Expectations of Chinese Lathes 12 x 36 or smaller vs. Taiwan units

[Pevehouse]

I own 2 Taiwanese Shenwai SW900B’s (1236) from the mid 80’s. They are both upgraded with 3 phase motors and VFD’s
I wouldn’t trade them for anything comparable
I haven’t had the need for backgears since the retrofits

Amen on that. I have a Taiwanese Enco from 1986 and would not trade it for anything.its also been upgraded to 3 phase with a vfd. I may at some point pick up a larger lathe but would never get rid of my Enco. That thing is beyond accurate