I am thinking of buying a new mini lathe. The prices however seem to be in a ratio of 1 to 3 from lowest to highest. This is after making allowances for what is supplied, which for a basic model, which is all I want is the gears and a 3 jaw chuck plus a few tools. Currently cheapest on Amazon Prime in the UK is around ?400 for a 7x12 no DRO. OK for what I want. Yet similar machines seem to go up to nearer ?1200 from other suppliers.
As far as I can see they look identical. I can deal with the setting up etc.?
My experiences of cheap and cheerful Chinese products with a? few exceptions is that so long as one does not expect too much one will not be disappointed. However a 1:3 price difference for obviously the same product is not usual.
MZ Rider