The 2.5" centre height by 8" inches between-centres "Grindturn" lathe was first manufactured by Grindturn Engineering in Shrewsbury during the late 1940s and then, in the 1950s as the rather more sophisticated "Cadet", by Richard Haighton Ltd. of Canning Street, Burnley. The first versions were without a backgear and fitted with just a simple swivelling tool slide; they were mounted on a rather crudely finished cast-aluminium base plate that formed a mounting for the neat V-belt drive 6-speed countershaft unit and electric motor. The machine was light enough to be considered portable and could, with "suitable permissions", be moved indoors during winter months to share the kitchen table and warmth from the open coal fire. The flat-topped, V-edged bed had a usefully large gap (to accommodate a 6-inch faceplate) and the carriage was propelled along it by an overhung leadscrew turned by a handwheel at its tailstock end. Although a screwcutting version of the Grindturn with a dog clutch on the leadscrew was also made non have yet been found with a backgear.
An obvious development of the original machine, the Haighton "Cadet" was very well built and almost a large lathe in miniature with an outstanding specification and very careful attention to detail. The bed, held down with four bolts at the headstock end and two at the tailstock, was fitted to a slightly modified, and much better finished base plate in either cast iron or, more commonly aluminium, a feature that, as before, added an enormous amount of strength and stability. As a reflection of its quality, and the comprehensive specification, the price of the Cadet in the late 1950s was £44 : 15s : 0d, only £7 : 2s : 6d less (25%) then asked for the 3.5" centre height by 20" between-centres Myford ML7.
A proper backgear assembly and full screwcutting were fitted as standard and the spindle, which ran in simple split bronze bearings, had 12 speeds from 25 to 1800 rpm. The 6-speed countershaft assembly was bolted to the frame and used proper V belts to transmit the power from the full-size (and hence heavy and reliable) Brook Gryphon single-phase motor. In place of tumble reverse (which is difficult to engineer satisfactorily on small lathes) a dog clutch was fitted to the headstock-end of the leadscrew. Because the leadscrew nut was "full", and could not be disengaged from the carriage, the clutch removed the chance of making errors when re-engaging the drive during screwcutting operations. A compound slide rest was standard (with knurled-edge zeroing micrometer dials) as was a neat 4-way toolpost and full enclosure for the changewheels - and semi enclosure for the headstock drive belt.
Although described as, "Completely self-contained and portable" the large base plate and full-size electric motor meant that its all-up weight, even with the aluminium base, approached  42 lbs and it was certainly not as easy as the makers claimed to, "Turn your kitchen table into a workshop". The 70 lb cast-iron base plate model was definitely not easy to move around, especially when fitted with the high-quality but large Gryphon motor - and doubtless 'Er in do'u'ers" (or, as our much more perceptive  American friends would say,  SWMBO*) would have had a thing or two to say about the matter as well if asked to help carry it around..
An example of the Cadet that the writer found several years ago was still resplendent in its original black crackle-finish paint (early models were gray) and ran almost silently; the heavy bed plate really did add enormous stiffness to the lathe and it was, as a consequence, capable of taking extraordinarily heavy cuts for so small a machine. If you find a Grindturn or Cadet don't be tempted to take it off the mounting foot, the lathe really will work much better if left as it is.
More Cadet and Grindturn photographs can be found here.