Ken Grunke wrote:

Are the bearing journals "superfinished" like the SB lathes are?
That might make the difference.



Not sure what superfinished means. The journal bearings are shiny
and the handscraping marks are still visible.

Not sure how the South Bends work, but this lathe has an oil sump
and a ring that spins around between each set of bearings that
distributes the oil around.


And to reply to Grant... Yes, I've been getting good and
grinding HSS bits ;-) Is one size more appropriate than an
other? I'm using 3/8" Rex AAA bits that I bought on ebay.
Would smaller (5/16" or 1/4") bits be better for this size
lathe?