Thanks Bill..

I realise its not going to be better than it was to start (tho you could argue thats not true of the minilathes - as John (Bogs) has shown, theres a lot of fettling that can make them better than as shipped). I want a useable lathe without spending a lot of dosh. reality is that you need to spend a few £100 to get one 'off the shelf' thats any good. Its not just the money (I could afford £400 OK) its something about not throwing away something that is fundamentally sound (assuming that is true). I have a big problem with the throw-away culture. Plus I am keen to learn and I enjoy the challenge.

I dont think the lathe itself has much historical value, it was one of many companies that grew up in the early C20th, flourished during the 1st WW and then died in the depression of the late 1920s. Theres nothing new or special about the design or engineering. But it would be good to give it a new lease of life and, once fettled, I doubt it'll have less accuracy than a modern 7x14 would...

As far as checking the dovetail, part of the issue is trying to decide what reference point to use. There are three possible ones, the rear face or one of the two inner faces. What I cant tell is whether the inner faces are ground well enough to be a reference, and the rear face is the one thats likely to be worn.

I was thinking about the possibility of putting the bed on the mill and regrinding the rear face with a grinding tool held in the spindle. It would just be possible although tricky to mount... (but i do have a spare bed I could try with!)