The Goodell-Pratt Company were well known for their vast range of hand and measuring tools and their little bench lathes were very much an adjunct to this business, not a major part of it.
In the late 1920s two distinctly different models were available, the "Bench" lathe in Model Numbers 125 and 494 and the smaller "Precision" No. 700. Although marketed as a simple wood-turning lathe, a remarkably wide range of accessories was available to turn them into small but useful metal-turning lathes that could hold collets, cut threads and mount a simple milling slide.
The 125 had a swing of 7" and a between-centres capacity of 12". It was 25" long overall, stood 111/2" high on its twin feet and weighed 30 lbs. The 494 had a bed some 6" longer, admitted 18" between centres and was fitted with a longer and more robust T rest.
The 700 was, in comparison, a tiny machine; just 12" long, it had swing of 5" and a between-centres capacity of 5"; this machine is dealt with in greater detail here.
Goodell-Pratt were very modest in their claims for the 125 and 494 machines, insisting that, whilst made from good materials and of a thoroughly serviceable design, the owner could expect them to be only  reasonably accurate. Further proof that the makers were determined that customers should not mistake the product for a Rivett, Boley or Schaublin followed with observations that, whilst the lathes were constructed and fitted with great care only reasonable accuracy was employed and finally, to dispel any doubts at all that you would be buying a modest machine, the following: We do not claim to make a precision tool for the selling price of these lathes; but they can, and do, practically fill all the requirements for the average owner. - If only more manufacturers of cheap Far-Eastern machine tools were as refreshingly candid as this ……
Notwithstanding the manufacturer's attempts to dissuade potential purchasers, the lathes were decently finished in black and red enamel - and all bare metal parts polished.
The bed and base of the tailstock were left as they came off the milling machine, with no effort to hand scrape them to a perfect fit, whilst the 3-step flat-belt drive headstock spindle was fitted with an adjustable cone bearing, a No.1 Morse taper centre and, most usefully, bored through to a diameter of 3/8". Later versions of the lathe appear to have been fitted with an improved, larger bore  spindle with a much more useful No. 2 Morse taper; other differences also exist between early and late models and are the subject of an on-going investigation.
The tailstock was generously provided with both lever and screw feeds - someone at Goodell-Pratt obviously used one of these lathes himself - and a 0 Morse taper spindle.
Supplied with each lathe was a small "faceplate" with two slots cut deep into its periphery, an adjustable T rest, a saw arbor, a drill chuck with a No. 1 Morse taper for the headstock and two centres - one of them being a No. 0 Morse taper for the tailstock. No countershaft or drive system was provided, but a new owner could have selected them from the options' list - in reality, being no doubt impecunious, he would have saved some money and made them up himself. Small 3-jaw chucks were available that screwed directly onto the spindle nose.
Because they were inexpensive and modest machines - the basic lathe cost $40 - and invariably suffered rough treatment at the hands of inexperienced amateurs throughout their life - very few Goodell-Pratt lathes appear on the used market in other than neglected condition - and appear of no interest at all to collectors. Here is the chance for someone with patience and time, but little money, to assemble a perfect, original machine and a complete accessory kit. All the parts must be out there somewhere in the vastness of the U.S.A. - all you have to do is find them.
Unfortunately, whilst some of my Goodell Pratt accessory photographs are suitable for reproduction, many are not; if the proud owner of a well-equipped machine (of any model) would like to photograph the attachments (screwcutting, saw bench, milling and turret units, jig saw, etc.), I will be delighted to add them to the section..