General Maxi Lathe 25-200 reverse switch?

[Paul Erickson]

As I understand it current models of the General Maxi Lathe (25-200) have a motor reverse switch. It seems that I have an early version which does not have this feature. Has anyone added one, and if so, would appreciate information on how you did it. So far my google searches have yielded no results.

Thanks in advance.

cheers, Paul

[Geoff Gaudet]

Have you phoned General? Pretty easy to get a "real person" there (and they speak French too!). The guy you get may or may not know the answer, but if not he can ask someone who does.

(BTW, the lathe I recently picked up from a friend--long story--is a GI 25-300. It does have the reverse switch, though.)

[James Combs]

Looking at the specs, particularly the HP and motor volts/amps, it appears to be very similar in capacity to the Grizzly G0658 which most likely means it has a DC motor which can easily be set up to be reversible. The nameplate on the motor will verify if it is AC or DC but odds are it is DC. Assuming it is DC all you have to do is add a reversing switch that simply switches the two motor leads. For an idea of how it might be done take a look at my conversion of the GO658 to add reverse. One caveat though, I made sure mine was out of warranty before I modified it.

Please note that I am not saying this "will work" for your lathe. Your situation should be looked at by a professional to verify its practicality on your particular lathe. No warranty or fit for use in your situation is stated or implied. Any conversion of your lathe is at your own risk.

[Paul Erickson]

Looking at the specs, particularly the HP and motor volts/amps, it appears to be very similar in capacity to the Grizzly G0658 which most likely means it has a DC motor which can easily be set up to be reversible. The nameplate on the motor will verify if it is AC or DC but odds are it is DC. Assuming it is DC all you have to do is add a reversing switch that simply switches the two motor leads. For an idea of how it might be done take a look at my conversion of the GO658 to add reverse. One caveat though, I made sure mine was out of warranty before I modified it.

Please note that I am not saying this "will work" for your lathe. Your situation should be looked at by a professional to verify its practicality on your particular lathe. No warranty or fit for use in your situation is stated or implied. Any conversion of your lathe is at your own risk.

Hi James,

Thanks for the reply. When I try to access the link you provided, I get the following error message:

Paul Erickson, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

1. Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
2. If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

Would really like to see your modification.

cheers, Paul

[Ron Rutter]

I have that lathe and it has a 90 volt DC motor.
Can anyone else comment on the aspect of installing a reversing switch. How does this tie in with the speed control? Anyone have a circuit diagram? Ron.

[Duane Meadows]

You need a double pole double throw(DPDT) switch rated at least for the amperage rating of the motor. Wire as follows...

NOTE: DO NOT REVERSE WHILE RUNNING!

[James Combs]

Hi Paul, I think the link problem is that you are a "Member" only and have limited access to SMC's benefits. As little as $6 a year will get rid of the pop up ads and give you full access to the site. That being said you can access my conversion PDF at "http:// www. jnjwoodsmithing .com/index.php?p=1_13_Tutorials" (NOT a direct link, I don't think SMC will allow me to do that but...), just copy and past the quoted info into your browser and get rid of all the blank spaces before the www, the jnj, and the .com/.

[Ron Rutter]

Thanks Duane. I had assumed it would be a DPDT neutral center switch. Pretty compact but will check it out as soon as I get a chance.

[Paul Erickson]

Thanks very much. Got the PDF files.