The lathe bed is marked "Germany" and a serial number, with no other indication of a maker (nor is there one on any of the other castings), although from the construction style it probably dates from around 1900. The drawbar has a 40tpi thread for collets with an outside diamter of 0.268 inches (collet threads can usefully be cleaned up using a 40tpi chaser from a set of four intented to be used in a Coventry die head for cutting 1/8 inch whitworth 40tpi thread). The lathe is mounted on a piece of scrap 1 inch teak board standing about 1 inch off the table surface to allow room for the securing bolts.
The illustrated motor is from an old car windscreen wiper with two speed connections hence the three wires. The belt tensioning device is a slide from a prototype of some kind of specimen slicer. The motor mount is home made, consisting of two large aluminium pillars which are drilled and counterbored, and through which the motor case bolts pass. The strap at the front is simply to minimise vibrations. The three speed pulley was found in a box of junk.
The motor is driven from a 12V DC variable supply built using a surplus variac feeding a 6A rated toroidal transformer (a special deal for two pounds fifty at a local electronics shop).
