With all the bad things said already, let me throw in a good'n.

I have an F.E. Reed 14x40, circa 1938. It had everything it should except a
compound, which I made (built a new cross slide with Atlas-style compound).
It even came with a clean and working taper attachment. Power long., power
cross, threading. It's just not conveniently arranged.

It's not a _great_ lathe, and I'll probably upgrade it in the next couple of
years, but I use it at least four times a week, and it turns quality work
with no problems. Change-gears are a pain, though.

However, mine was well-kept and maintained, and I got over $5000 worth of
tooling AND a Cincy #2 mill with the Bridgeport vertical head for a total
cost of $1000. For me, that was a good deal. The mill works every day,
too.

LLoyd