Boxford manufactured three different precision plain-turning lathes. Two were introduced simultaneously during 1946/7 -  one a beautiful little 3.3" x  9.25" precision plain-turning bench model and the other a disticctly different dedicated capstan type. The third, which did not appear until 1958, was constructed as a precision lathe designed to compete with what was described coyly as continental manufacturers - in other words the Schaublin 102 and similar size lathes from Mikron, G. Boley and Leinen. The 1946/7 machines were the first lathes made by Denford in their "Box Tree Mills" plant and, whilst the first catalogues are undated, included with them are sheets referring to a forthcoming 9-inch screwcutting lathe - an obvious reference to the company's well-known South Bend 9-inch clone introduced during 1948. Both lathes were the size of a Schaublin 65 - and so fell neatly between the American bench type as made by, amongst others, Stark, Hardinge, Ames, Waltham and Pratt & Whitney, and the "heavier" pattern of WW type watchmakers' lathes as made by Boley, Derbyshire, Levin and Pultra, etc. Unfortunately, neither lathe was to enjoy the same phenominal sales succes as the Schaublin 65 and 70 types, even though their prices, at £175 (when a backgeared and screwcutting ML7 was around £60) were similar. Nevertheless, a production run of around 400 was hinted at by the factory - a number that probably satisfied the UK's immediate post-WW2 demand for this type of lathe when deliveries from Switzerland (and Germany) would have been limited. Today, a small but regular supply of these well made little Boxford machines turns up on the second-hand market
Eight belt-driven spindle speeds were provided, in two ranges of high and low using a 2-step V-belt from a 1425 rpm 1/4 hp motor and a 4-step flat-belt final drive to the 0.5" bore hadstock spindle. The spindle assembly, with a 7/8" BSF nose, was hardened and ground and ran in adjustable cast-iron bearings; on test in the company's toolroom one had been run for over 3000 hours without any appreciable wear becoming apparent.  However, for a small precision lathe the speed range was barely adequate, and the top speed too low: 170, 270, 280, 450, 460, 740, 760, and 1210 rpm. Unacounatable, instead of a faster set, the factory offered one that was slower, from 40 to 630 rpm. The maximum collet capacity was 5/16".
Precision ground and hand scarped, the bed ways were formed from Vs and flats of quite massive proportions for so small a lathe; the compound slide rest was fitted with a single quick-set locking bar and, unusually for this class of machine, had both its feed screws completely enclosed and protected from swarf; a simple two-way tool-holder was fitted as standard.
On the bench lathe, the tailstock barrel had an auto-eject mechanism and a No.1 Morse taper. The whole machine weighed 112 lbs with overall dimensions, including the countershaft, of 27" x 24" x 16".
Of a different design to the plain-turning , the Boxford Precision Capstan had a 3.5" centre height with the 25/32" bore headstock spindle supported on a taper-roller bearing at the front and a double-thrust ball at the rear. The spindle nose was threaded 11/8" x 11 t.p.i. and a lever-action collet closer fitted as standard. A 1/3 hp motor was part of the ordinary equipment and drove the lathe through an all V-belt drive countershaft unit to give 8 speeds that spanned either 180 to 2100 rpm or, alternatively, amore useful 360 to 4200 rpm. A quick-action lever-operated collet closer was fitted - the maximum collet through capacity being  0.5". Quite why Box-Ford considered it necessary to design and manufacture two completely different precision lathes, when one could easily have been adapted to the other's tasks, remains a mystery.
If you have a Boxford Precision and could contribute a set of close-up photographs, the writer would be delighted to hear from you.
Details of the later 4.5" precision plain-turning lathe here