Alright, I'll bite.
You cant go wrong with the lathe from harbor fright. There are some narcissists who insist that you buy trouble when you buy cheap, and yes, in a lot of instances you do, but not in this case.
I own this lathe and it is my daily workhorse for turning, drilling, sanding, and buffing. I don't just use it to make pipes, I use it for pens and anything else that needs to spin at variable speed. I don't think it gets enough credit.
If you compare the models it is a clone of the JET of the same measurements, for way less.
The 12" swing over is big enough for any bowl (not pipe bowl) that I want to turn at this point. I have not met a project yet that has exceeded its length capacity. It has variable speed that will get you where you want to be for most any turning or buffing that needs done. It has a MT#2 taper which is easy to find arbors for, and you can use a BEALL type setup for buffing, though I'm a cheapskate and just use PIMO arbors and buffs chucked into my MT2 Jacobs chuck.
Same goes for sanding. I have a 5" disk on a 1/4" shank that is chucked the same way. I can also chuck the barrel sanders into it and get the same effect Kurt has when he uses his setup in the "rough shaping video" on YouTube.
You WILL have to ballast it down with sandbags or whatever to keep it from doing the off center shimmy, but the JET would be the same.
You can use the support bars on the legs as a shelf if you use a piece of plywood and drill holes for lathe tools, chucks, etc.
The swivel head? Oh yeah, did I elaborate? The swivel head will allow you to turn the head at an angle that most pipe-makers use at their sanding setups, which is 45 degrees I guess. Ive never used it past that and wouldn't suggest doing any outboard turning without a floor based tool rest. The JET is the same. The swivel head is a boon to my comfort level when sitting in a chair sanding at the lathe, rather than almost straddling the bed with your arms trying to sand, you can sit at ease with the head turned out.
The worst thing Ive dealt with yet? Cleaning the reeves drives every two weeks or so so it doesn't gum up, which involves blowing the motor housing out and lubing with wd40 while going through the gears. And a cold garage, if its cold in your garage, the belt will be stiff and you may want to run it and let it warm up before you lay any torque to it. Or you could buy a link belt and avoid that altogether (Xmas list).
You will walk out the door with a decent set of gouges (if you buy the $49 set) and a good lathe that will probably last you until you can afford to do better, considering you want to, for around $250 or less, if you use the %20 coupon, you could probably have it all sub $100.
You WILL want a MT2 drill chuck, possible some new tail-stock live centers (I only bought the mandrel saver for pens), a smaller tool rest (good luck), and a chuck similar to the supernova2 if you want to do any serious turning or lathe work. So far the 50mm standard chuck jaws have held any piece of briar I throw at it so long as width does not exceed 2" or so and is square before chucking.
This is all ramble I know, but I'm up late, and six am comes early!!
***DISCLAIMER***
I know there are JET users out there, this is no offense to them, as all purchases are personal choice. This is my opinion and they are like...well...you know...
I do not have a huge salary and 3 kids means I have to be resourceful, so I have to rely on cheap until I can do better or get outta the game. I think this is true for alot of us who use these hobbies as an escape from life. My experience has shown me that if it weren't for cheap, my whole life would be spent sitting on the sidelines watching the big boys go to bat. I don't do that, never have and never will, I'm a do-er not a watcher, and I hope to show that you don't have to have a huge capital to run the balla's down!!
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