend has the large General lathe and he loves it. It has not had
any problems with speed control.

agree with you Larry...i guess i got lucky with the speed control...have had
the machine for a little over a year now and no probs....as far as
vibration...What Vibration??? I agreethis thing is like a rock

Ken

"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:38:18 -0800, CW wrote:

are you going to do ten years down the road when it stops working and
there are no replacements?

Get it repaired? I can't imagine the kinds of components on the board
(yes I've looked at it) becoming unavailable. In fact, the board looks a
lot like some model railroad throttles - Hmmmmmm :-).

Why did I choose this lathe? I have a tiny shop/shed. The only place
for a lathe is on top of a storage cabinet in one corner. The General
was the biggest lathe I could find that would fit in the space.

By reversing the bed so that the outboard tool rest was on the tailstock
end, I can turn an 18"+ bowl. Nothing else that fit would swing over 12".

Because of the mounting space and my ancient back muscles, the swivel
head is a great advantage. Turning outboard would have been almost
acceptable, but even there swinging a tool handle to the far right runs
into the wall.

As far as the utility of variable speed, I belong to a turners
association and I'd guess most of the members own lathes with variable
speeds. We have demonstrations at every meeting and the speed control on
the club lathe (Powermatic) always gets a workout :-). I can see where
variable speed would be less needed for someone who mainly does spindle
turning.

Finally, the General was not only the biggest lathe I could fit in, it
was by far the heaviest. That sucker just doesn't vibrate! And the
price, while more than the other minis on the market, was a lot less than
some full size lathes with less features.

Those are my reasons. YMMV. I still consider myself a novice at
turning, so nobody should take my comments as gospel.

PS: A friend has the large General lathe and he loves it. It has not had
any problems with speed control.

--
It's turtles, all the way down

On Tue, 06 Jan 2009 10:36:17 -0800, Turner wrote:


Hi Larry is your email real, like to email you? :-)


Yes, but it's one I don't check every day.

What do you have to say to me that wouldn't be of interest to others in
this group?

--
It's turtles, all the way down

I had no luck with the speed control.... see here for a brief on what
happened, and why I decided against General:
http://www.backspacecomputer.com/blog/?p=59


"KC" wrote in message news:YDO8l.2017$Db2.1887@edtnps83...
agree with you Larry...i guess i got lucky with the speed control...have
had


Those are my reasons. YMMV. I still consider myself a novice at
turning, so nobody should take my comments as gospel.

PS: A friend has the large General lathe and he loves it. It has not had
any problems with speed control.

--
It's turtles, all the way down

"xcaper" wrote in message ...
I had no luck with the speed control.... see here for a brief on what
happened, and why I decided against General:
http://www.backspacecomputer.com/blog/?p=59


"KC" wrote in message news:YDO8l.2017$Db2.1887@edtnps83...
agree with you Larry...i guess i got lucky with the speed control...have
had


Those are my reasons. YMMV. I still consider myself a novice at
turning, so nobody should take my comments as gospel.

PS: A friend has the large General lathe and he loves it. It has not had
any problems with speed control.

--
It's turtles, all the way down


I wonder if the origin of the General lathe you are talking about is not the same as this one.
http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture10?NTITEM=CT128
I had plan to purchase it but after reading your comments I am having second thought.

On Sat, 10 Jan 2009 09:43:54 -0400, Denis M wrote:

"xcaper" wrote in message
...
I had no luck with the speed control.... see here for a brief on what
happened, and why I decided against General:
http://www.backspacecomputer.com/blog/?p=59



That's not the same lathe - we were talking about the 200, you're talking
about the 300. But I agree you had a bad experience, the question is
whether your experience was typical.

--
It's turtles, all the way down

Denis,
The craftx unit is completely different then the General I tried.
As an fyi - I owned the next version down craftx lathe (with manual speed
control). It was an excellent starter lathe and I used it for 2 years
non-stop. It eventually snapped the internal gearing used to adjust the belt
position, and in all honesty, it was probably used more than it was intended
to as a hobby lathe. No regrets here by having a busybee lathe as my first
one.
When the gearing went, it was, to me, time to move to something different,
rather than repair the busybee unit. (I needed the motor for buffing)
I then went to the lathe that Sears sells ( see Darrells site for some great
info), and when I had to replace the belts after a year, I decided the price
of the belts, and the associated annoying replacement procedure, was not
worth having to do again. The sears unit now sits idle under one of my
workbenches - I hold onto it as it came with the duplicator unit, and figure
some day I may need it! : )


"Denis M" wrote in message
...



I wonder if the origin of the General lathe you are talking about is not the
same as this one.
http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/picture10?NTITEM=CT128
I had plan to purchase it but after reading your comments I am having second
thought.

Correct, its the 300 - with all the "commonality" across models, figured it
was worth mentioning.
The kicker is I really liked the overall design of the 300, and the size was
perfect for my needs.

"Larry Blanchard" wrote in message
om...


That's not the same lathe - we were talking about the 200, you're talking
about the 300. But I agree you had a bad experience, the question is
whether your experience was typical.