Thanks Pete – yes, it appears to be in excellent condition for it's age, with just a little rust on the chuck and on one spot on the bed, and no visible wear on the bed or leadscrew. I'll probably have to sell it as I now have six lathes and very little space left due to the passing of a close friend and acquiring the entire contents of his garage. But deciding what has to go is difficult.

There's also a hand shaper that I'm trying to identify, but it is in bits at the moment – I think it could be a Perfecto (there's a lot less shapers to look through on lathes.co.uk) – but hopefully it's all there so it can be got back into working order.

Hi Ady

Yes, it's neat little machine, but surprisingly heavy – the bed has (to my inexperienced eye at least) plenty of stiffening ribs underneath and I'm pretty sure it would cope with the type of work it was designed for. One interesting part is the handle for the dog clutch on the leadscrew – the castellated nuts holding the handle on put me in mind of an old lawnmower I have, and it almost looks like an afterthought.