It has puzzled me for a long time why lathes that were originally designed for spindle work still dominate the lathe market when the majority of turning done nowadays is bowl, platter and hollow form work, the majority of which doesn't require tailstock support.
It is understandable that most hobbyist can only afford and accommodate one lathe and that they will want that one lathe to do most things for them. However, this means that they get a lathe that is optimised for between centres work and a compromise for most of what they actually do on their lathe.
For a brief time dedicated 'bowl' lathes became available like the Union Graduate, which Richard Raffan used before moving to Australia.
But those never became a trend, so we are left with hybrids that mostly don't do the outboard turning platform component very well, IMO. In most cases they seem to me to be afterthoughts that weren't designed by outboard turners who are very familiar with the requirements for outboard turning.
This thread isn't the place to kick that can about any further as the OP is looking for lathes that are currently available, but I might at some stage run a separate thread on outboard turning rigs. Who knows, we might design the perfect lathe between us!
It is understandable that most hobbyist can only afford and accommodate one lathe and that they will want that one lathe to do most things for them. However, this means that they get a lathe that is optimised for between centres work and a compromise for most of what they actually do on their lathe.
For a brief time dedicated 'bowl' lathes became available like the Union Graduate, which Richard Raffan used before moving to Australia.
But those never became a trend, so we are left with hybrids that mostly don't do the outboard turning platform component very well, IMO. In most cases they seem to me to be afterthoughts that weren't designed by outboard turners who are very familiar with the requirements for outboard turning.
This thread isn't the place to kick that can about any further as the OP is looking for lathes that are currently available, but I might at some stage run a separate thread on outboard turning rigs. Who knows, we might design the perfect lathe between us!