I was almost turned away by all of the negative reviews but decided to go ahead and give it a try anyway, and honestly it's a fine machine. There are some drawbacks, its quite heavy which is to be expected for a lathe of this size, and the tool rest is way too short for the swing. Additionally it would seem that the live center on the tail stock doesn't come off so thats a problem on its own. Other than that I've had no issues out of it and actively look forward to using it. Would I recommend it to someone else Totally, just be prepared to buy some extra parts.