Like Jay, I wanted to buy my last lathe first and ended up with a Vicmarc VL200 Swivel Head that I bought a few weeks ago. It has a bed extension, 2HP variable speed motor (AC 3PH with VFD), 44" between centres, extra banjo with a 24" rest and a magnetic moveable speed control/on/off switch. Ticked all my boxes for a quality lathe to turn furniture spindles and allow for some bowl turning and most anything else I could see myself wanting to turn. This lathe was a small batch of lathes they made just prior to going into full production with the VL240 (that has an extra 1.5" swing. It was this or a Laguna 18/36 but in the end the Vicmarc reputation for quality and longevity is what swung my decision - also the extra mass and swivel head were advantages for me.

Cheers, Dom