A product of the 1950s and 1960s, the Heron K14 geared headstock, detachable-gap bed screwcutting lathe was made in Italy by Misal s.a.s. Leto, who had facilities and offices in both Milan and Rome.
With a centre height of 7.125" (180 mm), and the customer was offered the choice of between-centres' capacities of 31.5",  40"  or 60". Cast from a high-tensile iron with an average Brinell hardness of 200/220, the deeply-ribbed bed had twin V and twin flat ways and was fitted with a generously-proportioned detachable gap able to accept a diameter of 22.75" (575 mm) and a disc up to 5.75" thick fastened to the 11.75" (300 mm) or 17.75" (450 mm) faceplates. Optionally, the bed could be specified hardened with a ground finish and an improved Brinell number of 450.
Splash-lubricated from an oil sump in its base, the headstock had 8 speeds of 35,  55,  90,  140,  270,  415,  675 and 1015 rpm - generated by a cluster of case-hardened and ground gears (of which the largest appear to have been rather marginal in their dimensions). Drive came from twin V-belts turned by a 1400 rpm 3 hp motor mounted within the headstock-end cabinet leg. The speeds were changed by two concentrically-mounted levers neatly mounted on the front face of the headstock.
As an extra-cost option a 4 hp motor was available which, in conjunction with a different pulley set,  raised the bottom and top speeds to 50 and 1500 rpm respectively. An alternative specification was also available in the form of a full Timken taper-roller bearing spindle assembly, this being offered with a choice of three spindle-speed ranges: 35 to 1015 rpm,  50 to 1500 rpm (standard) and 70 to 2000 rpm. The designation of a Timken roller-bearing head lathe (which included the more powerful 4 hp motor as standard) was KR14.
Made from from a heat-treated and ground-finish alloy steel, on the standard machine the 1.375" diameter spindle ran in an adjustable front bronze bush and a roller-race rear bearing; the spindle nose was an American style  long-nose taper key fitting in an L00 size..
Happily, a multi-plate clutch was fitted as standard, easing the load on the motor and transmission and so providing - under today's conditions and amateur use - useful assistance in starting should the machine have to be run on single-phase power or from a phase converter or inverter.
Lubricated from an oil sump by splash, the screwcutting and feeds gearbox was able to generate both English , metric and module threads - but only by changing an appropriate gear on a single stud carried on an easily-adjusted bracket. To make full use of its capabilities, extra gears were also needed supplement the threading ranges. The KR14 roller-bearing headstock model was fitted as standard with automatic stops on both the sliding and surfacing feeds - but was an extra-cost option on the plain front-bearing K14. In place of a headstock-mounted tumble-reverse mechanism a lever, fastened to the right-hand side of the double-wall, oil-bath apron, provided a means of instantly reversing the direction of the power sliding, surfacing and screwcutting feeds.
Provided as standard with a new machine were: full coolant equipment ready to run, fixed and travelling steadies, 8 extra screwcutting changewheels, one driver plate, two centres, keys, charts and an instruction book..

Oil-sump and splash-lubricated, the headstock had 8 speeds of 35,  55,  90,  140,  270,  415,  675 and 1015 rpm - generated by a cluster of case-hardened and ground gears - of which the largest appear to have been rather marginal in their dimensions.

Heron K14: The oil-bath screwcutting and feeds gearbox was able to generate both English , metric and module threads - but to make full use of its capabilities, extra gears were needed supplement the threading ranges. The KR14 roller-bearing headstock model was fitted as standard with automatic stops on both the sliding and surfacing feeds - but this useful facility was an extra-cost option on the plain front-bearing K14

Heron K14 headstock, with neat, conveniently-mounted controls. The upper two concentrically-mounted levers controlled the spindle speeds while the lower pair, in conjunction with the two levers to their right, operated the screwcutting and feeds gearbox.

Deeply ribbed, the bed (with three steep chutes for chip clearance) had twin V and twin flat ways and  was cast from a high-tensile iron with an average Brinell hardness of of 200/220; it was fitted with a generously-proportioned detachable gap able to accept a diameter of 22.75" (575 mm) and a plate up to 5.75" thick fastened to the standard 11.75" (300 mm) or 17.75" (450 mm) large-capacity faceplates. Optionally, the bed could be specified hardened and ground with an improved Brinell number of 450.