Although Perfecto's made (or re-branded) an earlier lathe - at some point from the very late 1930s onwards - the machine for which they are best known was a 3.5" x 16" lightly-modified copy of the pre-war Myford ML2/4. Despite the handicap of an elderly design the machine sold well and was a boon to the keen modeller who wanted a new lathe, but could not afford a Myford ML7.
Well-finished and with a 9" diameter capacity gap bed, backgear, a robust "A section" V-belt drive, tumble reverse and a T-slotted cross slide, the Perfecto was built to a decent specification. The only obvious weakness was the No. 1 Morse taper tailstock, an exact copy of that used on the first Myford in 1932 - and not even modified (as later Myford versions were) to overcome the terrible weakness of the side adjuster plate. The spindle was bored through 5/8", fitted with a No. 2 Morse taper and had the same thread (11/8" x 12 t.p.i) as a 7 Series Myford.
Countershafts varied in design with the first featuring the ingenious use of a curved steel bar formed as a cantilever unit whilst later types were more rigid, and used conventional cast-iron uprights. Spindle speeds, though they varied slightly over the years, were generally in the order of:  45, 90 and 180 r.p.m. in backgear and 260, 475 and 1050 r.p.m. in open belt drive.
Standard equipment for the lathe included eleven changewheels for screwcutting: 2 x 20t, and one each of 25t, 30t, 35t, 40t, 45t, 50t, 55t, 60t and 65t. A complete range of accessories was also available and, because the machine could be specified in various basic forms, the impecunious amateur could save even more money by adding refinements later or making his own adaptations or modifications. The last version of the lathe, made in the early 1980s, had a roller bearing headstock and more complete guarding over the drive belts and changewheels; however, despite these improvements very few were sold and that particular model is rare. The standard lathe was 32" long, about 22" wide with the standard countershaft unit and motor - and weighed around 140 lbs.
Perfecto also manufactured a range of other machine tools including horizontal and universal millers, a tool grinder and both powered and hand-operated 5" and 7" shapers. The latter were well-made, useful little machines and several usually appear on the UK second-hand market each year.
In many respects the Perfecto was similar to the Advance, a model made in Australia during the 1950s