General vs Oneway

[Anthony Yakonick]

I have a General 260 20" (with riser) AC VSD and I'm thinking of stepping up/down to the new Oneway 16" lathe. At this point I don't care about swing but think the Oneway would be better for me, any thoughts?

[Jim Becker]

The question that comes to my mind is, "Why would the OneWay be better for you than the General?" You already have VFD and a sturdy and heavy lathe. What does the new 1640 bring to you that you can't do with the present (larger swing) machine?

Now, I have a good excuse for wanting a Stubby as the swing on my little OneWay is terribly inadequate for the turnings I want to do and I happen to like the design of said Stubby a lot better than the big OneWay machines. But in your case, I'm not seeing any clear advantages other than paint color...;)

[Steven Wilson]

The new Oneway would give you a nice shortbed bowl lathe with decent capacity on the outboard side. I'm not sure if Oneway will be making a bed extension for the inboard side if you eventually need more capacity BC. You'll probably find the ergonomics of the Oneway better if you like to get in close around the headstock. I find that the size of the stand around the headstock gets in the way on machines like the General, PM45/90, and older Delta's. The design of the Oneway I find easier to climb around. As for Stubby, interesting design and neat for a bowl lathe but it has issues on BC. Of course if you want bowl capacity on the Oneway you can always get the Powermatic stand and then you can turn an 8' diameter table; more if you dig up the floor outboard of your lathe.

[Bill Grumbine]

Yak, I know if you asked this question locally the answer would be Oneway, right? ;) Everything is Oneway, and anything else is nothing, especially with certain crusty old men. I agree with Jim, you have a fine machine right now. What is your motivation for the change? And if you really need a change, think BLUE!:eek:

Bill

[Jim Becker]

Originally posted by Steven Wilson
As for Stubby, interesting design and neat for a bowl lathe but it has issues on BC.

I don't do much long spindle work and if I need to, with dual tool rests, the Stubby can be quite versatile. It would give me as much capacity as my present 1018 with the bed extension does BC should I need a furniture part that's quite long. Since I do primarily hollow vessels when I have time to turn, the Stubby is ideal for me, especially from a space utilization standpoint. That being said, someone who does a lot of long spindle work would be better served with a different machine.

[Jim Becker]

Originally posted by Steven Wilson
The new Oneway would give you a nice shortbed bowl lathe with decent capacity on the outboard side. I'm not sure if Oneway will be making a bed extension for the inboard side if you eventually need more capacity BC.

I missed this on my other reply and rather than edit it, I decided to make a new post.

The new 16" OneWay has 40" BC. The outboard side has an add-on bed as an optional extra. You can see it at http://www.oneway.on.ca/Oneway/1640lathe.htm

The bottom line is that unlike the 1018 and 1224, the 16" lathe is not a short bed!

[Anthony Yakonick]

Hey, the General is good and was top of the line at one time, but due to the sheet metal stand it isn't that solid on the larger pieces say 10"-14". Plus with my shoulder and hand problems I no longer have the desire to go beyond 14". For hollow work I like the outboard as Steven stated.
As for direct drive(the Blue lathe), it goes against every thing I've ever learned after 30yrs in auto repair, all the transmission and engine classes about speed and torque say it won't work. Now I do understand you have a fine lathe and I really like the stands they now have, but my brain says no.
As for the Stubby, it's just too strange!
Now for the white color, I have a burning desire to paint my lathes Candy Apple Red and have them pin striped, I have a painter at work and we are working on a color for the little Jet.
I don't always listen to crusty old men, they told me not to buy the Craftsman tube bed lathe,I did and it paid for my General 160 which not so old men told me not to buy and I did which paid for my 260.
How's that.

[Jim Becker]

Anthony, the bottom line is that you should upgrade to the lathe that you feel will best suit your needs.

We all have various opinions, based on that and a lot of other things. I've turned on OneWays, Poolewoods, Jets, Deltas...even a Harbor Frieght and they all spun wood. It's funny how the one I'm most excited about is the one I haven't spent time with! Yet...

[George Troy Hurlburt]

Consider the VL300 Vicmarc ES. This is a shortbed lathe with a 1 1/4" spindle and you can use your present chucks and faceplates. I also have a General 260(1987) which serves as another lathe that I can leave a project on for a length of time. Most of my turning is segmented. GTH The site for Vicmarc group is:
http//:groups.msn.com/VicmarcOwnersGroup

[Steven Wilson]

Originally posted by Jim Becker
I missed this on my other reply and rather than edit it, I decided to make a new post.

The new 16" OneWay has 40" BC. The outboard side has an add-on bed as an optional extra. You can see it at http://www.oneway.on.ca/Oneway/1640lathe.htm

The bottom line is that unlike the 1018 and 1224, the 16" lathe is not a short bed!

I ment shortbed outboard of the lathe. For example, on my 2436 I keep a 17" extension mounted on the outboard side, which basically gives me a long bed (i.e. turning inboard) and shortbed lathe (when turning outboard). I like the Stubby though, very cool design. For me it was a close choice between the Stubby, Oneway, and Vicmarc. I chose the Oneway because I was able to configure it the way I wanted it. It's nice to have such a tough choice to make as there are a lot of great lathes available today.

[Richard Allen]

Hi Anthony

Go for the Oneway. The new Oneway will hold it's value better than the General and you will get to turn on a Oneway every day.

Expect to wait a while for the lathe to arrive. I don't think it is due to be released till August. And no doubt there will be a waiting list for the lathe. The sooner you put in your order the better.

[Jim Becker]

Originally posted by Richard Allen
Expect to wait a while for the lathe to arrive. I don't think it is due to be released till August. And no doubt there will be a waiting list for the lathe. The sooner you put in your order the better.

True, but according to the flyer that they sent last week, some lucky folks have the opportunity to buy the "demonstrators" from the AAW (http://www.woodturner.org) symposium coming up in Pasadina. That should be of great interest to anyone on the left-coast who can pick up from the show. (Although they may already have commitments in the few days since they made the offer...)

BTW, Richard, my wife and her siblings grew up on Executive Drive in Falls Church. As a matter of fact, her brother now owns the family home.

[Richard Allen]

Hi Jim

I went to Woodburn Elementary for 3rd, 4th, 5th grades back in nineteen hundred and sixty one - sixty three.

In between have been Virginia Beach, Japan, Middletown RI, White Post VA...

But now I am geezing...

[Mark Mandell]

Anthony,

May I suggest you follow me and do some UC&P research?

Contact John Jordan [ www.stubbylathe.com ] and ask him for names of Stubby owners in your area. Contact one and go turn on their machine. I predict that once you "Go Black" you ain't "Goin Back" to another lathe easily.

That's what I did (turned a 20" bowl from a 100lb blank), and I'm waiting for My Stubby to enter the final leg of its journey to me. BTW with a simple shop-made adapter, you can turn 36" BC on this "bowl" lathe.

Mark

[Jim Becker]

Originally posted by Richard Allen
I went to Woodburn Elementary for 3rd, 4th, 5th grades back in nineteen hundred and sixty one - sixty three.

I doubt your paths crossed in school...she was two at the start of that run! But they lived in that neighborhood (and house) for a long time, in-between stints in Thailand and Hong Kong due to her parents affiliation with...err...a certain government agency. :D

Nice area.