So I had been searching for a new bigger lathe to replace my 12" I've outgrown. Wanted to be able to turn up to 16" bowls. Found this one and decided to take a chance. Glad I did. This thing is heavy duty, like 300 pounds. Has all the features I wanted the more expensive ones have. Variable speed down to 0 rpm, spindle indexing, reverse, and the ability to do outboard work with the pivoting head. The tail stock runs smoothly too. Now the bed casting is a bit rough, I took a file to all the edges then cleaned and waxed the bed ways. The banjo is ok, not super happy with the locking mechanism, going to require some tweaking. Got the headstock & tailstock perfectly aligned in no time. You will want to immediately get a new tool rest,the one supplied is very rough,just a cast piece not machined. I only have 2 gripes, 1. there were 2 missing pieces of hardware, the locking washer & bolt for the tailstock. Had to get some washers & bolt to make it work. 2. The shipping was awful, when it shipped the shipping Co called to schedule a day for me to receive it in person. I scheduled it, took the whole day iloff and it never showed up & there was no warning either. Then almost a week later I got another call by a local shipping Co to schedule it again & I finally received it. Definitely looking to make some $$$ with this machine, hopefully it lasts a long time.

Great product