I agree, I'd avoid this lathe. You'll have a lot more solid machine in a PSI, Jet, Rikon or Delta mini lathe. Grizzly is not known for the quality or design of their lathes, and that one is an especially bad example....Weak bed, low weight, etc.
I respectfully disagree that staying away from a variable speed lathe is a good idea. I wouldn't own a lathe without the vs feature. You'll still have pulleys on most lathes, but in each pulley/belt setting the variable speed gives you a wide range of speeds, and that equals versatility and ease of use. Opinions vary on the variable speed issue, but most of us that have vs models are glad we do........Kind of like automatic transmissions in our trucks.
