Its 180 x 400, 500W brushless motor, variable speed and a set of tools to go with it.
In equivalent lingo that is about a 7" swing x 16" between centers with a 2/3rd HP motor. That probably is a fine enough machine and one you would learn plenty of cool things. You have not said very much about what you want to do with the lathe. I think we all get it that you want to make cool stuff - machine a bit of "this & that". Maybe you'll do some home gadgets, perhaps get some of the machining books and make a few of the projects described, maybe you'll buy a couple of the kits for tools or machine attachments, perhaps some parts for cars/tractors/bikes, . . . . .?
That is great. Join the group here, there is plenty of that here (basically mostly what I do too). 7"x16" is a
very modest machine. The machine Jeff (above) describes is
a lot more competent and is very well suited for misc. general purpose stuff. I have 2 lathes, one is a little smaller than Jeff's (I have an 11"x24") and it would cover the vast majority of what I do. My first lathe was 15"x60" - I still have it and I actually use it about 70% of the time - even though I could do most of that work on the smaller lathe. They are both good machines, reasonably tooled - but I like the larger one for certain jobs. 15"x60" is not a "big" lathe. 11"x24" is not a "small" lathe. I guess it is all relative. Of course larger means more space, more trouble when you have to move it, tooling & accessories cost a bit more. My usual advice is buy as much machine up front as you can (Jeff's advice is good) - he spend extra and ate cheap for a while - but he ended up with a much better set up. Sounds like he never looked back.
When I bought that first lathe, the 15x60 - I way over paid, I spent every dime I had to get a good machine, good set of attachments (2 chucks, face plate, both steadies, TTA), but zero tooling, no good place to put it and not even the ability to plug it in (3 phase). Okay, that was 34 years ago - sure it took a bit of time, I got the details sorted and I have never regretted that initial purchase. I now have 5 more primary machines and several small machines - and all put together they cost the same as that first machine. So what, the first machine got me started and I am very satisfied with how the hobby has worked out for me. That is one approach.
There is nothing wrong with getting a modest machine and moving on to something else later. I am just sharing what my experience was. I didn't have to contend with a machine that did not work, when I was trying to learn the basics. I have kept investing in that same machine and it is still a good part of my set up.
For general messing around 7" maximum swing is pretty small (again, depends on what you want to do). Variable speed? I'm pretty ho-hum on that. If the variable speed is taking the place of gears then I suspect you'll run into bottom end torque issues. When that brushless motor is dialed down, there isn't much power. With reduction gearing, you get about the same power - so torque goes up as the speed goes down.
Tooling? Buy based on what you are doing. For general messing around, grind some highspeed steel. I now have lots of tooling. I still grind tooling. All the fancy & special tooling in the world is not going to eliminate the need to grind tooling from time to time. Get used to it. I'll go out on a limb with this statement: If you are machining, you will be more successful if tool grinding is part of your repertoire. Grinding tooling is not a big deal - get a 6" bench grinder and start messing around.
Try to find a machine like Jeff's (above) not more than 10 years old, something that all the basic features work - and don't sweat the price. Regardless, start saving $$, work out your shop space, work out transport and consider sorting out 3 phase power (that really opens up machine options).
Of course, all comments above assume that you are putting safe operation as your first and primary concern for everything you do.
