I started using my 9x20 grizzly lathe about a year ago and ready to upgrade to something bigger and american.

I am looking a 12" - 16" with toolroom style options such as both powerfeeds, q/c threading gearbox, half-nut, and a tailstock (no turrent or 2nd operation lathe) etc...

So my question goes out to all the experienced lathe users here. I was wondering if anyone has experience using the different makes of lathes - and can give me a heads-up on what to look out for and any other useful advice.

For example; I can see so far there are alot South Bends in circulation, and they're going for a nice resell price, which also means there are lots of parts available (which ultimately works for me). But Hardinge lathes look like they are very expensive, which probably means the parts cost alot - so I dont want to buy that. I dont know too much else about the monarch, clausing, or others - so if someone can fill me in with some advice, it would be appreciated, thanks!

-Erich Stein