>I started turning a few items earlier this year on an old Walker Turner lathe," you can just see a small part of it in the first picture". and after fitting it with a new 1hp motor I really started to enjoy the turning but I was limited in the size of turnings that I could do.
So when this deal came around I poundered for the better part of a week and a weekend over whether I should get this lathe, she came to me used but the previous owner only had her for about 14 months before wanting to get a larger lathe. She is upgrading to a VB36 need I say more. So the long and short of it is that I couldn't resist and now she's come home.
>I should have mentioned this since you can not see it in the picture, but the speed control and on off switch has been relocated onto a remote box with a magnetic back via a long extension cord. This was done so that she would be able to place the switch where ever it was easiest to get to.
>Congrats John, I turn on one also....so do several others here. Looks like it was never used judging from the photos....your speed control must be on a seperate box.....
>John, I think you'll be very pleased with your new lathe. I've had mine for about 3 years now and was just thinking today....in a peaceful moment of sanding bliss....how much I love my lathe. I've never regreted choosing the General.
>The General is my favorite partner! He's a solid hunk of iron, does whatever I ask of him, he does it quietly (!) and he's always there when I need him. What more could a woman ask for?!? : )
Congrats on your new lathe! The 260 is the at the top of my big toy wish list. :) If all the others I've heard about are any indication, you will love turning on that lathe.
>Mine came with the direction and speed control located where your blank panel is. I relocated the On/Off switches from the pedestal and the speed control pot to a plastic outdoor electrical box. I was going to use magnets but decided to mount it on a piece of ply with a strip of wood that "catches" in the bed gap. I left the Direction switch where it was.
I mainly turn bowls and I didn't like reaching in front of the spinning bowl to crank the speed up.
If anybody is going to modify their General I caution that where they say high-voltage on the sticker below the ON/OFF switches they aren't fooling. On my lathe, the ON/OFF buttons have 240VAC on them.
>I've had mine for over 5 years and it's has never give me a opportunity to regret the purchase. Like your's I've moved the controls to a box on an umbilical so I have easy access when turning from the back side of the lathe. I also reversed the on/off switch for 2 reasons. I occasionally would hit the stop switch with my knee and secondly I find it easier to find the stop switch when it on top. I hope you enjoy your General as much as I have. It took my turning to the next level.
Either of these lathes would be a nice upgrade for me, and I will be building a new shop and making such an upgrade in the next 6 months... I've been exposed to both, and often cite these as two of the best values in full-sized, serious lathes. (BTW, the DVR is also in the running , especially for spindle turning -- might still need a second "bowl" lathe, though.)
OK, now I have to decide which one I ought to buy ... I like the short bed capability of the 3520 for larger bowls and hollow forms turned at the tail end of the bed, though I've heard a negative comment about the durability of the headstock casting where the mechanism tightens down against the bed ways...(True ?) I also like the local nature of General, which I could get with no shipping if I order one in time for the Totally Turning symposium in Albany, or else I could drive up to Drummondville, PQ, which is just 3 hours from me...
>Thanks for all the positive responces on my purchase.
It's good to know that I made a sound decision on such a large purchase.
Earlier some months back I posted a question on the VL175 which I was seriously looking at but had not yet bitten on it, and yet still dreaming of having this machine but the new price was a little hard to justify for the General.
Then just last week I heard of this lathe being available and now I'm the proud owner of the General for less money than I would have spent on the Vicmark VL175.
>I've had my General for two winters now and turned tons of wood on it.The only thing I don't like about it is that I could never figure out how to program the motor controller to cut power when the off button is hit.Other than that I love it. Pat
