Grizzlyss
Member
I have the General Maxi-Lathe, not VS model, as I couldn't justify the extra $350.00 for the Variable Speed, since I am new at this. The General is a very solid lathe, quiet, and powerful. The motor is on the bottom but it does have a cover over it to help protect it from all the shavings. It must be pretty good as Lee Valley uses them for almost all of the instore classes and demos. The only problem I had with mine was that the tail stock didn't perfectly line up with the head stock, from front to back, that is if you stand above it and look down. I contacted the company in Quebec, and they were a little helpful, but could not full correct the problem. I tried loosening the head stock and moving it the 1 mm needed to get it alligned, but I could not move it enough, so I took the head off, and gently filed the both front sides, and left rear side so that it could be turned just that little bit(if needed), it took me about an hour to do ,only because I took my time and only did a few file strokes at a time then put it back together, to check progress. the next day I got a call fom the Western Canada regional manager and he apoligised profusely that it wasn't perfect right out of the box, as it is supposed to be, and gave me his phone number incase I had any other problems, then he could look after them personally. He was glad that I was able to fix this my self and asked me many questions so that he could verify that I had done it correctly so as the warranty would still be covered, and that it was indeed working correctly now and properly aligned. I was worried that even though the head stock point and tail stock points were touching perfectly, that they may not be parallel to each other but he showed me a way to check that and indeed it is parallel. In use, I have only made 4 pens to date (no drill press really slows me down.) but it has worked perfectly each time and is easily adjusted in every way I can think of, in use terms. At 106 lbs you need a hand to move it, but that weight makes it very stable and quiet. You can even get a bed extension for it if needed, and a stand is available too if you want everything to match. I am happy with my purchase, as at $300 Cdn it was very affordable and of much better quality I thought than the Delta and Canwood models I had seen around, this is one beefy machine, I like it. If you have any other questions, or concerns please feel free to ask, I will answer everything to the best of my ability. Again, because I have only turned 4 pens to date, 2x Cocobolo, Purpleheart, and Bocote, you should take what I say with a grain of salt. As a matter of fact take all the salt, I never uses it, it's bad for the blood pressure. LOL.
