Made in Bulgaria by machine-tool builders Mashstroy and imported into the UK by Warco (better known for their Taiwanese machine tools) the 4" x 19" Mashstroy  Series 210 and 220 lathes have an interesting combination of features. Still in production today, they boast a box-section induction-hardened bed of great depth with a wide and flat top with angled edges - an arrangement resembling that used on the Hardinge HLV toolroom lathe. Finished to a very good standard, in 1995 the C210T was, at £1500 ready to run with a few essential extras, a rather expensive proposition. However, the standard equipment supplied was generous and included a smooth-running 0.75 h.p. single phase motor with an emergency stop button and reversing switch, 3 and 4-jaw chucks, a 4-way toolpost, a faceplate with both open and radial T-slots, screwcutting changewheels, centres, chip tray and an electrically interlocked chuck guard.
Although late models are now supplied with variable-speed drive, earlier types were driven by a miniature "Gates" V-belts (as used on the Emco Compact 8) running over two sets of pulleys (both belts slackened and tightened by a single lever, so speeding up changes) to give nine spindle speeds from a rather high slowest of 125 to a maximum of 2000 r.p.m. . As the final drive pulley on all types is mounted outboard of the left-hand spindle bearings, this allows the headstock casting to be formed as a very rigid, enclosed box. Bored through to clear 21 mm (3/4") and with No. 3 Morse taper nose, the spindle rotates on sealed roller-bearing. Handily, that section of the spindle inboard of the end is drilled with a ring of indexing holes engaged by a spring-loaded detent lever. Unfortunately the method of mounting chucks and faceplates (though very safe at high speed in reverse) is agonisingly slow with six screws having to be released each time a change is made.
Screwcutting is by changewheels only - there is no option of a screwcutting gearbox - with gears provided to generate 23 metric pitches from 0.4 to 12 mm, 29 inch from 3 to 72 t.p.i. and 15 Module from 0.2 to 2.5. For each setting of the changewheels the operator can select three sliding feeds, a useful facility that allows jobs to be completed not only more quickly but also to a better standard. Drive to the permanently-engaged leadscrew is unusual; for normal turning the changewheels are disengaged and a friction drive employed, engaged by depressing a lever and moving it sideways to align with a feed-rate mark. When screwcutting the lack of clasp nuts or a dog clutch means that at the end of every pass the cutting tool has to be withdrawn from the workpiece and the motor reversed to bring the saddle back to the starting point. Although an inconvenience, at least this method means that errors in re-engaging the leadscrew are entirely avoided.
With 100 mm (4") of travel the cross slide features a large micrometer dial (some machines appear to have been supplied with metric graduations but others with dual inch/metric markings) with a handle that rotates around its stem.
Able to be set over to turn slight tapers, the tailstock carries a 30 mm (1.2") diameter, No. 2 Morse taper spindle with a stroke of 60 mm (2.4").