I know this subject has been done to death but
 

I'm looking at buying a small lathe, and I came accross one KMStools.com
was selling by a company called kings, it looked very nice for the
price(399$)
cast iron, swiveling head, toolrest/extension faceplates etc all
included.
its got variable speed, and seems to be fairly sturdy looking, the only
downside being its high low speed 600rpm, as one of the main things I'm
doing is drilling a hole with the tailstock and then tapping with a
handheld tap, I'm worried it might be too high of a low speed.
it had 2 inches more swing then the jet and general lathes, and weighs
70lbs more then the general.
it doesn't say the motor in hp, only says that it is an 8 amp motor.
The next choice is the next size down of king lathe, this being almost
the same as the general maxi(low speed of 480, no variable speed, 10" by
15")
but I can't find a price for it anywhere.

the general maxi is 449$ for 10"x15"
The general is definetly nice, quite a bit heavier then the delta or jet
at over 100lbs.
its the same as the one at work that is used for finishing, with a low
speed of 480 according to kms and 580 according to house of tools.

the only drawback being no variable speed, no reverse, which is useful
for backing the tap out of the hole.

The jet mini seems to be decent, cast iron bed, low speed of 500,
variable speed although I can't find whether or not it has reverse.
from amazon its 299$-25$ if purchased before october 10. although it
says they can only ship inside the US of A.
any idea why? it means that I must pay a lot more to get one here.



any suggestions on which to go with, i.e. which will last better and
have best resale value, and more likely to be reliable.

I'm sort of thinking I will perhaps go cheaper(getting the jet, or the
smaller king lathe if I can find it.)
and then buying a cordless drill and using that for drilling and tapping.

any thoughts or suggestions appreciated, my budget for tools lathe and
everything is around 600$, if there is something far superior (reverse
and low speed being superior for my work) for say 700$ I would go with
that.


thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.


-Reyd

--

Maybe I'm just a pessimist and am totally wrong; I could live quite
happily with that.
-SATAN
Sane people are just lunatics in denial.
_Delta Nine

Sounds similar to the one Harbor Freight sells for $239.

Wayne in Phoenix

Reyd wrote:

The next choice is the next size down of king lathe, this being almost
the same as the general maxi(low speed of 480, no variable speed, 10" by
15")
but I can't find a price for it anywhere.

the general maxi is 449$ for 10"x15"
The general is definetly nice, quite a bit heavier then the delta or jet
at over 100lbs.
its the same as the one at work that is used for finishing, with a low
speed of 480 according to kms and 580 according to house of tools.

the only drawback being no variable speed, no reverse, which is useful
for backing the tap out of the hole.

The General maxi is a very well built lathe, I've been using it for a
couple months on loan from our woodturning club. The only thing I don't
like about it is the very short headstock, only about 3" between
bearings--I get a lot of chatter when turning and hollowing even a small
vessel where the tailstock isn't used. Another minus is that the pulleys
are out on a thin shaft, with no outboard support. But it's got a hollow
tailstock, which is a big selling point. If the King clone is cheaper,
I'd look into it. It looks identical to me.

Looks like that King lathe you mention has a motor integral with the
headstock--if so, they are not easy or cheap to service. With any other
lathe with a seperate motor, you could have an auxilliary motor with
it's own belt for the low speeds you need. It could be a little 1/4 hp
with gear reduction, rigged up on the back side of a lathe--A DC
universal motor with a reverse switch.

P.S.--The little King MegaLathe is listed on sale at $299 CAD ($319
regular price) at Tool Junkie,
http://www.tooljunkie.com/info.asp?r=specials&pid=1621

Ken Grunke
http://www.token.crwoodturner.com/



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On Thu, 02 Sep 2004 16:36:15 GMT, Reyd wrote:


any thoughts or suggestions appreciated, my budget for tools lathe and
everything is around 600$, if there is something far superior (reverse
and low speed being superior for my work) for say 700$ I would go with
that.

You won't get a new lathe with reverse for less than $1700. Reverse is available only on ELECTRONICALLY variable speed lathes. The
sub-$1000 lathes have a MECHANICAL variable speed (i.e. variable sheeves or pulleys). You best bet would be a Nova 3000. Comes
with a 1.5hp motor and 8 speeds (as low as 215 RPM). You can add a variable speed motor and controller at a later date for as
little as $300 (www.dealerselectric.com).

Peter Teubel
Milford, MA
http://www.revolutionary-turners.com

Hi there Peter


Peter you might need some help from a competent electrician but it is
very possible to make a utility motor run forward and reverse, when the
centrifugal switch in my lathe motor came apart, I bought a 1.5 hp motor
and wired her up to run in both directions, (with the help of my good
friend who is a industrial electrician) so I know it can be done.
Depending on the type of lathe, motors and pulleys can be changed for
speed options and I would think for less than $300

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo


On Thu, 02 Sep 2004 16:36:15 GMT, Reyd wrote:



any thoughts or suggestions appreciated, my budget for tools lathe and
everything is around 600$, if there is something far superior (reverse
and low speed being superior for my work) for say 700$ I would go with
that.


