Ive been looking at getting a lathe for my birthday and my budget is $700 ive looked at mini lathes but they get expensive real quick ive looked at https://littlemachineshop.com/info/minilathe_compare.php to compare models of mini lathes since they have different motors and sizes and such. so i decided to look around and see if i can find a lathe within a few hours on driving and Ive read some about how you want ways that are V’s like a south-bend but its very mixed on if its a good lathe or not. it needs to run on single phase have powerfeed and not be super big Thanks for all the help in advance! what do guys think, is there any other alternatives?

Edit-- i know $700 really isnt a big budget for a lathe but i work part time and dont have alot of money to spend. i also plan to post some cool stuff i plan to make on my future lathe!!