Andrew H. Wakefield wrote:

Someone mentioned the possibility of the asian lathes -- how would you
evaluate the relative value of some of these older, small lathes that float
around on ebay vs. say a Harbor Freight 9x20? I've read some conflicting
views about the HF 9x20, and when I looked at one the compound seemed
undersized (though I'm not entirely convinced that they had the right
compound mounted on the display unit . My sense is that I would be happier
with old American iron rather than the HF, but I certainly am not ready to
eliminate HF from consideration.

The 9x20s have some design issues, but they are far from junk.
That weak compound design always comes up, but the fix is a 4-bolt
replacement. It makes a nice first project on your lathe, or buy one
already made for $30 or so.
Absence of a leadscrew tumble reverse is another issue, but several
online sites address making one.
And the bed is lightweight, but still heavier than an Atlas. I would
wager that a 9x20 has more torsional rigidity than a 10" Atlas.
Having said that, I'd not pay over $500 for a used one, and I'd
expect some tooling with it at that, and maybe the factory bench.

And HF isn't the best place to buy an asian lathe, but a new HF is a
better deal than a used asian lathe, all else being equal. Get on their
email specials list and they will send you a 20% off coupon, then watch
the sale flyers for a sale price on the lathe you want. Currently you
can buy the 7x10 mini for $359.95 - 20% = $287.96
They run the 9x20 for $599 pretty often, which comes out to $480 (no
bench, no tooling)
The best minilathe may be the Micro Mark 7x14, with inch-leadscrews
and other niceties, but it's $600

As for the American Iron vs Asian, that's an argument that goes on here
and other machining forums constantly. My opinion (clearing throat) is
that there are great machines from all over the globe. In many cases a
newer low-end import is equivalent to an older US machine, due to the
wear and care that each has seen. I have a 10" Enco and a 9" Logan, and
I'd be hard-pressed to choose between them. But I'll probably add a
minilathe to the fold next month.
Don't write off import lathes just because they are imports.