Update:
My 12" Turncrafter Commander is approaching 9 years old. As previously posted, I've been very pleased with this lathe - in a perfect world, I would want a larger machine, but given the limited shop space I have, this lathe suits my needs ideally.
Other than the usual maintenance items (cleaning and polishing the bedways, cleaning the tailstock ram, and cleaning the tool rest), the only other maintenance items I have had have been to purchase a new tool rest after the original 6" rest broke (the post snapped when I had a catch, something that I also had happen on a previous lathe) and replacing the belt. I know that I have some broken teeth on the indexing wheel (it's plastic and isn't intended to be used as a spindle lock - DAMHIKT).
Recently, however, the lathe stopped running altogether. I fairly quickly determined that there was a problem with the variable speed control box, so I called PSI and spoke with Technical Support. Their first reaction was to think that the problem was that the electrolytic capacitor that smooths the output DC had aged and failed - that's a common problem with any tool that achieves variable speed using variable voltage DC. I ordered a replacement box and it arrived in a few days - CHEERS to PSI for fast service.
However, when I took the failed box off the lathe and opened it, I found that the failure was something unexpected - one of the connections to the DC output was broken. The lug on the IEC type C-13 receptacle had broken at the point where it entered the slip-on crimped fitting on the wire connecting it to the circuit board. The curious aspect of this failure is that the crimped connections on all of the connections are covered with insulating plastic sleeves, but the sleeve on the broken connection was missing and the crimped connection on the broken pole appears to be corroded. My suspicion is that the corrosion caused a poor electrical connection and a localized hot spot that melted the plastic boot - there is evidence of melted plastic on the bottom of the box directly below that connection.
In theory, it would be a simple matter to replace the C-13 receptacle and crimped connector, and to put a bit of heat-shrink tubing over the resulting connection. In practice, however, that project would almost certainly be more complicated, while replacing the entire speed control box was a fairly simple fix.
But the point I wanted to make is that while PSI can supply a replacement speed control box for this nine-year old lathe, the replacement box is different (and I think better than the original) in some interesting respects:
1. The old box supplied power to the work light on the headstock through a couple of conductors included in the multi-core speed control cable. The new box has a separate output for the light, and it is necessary to change the wiring to the light in the headstock. This isn't really a big deal, and instructions were provided
2. The overload and reset button has been moved from the front panel to the left side of the control box.
3. The replacement box has a different, and in my opinion, far superior provision for cooling. The power thyrister is mounted on a hefty aluminum heat sink. On the old box, there are openings in both the bottom and top of the box to allow air to circulate over the fins on that heat sink; however, it is possible for dust to infiltrate the box through those openings and find its way around the heat sink and into the electronics. The circuit board is suspended from the top of the box when it is mounted on the lathe, but dust can still get in the box even though it normally accumulates harmlessly on the bottom of the box. On the new box, the finned portion of the heat sink protrudes through an opening on the side of the plastic box, and is protected by a ventilated plastic shroud, so it is less likely that dust will get into the box itself. Someone obviously did some serious thinking about cooling and dust control when they redesigned the box.
4. There still is no reversing switch on the PSI Turncrafter - even though King Canada appears to offer the same lathe (painted blue rather than red) with a reversing switch. Again, not a big deal - it's a simple matter to add an external reversing switch.
5. The provisions for 'tweaking' the speed range (an undocumented feature of this lathe) are essentially unchanged.
So not only do I continue to consider the Turncrafter Commander to be a great lathe, I think the latest enhancements make it even better.