Machinist Lathe?

[Revved]

Ok guys... I'm looking for an decently priced machinist lathe. I've got a machine shop that cuts all of my big stuff but they are just killing me when I need small things done quickly. Cutting spacers from round stock, turning small items..etc... you guys know the kind of small stuff we run into building cars that you could knock out in a few minutes if you had a lathe on hand... Precision is top concern obviously but I've got to balance features vs. price as well. Durability is a concern since I'll likely be using this on a regular basis.

The most common items I'll be cutting are spacers out of round stock mostly around .750 or 1.0" dia and 2-3" but maybe as long as 5" on a rare occasion. Largest diameter I can think of was machining a recess in a spacer that was around 6" dia. And on this last project I had him machine a 3" dia, 2" thick pulley spacer out of solid round stock. So nothing too crazy...


I've seen that Baleigh has their small lathe listed on their website for right around a grand but was wondering who owns one and how its holding up?

http://metal.baileighindustrial.com/...lathe-pl-712vs

Their next one up is reasonably priced as well for the size and and market.. Anyone used one of these?

http://metal.baileighindustrial.com/...athe-pl-1022vs

And for about $200 more Jet has one with a stand...

http://www.jettools.com/us/en/p/bd-9...-stand/321155K

I know that for a few more bucks I could pick up some 50 year old monstrosity that would cut everything I could ever think of but space is also a consideration.