Virtually unknown outside continental Europe, the plain-turning, twin-bar bed BITE lathe had a centre height of 45 mm and a between-centres' capacity of 150 mm. Although a very simple machine it appears to have been robustly constructed and intended for serious work - it weighed around 45 kg (100 lbs) - and was powered by a large, full-frame 0.5 h.p. 1500 r.p.m. motor. There was no speed-reducing countershaft, instead the motor was arranged to drive the spindle directly through a 4-step V-pulley to give a rather high range of speeds: 400, 800, 1600 and 3200 r.p.m.
Although the generously-sized cross slide carried 3 T-slots - and a milling slide and vice were probably provided in the standard equipment - no top slide was fitted. Both micrometer dials - on cross-slide and carriage traverse screw - were of unusually large diameter, clearly engraved and with easily-gripped knurled edges. The tailstock barrel was lever driven and carried a replica of the lathe spindle nose. One unusual feature was a grinding wheel, carried (like that on the English "Grindturn" lathe) on the left-hand end of the spindle.