Recommendations?

how small or what is the upper size limit

i have seen some truly small ones that are about 18 inches long

i see a lot of mini lathes for sale and of course there are midis too

It seems to me that some "midis" are the same size as some "minis". I have been looking at, among others: General 14"x17"

King 12"x18"

Rikon VS (12.5"x20") Graham

Graham

The LV price is in Canadian$. $849 = ~US$650. Graham

Since you're familiar with the General brand, might I suggest the

25-200VS "maxi-lathe". I've had one for several years now and love the pivoting head, the electronic variable speed, and the large capacity outboard capability.

Like several people, I had the first variable speed control go bad, but it was replaced promptly and I haven't had any trouble since. If that bothers you, I'd suggest looking for another mini with at least the pivoting head feature. Really makes it easier on your back to turn the head out 30-40 degrees.

marketeers like to give new definitions to words blurring the lines like maxi for the general

the 25-200 has speed control and a swivel head

if i ever get another lathe it will have electronic variable speed control and maybe a swivel head

have heard that grizzly stuff has improved heard that one of the newer and larger lathes was getting a lot of mention but not sure if that means their bench top lathe is better

have seen many small lathes on craigslist but have only looked in usa

That looks ideal but does the speed control box project in front of the headstock? Graham

The Rikon looks to be pretty good. I checked one in the LV store here and the live centre was dead in line with the spur drive, a good sign of accuracy and overall quality. Graham

Electric Comet is right, "What size are you looking for?" Since you have a General 160, a 10" mini just might fill the bill. BUT make sure the head stock and tailstock are #2 Morse taper AND the headstock has a 1x8 thread p attern. That way you will be able to use your chucks on both lathes.

My understanding it that General no longer builds any lathes in Canada

I've seen nothing bad about the Rikon

There is also the Jet 1015VS and 1221VS, both have a solid rep. Regionally (Seattle) have the Jet/PM "factory outlet" and we can score major deals on returned/ damaged (repaired) units

I couldn't think what you meant until I took a closer look at the photo on their site. Sure looks like it, doesn't it? But I know it doesn't get in the way on mine, so I looked around a little more. Here's a picture from a better angle:

It does appear to project a little bit, but it is still behind the boss that holds the headstock bearing. As can be deduced by the second photo.

BTW, I see that user has done the same thing I did. The outboard extension came on the left end of the lathe, so I had to rotate the head to use it. I moved it to the right end to fix that so the left end is near a wall and the right end is at the end of the cabinet I've mounted it on. I just took the head off, reversed the bed, and remounted the head.

But reading some reviews on one site, it seems there is still an appreciable rate of failure in the electronics. You might want to talk to General about that. I'd hesitate to recommend the lathe if it hadn't been that my second control has lasted for years.

If mine does ever fail, I think I'd just turn to some of the computer hardware experts rather than return it to General - especially if I could talk them out of a circuit diagram :-).

I wonder if the electronic failure was due to the control being made in China and your replacement was made in the US. General used to be a proud Canadian company (like Powermatic in the US) but I don't know who owns it now. Many thanks for all your input! I've been thinking about how I would re-arrange my "shop", which is in a corner of my basement. Graham

The foundry was closed some years ago and, AIUI, the company sold. All the products are now called General International, made in Taiwan or the PRC, the only link with the General of old being the distinctive green paint jobs.

That's good to know as there is one in a local showroom owned by people I trust.

It seems to be of very good quality.

I think the Craftex brand sold by Busy Bee in Canada is re-branded Jet.

So many come from the same factory and just have different paint jobs. Graham

To a very large extent, the big lathe can do small projects, and not so much vice-versa.

Given you have a decent-quality large lathe, what do you find limiting about it that makes you want a smaller one? Does it have a terribly limited top speed?

A jeweler's or watch-maker's lathe starts to get into the range where it's actually easier to do work of that scale on a lathe of that scale. Chessmen, pens etc are no problem on a full-sized lathe, IMPE, unless the full sized lathe has issues, and those will be issues for any size of work, if perhaps more blatant on small-scale work.