As with any new piece of equiptment, there was a minimal amout of adjusting, tightening, etc. that needed to be done. All in all, I was very satisfied with the product as a whole. But,there were a couple of things that I was not completely happy about in regards to this product. I had to replace the washer on the belt tensioner lock handle due to the fact that it was so weak and thin that it bent under the pressure of tightening down the handle after changing speeds. I replaced it with a heavier washer and that issue was resolved. The other issue I found to be a problem was, as others have stated, the access to change speeds is very limited. That is why I could not give this product an excellent rating. But, it is a very good product, from what I can see thus far.

I bought this for my Central Machinery  5 speed lathe. Bolted right up. bed and slots match up pretty well. Now, I had to use a 8-1.25mm tap to clean and finish the threads in the bed for the feet pads to fit well in there. They only went in so far and were too tight. Then, after chasing the threads I put them on with 8mm washers and lock nuts not the ones supplied. Ones supplied were way too big for the feet pads. Finish is overall pretty good and does what it is supposed to do. So, if you have an Excelsior or Central Machinery lathe 5 speed, and want a nice bed extension, this is it.

You will enjoy this lathe, especially if you buy it when on sale. It is solid (79 pounds), made in Taiwan with excellent fit and finish. The tail stock and banjo slide smoothly on the well machined bed and lock securely via large levers. The motor has plenty of torque at low speed and moving the belt to select another of the three speed ranges is easy and fast.  The high and low speeds are 3,700 and 410 respectively, according to the manual. The digital display registers 430 on my lathe at it's slowest setting. The motor is 6 amps, not 3.