You won't get a new lathe with reverse for less than $1700. Reverse is available only on ELECTRONICALLY variable speed lathes. The
sub-$1000 lathes have a MECHANICAL variable speed (i.e. variable sheeves or pulleys). You best bet would be a Nova 3000. Comes
with a 1.5hp motor and 8 speeds (as low as 215 RPM). You can add a variable speed motor and controller at a later date for as
little as $300 (www.dealerselectric.com).

Peter Teubel
Milford, MA
http://www.revolutionary-turners.com

thanks, My boss uses the general maxi and it chatters without tailstock
too.
He said he is going to look into adding a reverse switch, does anyone
here know if you can do that to the general(he knows lots and lots about
rewinding and electrics and such)
but he doesn't know if the general can have it done.

do you know of anyone who's used a king lathe? I can't find much about
them.
it looks like an exact copy of the general maxi, I'm just wondering
about the quality since its so much cheaper.
and would it have the hollow tailstock as well?
rather useful since I need to be swapping between drill and live center
all the time.
Has anybody here had any experiance with fisch lathes?
I found a very similar fisch one, and all the reviews were good about
the lathe, it looked very well built, but they had very bad reviews for
customer service.
although amazon can only ship to the US of A as usual, which is a pity
considering the price and the fact that they throw in a detail tool set
which is exactly the size I need for work.

on a side note does anyone know if oneway has a jawset with the
triangular shaped reinforcing on the outside of the jaws(like vicmark or
axminster)
I was hoping to find a cheaper one with the outside reinforcing that I
need for work.



sorry for so many questions again, but I've finally got enough to start
getting equiped, and the fact that I can pay for my hobby with my hobby
and have some left over encourages me too.


In article ,
"Ken G." wrote:

Reyd wrote:

The next choice is the next size down of king lathe, this being almost
the same as the general maxi(low speed of 480, no variable speed, 10" by
15")
but I can't find a price for it anywhere.

the general maxi is 449$ for 10"x15"
The general is definetly nice, quite a bit heavier then the delta or jet
at over 100lbs.
its the same as the one at work that is used for finishing, with a low
speed of 480 according to kms and 580 according to house of tools.

the only drawback being no variable speed, no reverse, which is useful
for backing the tap out of the hole.

The General maxi is a very well built lathe, I've been using it for a
couple months on loan from our woodturning club. The only thing I don't
like about it is the very short headstock, only about 3" between
bearings--I get a lot of chatter when turning and hollowing even a small
vessel where the tailstock isn't used. Another minus is that the pulleys
are out on a thin shaft, with no outboard support. But it's got a hollow
tailstock, which is a big selling point. If the King clone is cheaper,
I'd look into it. It looks identical to me.

Looks like that King lathe you mention has a motor integral with the
headstock--if so, they are not easy or cheap to service. With any other
lathe with a seperate motor, you could have an auxilliary motor with
it's own belt for the low speeds you need. It could be a little 1/4 hp
with gear reduction, rigged up on the back side of a lathe--A DC
universal motor with a reverse switch.

P.S.--The little King MegaLathe is listed on sale at $299 CAD ($319
regular price) at Tool Junkie,
http://www.tooljunkie.com/info.asp?r=specials&pid=1621

Ken Grunke
http://www.token.crwoodturner.com/



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--

Maybe I'm just a pessimist and am totally wrong; I could live quite
happily with that.
-SATAN
Sane people are just lunatics in denial.
_Delta Nine

Hello Ryed
The KMS store in Abbotsford had the General "Midi" and the King clone set up
side by side (last March). To me they looked identical - like twins -
except for colour. Personally, I would prefer the General; at least for
the company name behind the after sales service. OTOH, I believe that when
both of these machines are made in the orient, a buyer may find either one
suitably good or bad.
Wood working shows are coming up and both companies are bound to have
reduced prices on their machines.
Edward

In article ,
"edward tabachek" wrote:

Hello Ryed
The KMS store in Abbotsford had the General "Midi" and the King clone set up
side by side (last March). To me they looked identical - like twins -
except for colour. Personally, I would prefer the General; at least for
the company name behind the after sales service. OTOH, I believe that when
both of these machines are made in the orient, a buyer may find either one
suitably good or bad.
Wood working shows are coming up and both companies are bound to have
reduced prices on their machines.
Edward

thanks, if I get a chance to go to the mainland when there is a show on
I'll check it out.
aren't the generals still made in Canada?
I think I may spend double the money and get a nova 3k.
but I would then have to wait quite a while to purchase new tools, a
chuck etc(nessasary for my job)

--

Maybe I'm just a pessimist and am totally wrong; I could live quite
happily with that.
-SATAN
Sane people are just lunatics in denial.
_Delta Nine

Ryed; The General 160's and 260's are made in Canada, but the litthe
mini/midi, model 25-100 (I think) is made in China.. I have this lathe,
and I think it is a pretty good little machine, however, it was not without
its' problems - little things that I enjoyed improving. BTW my friends Jet
tailstock fit the General exactly, not just close but EXACTLY. As if they
were made in the same factory on the same day! Maybe...
Edward