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Arbeluxe Lathe




Robert Ballentine Ltd. of 1031/2  St. Vincent Street (near Renfield Street), Glasgow, were not only stockists of small tools and materials for the modelmaker, agents for McMichael, R.G.D. and Ferranti radios and Myford Lathes but also the makers of the now very rare round-bed Arbeluxe lathe. Also believed to have been badged by "Precision Industries", the only known illustration appeared on Ballentine's Company notepaper, the machine almost certainly being in production during the late 1940s and early 1950s. However, despite searching, as yet no advertisements for the machine have been discovered..
A simple, plain-turning, round-bed lathe the Arbeluxe appears to have lacked both screwcutting and backgear and, judging from the diameter of the Burnerd ring-scroll 3-jaw chuck fitted, would have had a centre of 3-inches and a capacity between centres of about 9 inches.  The carriage, with just a single tool slide (that must have swivelled)  was moved along the bed by a feed screw running down the centre of the bed and turned by a handwheel at the tailstock end. Although not clear from the surviving picture, it may be that the headstock spindle was driven by a round leather belt. If you have an Arbelux lathe, or any literature about them, the writer would be very interested to hear from you.

To date the only known picture of an Arbeluxe lathe