Discovered only three miles from Hubert Dalton's own house (and fifteen miles from the Dalton factory) this wonderfully original, barely-used 41/8" centre height Dalton Lot 6  lathe (Serial No. 127) was found in the basement of a carriage house at an estate on Long Island, NY.  Now sympathetically restored by its new owner, Dennis Turk, it is as close to brand-new as one could ever hope to discover and, when found, was still in the hands of the 88-year old son of the original owner, the machine having being purchased in either 1917 or 1918. An early example, the maker's plate lists the 1917 patent but not those of 1918 or 1922 - so confirming the son's provisional dating (one wonders if the buyer and Mr. Dalton knew each other). Although a strongly-built metal lathe (and very heavy, it weighs over 600 lbs/272 kg) it was used only for wood turning, this being confirmed by the complete lack of any metal turnings on or near the bed, the only evidence of use being about a half a cup of wood dust being found on the machine together with a little in the motor. Although a properly backgeared and screwcutting lathe (and equipped with an expensive taper-turning attachment and a thread-dial indicator) the son explained that his father had initially employed the Dalton to help manufacture replacement spokes for a horse-drawn carriage but,  after 1924 when horse and buggies were retired in favour of the family's first car, the lathe was never used again (the car was still in the carriage house when the lathe was dismantled for transportation).
With the lathe housed in the Turk restoration workshop, a powerful magnet was employed to check even more carefully for metal shavings, but non could be found. When the chuck was removed - almost certainly the first time this had been done since it left the factory - the threads on the spindle, as well as the internal taper, looked only minutes away from having come off the grinding machine. Considering that the lathe had been in storage for the 88 years, there should have been a noticeable patina on the bright metal parts, but non could be found, they were bright and clean - the basement where it was housed must have had a steady temperature and low humidity (in that part of the USA it really should have been covered in rust). The only attention the unpainted parts needed was a light rub with an aluminum polish  to bring back the original shine.
Further investigation revealed a complete lack of wear on any part and, further, evidence that Dalton had worked to very high standards with close fits and tight tolerances. The apron was an especially good example of first-class workmanship with, instead of turned finishes, the screw-in bushings for the handwheel shaft and the power-feed knob being ID ground and all shafts OD ground - with less than a .001" clearance on any component. There was no sign of wear - not even any linear marks -  on the underside of the tail stock and everything looked factory fresh.
Of the planetary-reverse type, the massively built and very heavy overhead drive must have been one of the earliest types made by the Company, the design remaining something of a Dalton hallmark for several decades. The quiet-running sun gears in the drive were made from Mycarda, or what is sometimes called canvas reinforced phonetic resin or linen board - many machines using used this and similar "developed" materials for gears, with even modern lathes such as the Emco 7, 8 and 10 Series, and several makes of geared-head drills and milling machines being so equipped.
Even the original electrical equipment was intact, the knife-type switch being constructed from three castings in iron, one in bronze and a ceramic base; it was marked: Battery Disconnect Switch Patent 1906 - but, unfortunately, carried no maker's name. Notably absent - and hence dangerous in today's safety-conscious eyes - was the lack of a junction box on the motor to safely secure the power leads (this was the first induction run repulsion start motor that Dennis had ever found wired in this way)..