General Machinery build quality

[Dan Chouinard]

Thumbs up or down on the quality of General machinery.
Thank you.

[Rick Fisher]

With General, there are two categories..

General .. = Made in Quebec Canada.. Very well built and well regarded, also extremely expensive.

General International = The General company started importing machinery to compete with Delta, Powermatic, Grizz.. etc.. Its basically the same as Delta, Powermatic and Grizz.. lol

I have a General Int 20" Planer and a General Int. 3hp Shaper.. Would not consider them any better or worse than the other importers of Asian Machinery..

Problem with General Canada is that they are not competitive with the Euro Machinery, SCM and Felder.. It reaches a point where its not worth it IMO to buy General for the same price or more.

[ray hampton]

thumbs up , unless you can afford to buy or pay more -better machine

[Steven J Corpstein]

I purchased a General 650 saw 5 years ago and if I were to be looking for a new saw, I'd buy a General 650R (new model w/riving knife). I think they make a very solid well built saw, their cast iron is some of the best available and is made with a special process called Melonite which definitely makes a difference. My cast iron was dead flat when new and is dead flat 5 years later.

Now, don't get General and General International mixed up. Same company, different product divisions. General is made in Canada, General International is from overseas. I don't have any opinions on General International equipment because I've never been around them.

[ed vitanovec]

I have looked at several General tools and they are hi quality, the General International line is pretty good quality too. I would recommend either line depending on your budget.

[Peter Kelly]

I purchased a General 650 saw 5 years ago and if I were to be looking for a new saw, I'd buy a General 650R (new model w/riving knife). I think they make a very solid well built saw, their cast iron is some of the best available and is made with a special process called Melonite which definitely makes a difference. My cast iron was dead flat when new and is dead flat 5 years later.

*Meehanite.

As above, General Canada stuff is excellent quality. Won't comment on their "International" line..

[Rick Fisher]

I have always wanted a General 220 Mortising machine.. $10K new.. yikes.. need to find an old one ..

[Gary Curtis]

+1 on the Canadian General equipment.

[scott spencer]

General is still a family owned business, and they still make much of their own cast iron for the Canadian made General line AFAIK. The General 650 was rated top 3hp cabinet saw by Wood Mag a few years back over the PM66, Jet Xacta, Griz 1023, Shop Fox, Bridgewood, and Unisaw (IIRC). The 650 has long been my dream saw.

[Dan Chouinard]

Who makes a better drum sander, General or Woodmaster? Also looking for an edge sander and a jointer.

[Wes Grass]

Re General 220, last I saw they were 12-13k, US. If you really want one, there's a 3 phase version on woodweb in Rhode Island. It's under horizontal mortisers, I guess because the picture is sideways. Looks pretty nice in the pic.

[David Kumm]

I bought a univer feeder from the guy with the General mortiser. It was fairly priced and really well packed. The mortiser is a good deal. They run well with a vfd so 3 phase is a plus. Dave

[Scot Ferraro]

I purchased a General 650 saw 5 years ago and if I were to be looking for a new saw, I'd buy a General 650R (new model w/riving knife). I think they make a very solid well built saw, their cast iron is some of the best available and is made with a special process called Melonite which definitely makes a difference. My cast iron was dead flat when new and is dead flat 5 years later.

Now, don't get General and General International mixed up. Same company, different product divisions. General is made in Canada, General International is from overseas. I don't have any opinions on General International equipment because I've never been around them.

I bought a 350 and purchased the riving knife upgrade they sell -- an afternoon of work and now I have the same version machine. Works great and would not want to be without it.

Scot

[Gary Curtis]

Having owned a T-350 from Canada, I would say the build quality is exceptional. And who can laugh at Baldor motors. But, having 7 years of woodworking under my belt, the design is definitely 1950s. I grew to heartily dislike the fence. The blade guard was annoying as hell, as was the Biesemeyer fence. Dust collection was not first rate. Truly 65-year old technology.

The newer ones have a Riving Knife for safety, so you can dispense with a blade guard. I'm not current on their new product line. Or the equipment made by General International. I replaced my saw with a European saw because of design elements.