I had a Jet 1442 for a number of years and, while it was a decent enough la the, it had some limitations I was finding more and more frustrating. I lo oked at a Robust, liked what I saw, but had sticker shock. Then a man in t he woodturner's club in Birmingham (Al) put an older Woodfast M910 up for s ale. It had the features I was looking for and the price was right.
I am still learning it unique aspects, but have learned one thing. Every t ime I think the lathe is coming up short, its the nut with the gouge in his had that has made an oops.
A testimony as to just how good this lathe is is that it is still being bui lt under license in Europe (Holzprofi) and here in the US (Rikon 70-500) an d in Australia, 18yrs after the date my lathe was built, and with only mino r cosmetic changes.
I wanted an outboard turning setup and can buy a direct bolt on from Rikon. Not too bad for an old lathe. ;-)
Deb