Wow! What a great lathe! Take it from someone who learned on a South Bend lathe, this little addition to my hobby machine shop is top notch! The packaging was excellent and once I "degreased" the unit I found it to do exactly what it is built for. I like the all steel construction and attention to detail. This purchase is well worth the money, and you can't beat free shipping!

Happy customer"¦ love it

Fantastic! Arrived in days.

This is the first lathe I've ever owned, and I have to say I'm loving it! Only one issue out of the box, the gearbox cover is plastic and came in cracked down the middle. I contacted Eastwood and they were happy to send me a replacement.

As far as operation goes it has been very easy to learn and complete several small projects so far such as a machinist hammer and some basic turning and parting of aluminum and brass round bar.

Construction is pretty solid and it has good rigidity out of the box.

2 things I recommend adding to this purchase.

First, get yourself a quick-change tool post. There are some great options on amazon for right around $100 and it will save you a ton of time when you really start wanting to make a lot of stuff.

Second, ditch the provided tool bits and go with your own 5/16" HSS blanks which are inexpensive and grind them yourself, or get a 5/16" pre-ground set. I cannot stress enough how much of a difference this made for me especially if you plan on having a very fine finish on your parts, as the larger bits are much sturdier and more forgiving when trying to learn correct feeds and speeds.

Very happy with this purchase, I would recommend this for anyone wanting a hobby machine or just to get into learning machining.

I have already started a few projects with it and it seems to be working great