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I went with the Oneway 2436 for the quality, fixed headstock and full outboard turning capacity. This is a true bowl turning machine. I did not like the sliding headstock options on some lathes because it means the motor is mounted behind or beside the headstock, and the most critical piece on the lathe (headstock) is movable! Anyway, Robust and others are really great machines, but the oneway, with true outboard turning capability (all 48" of it) was where it was at for me. I got the large outboard attachment and love being able to turn large and off center turnings with it. I do not believe that any other lathe on the market has this capacity without a floor mounted tool rest (I could be wrong on this though). I did not get the stainless bedways - I have not had a problems with any surface rust at all with all my green wood turnings. I also wax them regularly so they have a protective coating. Also, these guys know lathes. They have been building them for a long time and they have the most extensive supply of accessories of any manufacturer. I have felt that the lathe is well engineered, well thought out, and solid as a tank.
On of your questions was on customer service. I have got to rate these guys A+ for service. When I received my order, I was missing a the attachment for the light stand that I ordered with the lathe. I called Gloria and she sent a new one which arrived 2 days later. Also, the drive was giving me fits, so I again called customer service. They put me in touch with their drive guru. The drive was their new one and he didn't have the new manual for it. He apologized profusely and said that he would have to drive across town to get the new manual. I said no problem and 45 minutes later he called back to walk me through the programing. The drive was programed correctly, so he kept working with me. It turns out one of the wires on the remote start switch was connected in the wrong slot. Bummer, but a couple minutes later I had the switch wired correctly and the lathe was running without any problems.
I know, you might say "so what you are saying is they messed up your order and assembled the machine incorrectly." Sure you could say that, but this is also a semi-custom machine which is assembled by hand per your specifications. To me, seeing that they fixed the problems very quickly, sent replacement parts with apologies and no questions asked, immediately went out of their way to go across town for a manual, and patiently walked me through the troubleshooting means that they value me as a customer and will do what it takes to make sure that I am satisfied.
Jon - Satisfied Oneway customer!