Manufactured, or factored by, ''The General Radial Drill Co.'' of Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A. the interesting Schaffner ''9-inch'' bench lathe was over-optimistically described by them as "Beyond Competition". The origins of the model are uncertain, for it has also been discovered advertised in a German publication and, with its name, may well have originated in that country. Almost certainly first produced during the 1920s. the lathe's real swing was considerably larger at 11.25 inches and the between-centres' capacity 24 inches on a 4-foot long V-way bed. The machine was advertised as being designed "primarily for the automotive service field" and was available in both a plain-turning and screwcutting versions. At glance the lathe had all the hallmarks of being very ordinary indeed; however, in addition to an SKF taper-roller bearing headstock and screwcutting gearbox (at the time both unusual features for this class of machine) hidden inside the cast-iron headstock was an ingenious (and patented) ''friction-drive" system, the "Gibbs V-Disc". The mechanism as fitted to early lathes consisted of an electric motor, with a gear housing that moved the output shaft nearer to the headstock spindle. A friction disc of ''graphhitized micarta'', was attached to the shaft and, because the motor was pivoted on a stout bar, it could be lifted and slid so that the disc could be made to press against any of the three pulleys on the headstock spindle. After what must have been problems maintaining an efficient drive, later machines were considerably modified and used 6-step pulleys on both motor and headstock with a friction disc (carried on a separate shaft) positioned between them. The modifications increased the number of speeds to six and also resulted in an ingenious and much neater speed control changer mounted on top of the headstock.
For an 11-inch bench lathe, the recommended 1/4 hp 1750 rpm motor (1-phase, 3-phase or DC) would have been hopelessly underpowered - but then the makers did claim the convenience of being able to plug into "any lightning circuit .. and the cost of operation is 21/2 cents an hour." Although the spindle drive was by friction, it appears that this did not allow for infinitely variable speeds and, with the makers quoting the following fixed revolutions of 68, 103, 132, 173, 260, 334 and 600 rpm, it may well have been that some form of backgear on the headstock, or reduction box on the end of the motor, was also fitted. Whilst the headstock arrangements might have excited some interest, the rest of the lathe was, unfortunately, absolutely conventional. The carriage carried a single-wall apron, with double leadscrew clasp nuts, a saddle with longitudinally slotted wings (not evident in all the publicity pictures) and a compound slide rest with cross and top slide travels of 6.5 and 2 inches respectively. The cross and top slides have been found engraved with calibrations graduated with an advance of 100-thou per revolution (others might be different) with the top slide able to be swivelled 90° to either side of centre. The top slide rotation degree marks have been found marked on both the rear and (more sensibly) the operator's side of the cross slide (one lathe had its marks clumsily over-struck and the 30-degree mark some 5 degrees out of alignment).
With a bore of 7/8-inch, the standard No. 2 Morse taper headstock spindle accepted collets from 1/64'' to 1/2''. However, one example has been found with a huge No. 4 Morse taper spindle and a 1-inch through bore - though its thread size remains unknown. The tailstock could be offset on its sole-plate for taper turning and the No. 2 Morse taper, self-eject spindle was gripped by a proper "split-barrel" compression lock - though it appears to have had no ruler graduations
Supplied as part of the regular equipment was a motor with an overload-protection switch (and 5-feet of rubber-covered cabling); a small faceplate; two Morse centres; a simple, single-tool toolpost and a thread-dial indicator. Besides the expected chucks, fixed and travelling steadies, collets, a toolpost grinder and turning tools, the list of accessories also included the surprising option of a taper-turning attachment
Complete with a 1-phase motor and its drive system, the lathe weighed 400 lbs crated for dispatch (about 350 lbs net) and was listed, in the 1930s, at a basic price of US$255.
If any reader has a Schaffner lathe, sales literature or any other machine tool by the manufacturer, the writer would be very interested to hear from them--certain points about the drive arrangement are still not clear.
The Schaffner lathe has also be found badged for the Weidenhoff Company - a firm who sold equipment for automobile electrical testing and repair together with other garage-related equipment..

Schaffner Mk. 1 drive system, Clearly visible is the gear housing on the end of the motor that put the drive nearer to the headstock spindle. A friction disc was attached to the motor pulley and, by sliding and lifting the motor on its stoup mounting bar, could be made to press against any of the three pulleys on the headstock spindle.

Taper-turning attachment--a surprisingly advanced  accessory for this class of lathe

Schaffner tool-post grinder