Manufactured by Société Commerciale d'Outillage et de Mécanique d'Aviation of 7 Rue Lauriston, Paris 16e. France, the Scomea had a centre height of 50 mm and a bed 300 mm long. Of unusually heavy build and strong construction it was perhaps intended for heavier work on clocks and mechanical instruments - though oddly the makers appear not to have listed a compound slide assembly. Running in adjustable cone bronze bearings the spindle was arranged to take 8 mm draw-in collets and carried a 3-step pulley for drive by a round rope. Drilled into the outside face of the largest pulley were two circles of indexing holes - just 12 on the inside and possible 18 on the outer, an arrangement at odds with most other makers who provided sets with many more factors.
Supplied in a neat, fitted wooden box, the lid of this hinged backwards to reveal a baseplate that held the lathe with, behind, a permanently-mounted motor and countershaft unit. To the right was a storage box with its top face drilled to hold collets and other small accessories together with a small drawer that slid out to the right.
Although the lathe was well finished - the main castings in a black enamel - unfortunately most of the smaller parts were bright chrome plated, not the best way of avoiding unwanted and distracting reflections..