Finally took the plunge!

[David Colafranceschi]

Well. I am finally entering the world of turning-sort of. Came across a General 260 in the classifieds and after a little negotiating on the telephone I decided to get in my car one Sunday morning. Very early I may add but after five hours on the road my friend and I finally found the spot and proceeded to load it up. I got it fairly cheap and I tested it when I got there and it was running fairly good. Brought it home and decided to tear it apart and completely rebuild it. Just started and need to get some more cosmetic stuff done to it before I paint it and reassemble it. I have decided to stick with the old mechanical drive and just upgrade the motor from a 1HP to a 2HP. New bearings, belts and a few new knobs and stickers are on the way. This is how far I have gotten.

It came with two 6" faceplates, one 3" face plate. 3" tool rest, curved tool rest, v tool rest a bunch of chisels and spurs and a pat on the back with a good luck.

Any tips welcome and I know nothing about turning.

[David Colafranceschi]

It was covered in shellac and varnish and it was a bear to get rid of most of it and still finding hard to get it off the knobs so I just ordered some new ones. I think he was playing the drums on the tail stock since it had some pretty big chunks out of the paint but I am sure it can look new again. I'm curious how easy it will go back together.

[Larry Marley]

congratulations.

Looking forward to seeing the finished machine

[Bernie Weishapl]

Congrats. That is going to be a nice looking lathe when you finish.

[Ken Glass]

David,
Nothing feels better than to res-erect an old piece of machinery and put a fresh face on her. Well done, so far. Keep us posted on your progress with pictures and welcome into the never ending Vortex......

[curtis rosche]

thats the machine i learned on. you are gonna like it

[John W Dixon]

Definitely looking forward to seeing your progress on this one! Consider this another pat on the back, oh and good luck! :)

John

[Ken Fitzgerald]

It looks like more than a caual interest.

Congrats and welcome to the Vortex!

[Ron Lynch]

Nice lathe, good luck with the tune-up. I just picked up a 40 year old Powermatic 45, so I'll be going on the the same journey you've undertaken.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Welcome to the vortex and a big CONGRATS on your new lathe! Looking forward to seeing photos of your finished lathe as well as some of your turnings real soon!

[Dick Sowa]

Well. I am finally entering the world of turning-sort of.

Sort of???? I think not. That's one serious lathe, and it will serve you well for years.

[Jim Sebring]

Go spend the money you saved on that neat machine on books and dvds.

Buy good HSS or PM tools and a sharpening system. You will sharpen your turning tools far more often than you could ever imagine doing to your chisels and plane irons in your flatwork days.

The list of things to spend money on goes on and on - that's why we call it the 'vortex'. In Startrek terms, that equates to the BORG - resistance is futile ... ;)

[Rob Cunningham]

It looks like you got a nice lathe. Good job on the rebuild too. It should be pretty easy to get back together, there's not a lot of parts. Good luck and hope to see some pics of the finished project

[neil mackay]

I would say when your done you will have one solid and well made lathe, not to mention a good refurb. Congratulations, its a good one to start with and should last you until this new addiction starts to demand improvements and up grades :D

[David Colafranceschi]

Just wanted to make a note of progress. I have been held up by an inability to get paint quickly and unfortunately today, after I received a paint shipment it was just not enough to finish the project. The lathe bed is done and the banjos and tail stock but the base needs to be sprayed one more time. I'm going to ask to have it shipped over night so hopefully I can have it done for the weekend. I have new bearings for it as well as new belts and a fresh new motor and all new fasteners. I upped the motor to 2 HP. I was thinking later on I would buy an extension for it to increase the swing to 20" so I thought at this point I would make that change now. When it is done it should be pretty much new. I have added some pics to where I am now. The machine was covered in shellac-everywhere! Had to soak all the knobs and stuff in alcohol for an hour to get most of it off. On the lathe I just sanded away till it was gone.

Looking forward to getting my shop back and starting to woodwork again.

[Richard Madison]

Looking good David. Press on.

[John Keeton]

That is some fine work, David. You may have another career available - old iron restoration!! Probably shouldn't calculate your pay rate, though:D

[ROY DICK]

David,
That sure is looking sweet.

Roy

[David Colafranceschi]

Attached a couple of pics of the finished product. The electrical gave me fits but we finally figured it out. Purrs like a kitten and most of all glad to bring it back to life. New bearings, belts, upped the motor to 2HP. New paint and new fasteners.......should last another 25 years. Best of all......Made in North America! Thanks for stopping by.

[John Keeton]

David, that is an awesome looking result!! Great job. Now, time for some production...

[Norm Zax]

Sweeet. Nice goin!

[Jeff Nicol]

Dave, You did a spectacular job on the rework of your beautiful lathe! When I get one that needs refinished I hope to have the patience to get it done like that! I always want to get an old lathe and do the same thing, but shop space is at a premium so I just dream! Besides 4 lathes are enough right? Probably not!

Jeff

[Bill Bolen]

I really enjoyed following your saga. That is a superb restore and you should be able to enjoy it for many years. Did you have to postpone your change to a 20" swing? I assume you will need some kind of riser blocks to get it there. Thanks for the greatpost and enjoy the fruits of your labor....Bill..

[David Colafranceschi]

Hi William.

I did postpone increasing the swing to 20". A couple of reasons. One was the kit has an MSRP of $800 and I still have only a couple of turning tools. So I thought I would leave some money for chisels and accessories. The other is I haven't turned since highschool which was over twenty years ago. So, I thought I would get some chisels and learn and hone some skills before making that change. Then I can tackle maybe a bowl or two. The whole drive for this was to create some spindles for furniture work instead of always subbing it out. I have thoroughly enjoyed the process, rekindled some old memories of when I was a child and followed my oldest brother around while he rebuilt his muscle cars. That being said, I am supposed to pick up a vintage Unisaw on Monday to start another. I think that bug has bit me and might as well have fun on the ride. I assume in the spring I will increase the swing and I will post pics of that process. I would encourage everyone to try one, a rebuild that it. It is good for the environment. Keeps good, serviceable machinery out of the dump and I just find something special about this older iron that was made in the USA and Canada. They don't have some of the nice new features that some of the newer machinery have but with a little imagination it can be modified for a fraction of the price. Just my two cents.

[gary Zimmel]

I commend you on bringing that beast back to life.

Superb job David.
Looking forward to seeing what you do with the Unisaw.

[John Keeton]

I haven't turned since highschool which was over twenty years ago.Ahhhhh! I remember 20 years ago...that was when high school was 25 years ago!!:D