Looking as though it was carefully scaled from a very much larger lathe, the tailstock was locked to the bed by the action of an eccentric spindle running through the length of its base.

On the original ManSon the outboard drive pulley, with its rounded groove, was positioned below the spindle and carried three brass gears, one small independent - and an integral large/small pair. The small independent gear drove a larger gear, fastened to the headstock spindle and caused it to rotate. Inboard of the driven gear on the spindle was a much smaller gear, which drove back down to the large gear (of the large/small pair) mounted on the pulley shaft. The small gear of the pair then drove the larger gear of a large/small pair mounted below it - the smaller gear of the latter pair in turn drove another large/small pair - the smaller gear of which then drove a gear on the end of the leadscrew. In other words, a traditional compound-reduction gearing but contained within in a microscopic space and using gears of clock-like proportions.

ManSon with evidence that the headstock bearing oil plug was held in place during transit by a length of sticky-backed tape. The ring-scroll 3-jaw chuck is an unusual fitting to find on a ManSon