Built in Mulhouse, France, by the SMID Company, the 120 mm centre height RE-24 capstan lathe was a compact, very simple but heavily constructed (380 kg) machine with its bed, 152 mm wide, cast as-one with the stand. Just 470 mm deep and 1100 mm long - it was intended for short-run batches and entirely hand operated. Held in the stand, on a hinged plate, the 1 h.p. motor drove the spindle directly by a flat belt with just three speeds provided as standard: 500, 1000 and 1500 r.p.m. However, the makers hinted that other ranges could be arranged to suit a customer's particular requirements.
Running in precision bearings the 30 mm bore headstock spindle took direct-fitting collets, opened and closed by a toggle-action lever (that emerged through the front face of the headstock), with a maximum through bore of 24 mm.
Guided on a bed with two rather tall V-shaped ways, the six-station turret assembly had a maximum stroke of 80 mm, was indexed by a 4-spoke capstan handle and had the usual six individually adjustable screw-type length stops. The 80 mm travel, lever-operated cut-off (forming) slide was also of conventional design and appearance - though very deep in section, with the middle cut away to give clearance for the capstan-head tooling. Fitted as standard with front and rear toolposts, each fitted with a screw-adjustable stop, the option was also offered of a 4-way indexing toolpost, a useful addition when capstan tooling could not be suitably arranged for the turning of multiple diameters.
A range of accessories was offered that included a set of twelve collets from 4 to 24 mm bore, capstan tooling such as die holders, quick-release die heads, box turning toolholders (roller steadies) of various kinds, floating reamer holders, recessing toolholder, bit holders, tap holders, drill chucks, etc. Also listed were coolant equipment and fittings, a light unit and a weight-operated bar-feed assembly.