An English lathe with an unusually deep gap the Butterfield was an obvious attempt to manufacture a machine capable of tackling both ordinary work and very large faceplate-mounted jobs. To assist with then latter a double-reduction backgear was fitted - lowering the bottom speed to between 5 and 10 r.p.m. - and the saddle extended well forwards to allow the cross slide to be drawn out and the tool reach the outside edge of the faceplate. In other respects the lathe was entirely conventional for its time  - circa 1880 to 1900 - with the carriage hand feed operated by a cranked lever operating directly onto a bed mounted rack (without the benefit of reduction gearing), a light tailstock with daylight beneath its barrel, a flat-topped 60-degree V-edged bed and a solid headstock spindle.