Typical of its period, the Bradford headstock was  relatively light construction but well made from good quality materials. All models had spindles formed from a high-carbon , crucible steel bored through from the solid , rough turned on a lathe and finish ground externally and in the Morse taper socket and its sleeving bush; the nose threads were chased on.
Spindle end play was adjusted though a keyed collar, held in place by a nut on the end of the spindle; the thrust was taken against a large diameter fibre washer, clearance being adjusted by a pair of nuts. The spindle end, where it protruded through the casing, was enclosed by a neat, screw-on hood.
Split along their full length, the two bearings were in bronze and screwed at each end to carry nuts which  provided a means of accurately setting the running clearance.  It is not clear if the bearings were fitted into a tapered housing - in which case only one end would have needed threading - or fitted with slightly tapered threads. The type of back gear assembly available varied with the size of the lathe; the largest machines, of the 36 and 42-inch swing, were fitted with a genuine "triple backgear" (mounted on the front of the headstock) which gave a total reduction in the order of 40 : 1. The 21-inch and 25-inch lathes could be ordered with either a conventional rear-mounted backgear, or a special "quick-change friction backgear" that allowed almost instantaneous changes to be made from the low to high-speed setting and back again..

Friction backgear - which not only allowed instantaneous changes to be made between the low and high speed ranges, but provided a neutral position in the middle which stopped the spindle rotating. This accessory was available on all Bradford lathes up to and including the 25-inch.
The mechanism was arranged so that the engagement was positive, and each speed locked into position.