Pre-1900 Lorch Schmidt production lathe with treadle drive and chase screwcutting by sliding headstock spindle. This effective, high-speed threading system was used for many years on Lorch and other high-quality lathes. For an explanation of how sliding-spindle screwcutting works see the section on Karger lathes

Pre-1900 Lorch "Triumph" precision backgeared plain-turning lathe Model "A" of 120 mm centre height by 1000 mm between centres. Note the 19th century) design of the fixed steady, 2-jaw chuck and 4-screw bell chuck

Lorch  80 mm centre height plain-turning bench precision lathe pre 1900. This model was available with 210, 310, 410 or 510 mm between centres. Note the watch-lathe-like faceplate with removable screw clamps. All early smaller Lorch Schmidt lathes featured the distinctive "steps" at the end of the bed.

Lorch precision bench lathe available with 80, 100 or 120 mm centre heights from a French catalogue of 1910. This is a later, improved version of the pre-1900 80 mm model above - note the stronger end plates supporting the compound slide feed screws, the balanced ball handle on the longer-travel top slide replacing the (by then old-fashioned) crank type, a more sophisticated pivot arrangement on the lever-feed tailstock, multiple rings of indexing holes on the headstock pulley face and improved retention, by a nut, of the tailstock spindle insert.

Very similar to the model in the woodcut above this slightly later plain-turning precision Lorch Schmidt is unusual in having a gap bed and backgeared headstock.  Even for this type of lathe the top slide on this example has an exceptionally long travel.

Lorch plain-turning bench lathe from around 1920 fitted with headstock dividing through a unit working though changewheels. This lathe was originally fitted with screwcutting & power feed to the top slide - notice the bracket on the end of the latter to pick up the drive from a (removed) universally-joined shaft. The countershaft is from a South Bend 9-inch

A wide range of (expensive accessories was always available for this type of lathe. Shown here are a fixed steady, dividing plate for the headstock spindle, 4-jaw chuck-cum-faceplate, gear-cutting unit with bevel gearing, raiser blocks for headstock and tailstock, a hand-turning rest, vertical slide with spindle to hold cutters or grinding wheels and a vertical slide with a horizontal boring table If well fitted, and operated by a skilled tradesman, these items enabled even a simple lathe to successfully undertake a huge range of  complex workshop tasks.