Although it's true that the lathes all come from the same place each vendor can spec different details and quality control standards.
For starters, the LMS lathe has a digital readout for the RPMs. Not a huge deal without it, but nice to have. More importantly (to me), it has a cam lock tailstock. I don't believe the HF lathe has one.
This is also Little Machine Shop's bread and butter. Their whole business is based around these lathes and mills. They have great customer service and knowledgeable staff. If you're just starting out with this stuff I'd consider that pretty important. When I had my 7x I got it from somewhere else because at the time LMS wasn't selling machines, just parts and tooling. But I got everything else, including help, from them.
I've got a bigger lathe now but if I was buying this size again I wouldn't hesitate to get it from them. Sorry if this sounds like an ad for them but if you ask around I think you'll find they have plenty of happy customers.
Mike
