I bought my Burr King 1272 through Tru-Grit, on the advice of the late Bob Engnath, while visiting L.A. in 1987. He gave his machine heaps and obtained personal grinding rates far in access of most in those times and probably since. My machine (less motor) was shipped to me later that year when I returned to England. I also purchased as an extra, a flat grinding platen to go with it. On setup, I fitted a 1 HP sealed single phased induction motor. In 1993 I emigrated here to New Zealand - my machine came with me! The year is 2008 and I have just had to remove the motor end cap and blow out the accumulated dust and give the centrifugal switch a squirt of Dry Lube. Apart from this, the occasional wheel truing and platen grind, nothing has ever been done to it. As a full-time maker, I have worked with it most days and it has helped me in producing some of the most exquisite pieces of my career. It was expensive at the time and more so with the international shipping, import duty etc. but hey, what price can you put on one of the most robust and versatile machines on the planet? In my working experience - to buy a Burr King has been one of the best investments of my life.