3-phase and VFD's are pretty slick. Spotshooter.... are you saying the 3-p version of the same lathe costs twice as much? That's very odd if so.
I own both a 12x36 belt drive (varispeed) and a 17x40 gearhead lathe... I'll refrain from commenting other than to say I use the 17x40 most of the time. It does have very nicely ground gears and runs real quietly though.
My main reason for posting is to pass along that a local acquaintance got one of those 14x40 Grizzly's and measured the runout at the spindle at over .0003. That's not so good. He returned it and ordered a Taiwanese lathe that has a warranty'd accuracy spec for spindle runout under .0001". However, it's much more expensive than the Grizzly.
'Twer I you, I'd have a good gauge that reads tenth's on hand, and before I got too serious about even uncrating the machine fully I'd measure runout at the spindle. Send it back if it reads higher than .xxxx (maybe others can help with an acceptable runout spec for chambering work). My 12x36 Logan has about .00025- .0003", but my big lathe is beyond my ability to measure; well under .0001". I've been putting a bunch of effort towards tooling up the larger machine for barrel and action work because, partly, it runs so true. The Logan came with spiders and other barrel tooling but I can't abide .0003" when I have a better option (albeit with a deep headstock) across the room.
If I'm wrong about any of this, I welcome correction.
