Originally builders of wood-working machinery, the Seneca Falls Company were based in New York State. One of the earliest of their lathes to find popularity was the little 3-inch centre height "Gem" of 1889 and a much better specified treadle-driven backgeared and screwcutting model of the same era. The machines were not distinguished by any particular feature, nor did they attempt to market any unusual or out of the ordinary designs - indeed, the company claimed in its literature the modest and achievable aims of "Quality, Economy, Service". Although unexciting in concept they were, nevertheless, honestly constructed from good-quality materials and achieved great popularity both in the USA and abroad, with numerous examples being exported world-wide; it is not an uncommon machine in the UK although most of the examples encountered there have been the smaller ones made just before and after 1900. Various patents were taken out by the company and some of the lathes carried the appropriate numbers cast into their beds; patent dates known (there are others, as yet undocumented) include:
June 30, 1885. August 20, 1889. November 5, 1895. February 25, 1896. April 14 1896. December 22, 1896. December 1, 1908.  April 6 and May 18, 1909. January 11, 1910.  June 20, 1911. February 4, 1913.  February 9, 1915. November 14, 1917.  November 19, 1918 and May 11, 1920.
American readers may well come across examples of wood lathes made by Seneca Falls sold under the "Crown" label or, even more rarely, as metal-turning lathes marked "Handy Lathe"; the latter were very short-bed machines usually supplied on cast-iron legs. The Seneca Falls Company made its last conventional lathe in 1947 before a change to production and other specialised machinery.

A standard Seneca Falls Star 10", 12" and 14" lathe of the mid 1920s with screwcutting by changewheels and power cross feed.
This range of smaller lathes was available for bench mounting or on floor legs with and without a chip tray -whilst and the 10" and 12" lathes could also be supplied fitted with a treadle drive.
Of  60-65 carbon crucible steel and finish ground (but not hardened), the headstock spindle ran directly in the cast iron of the headstock with oil-thrower rings to splash the lubricant around. This apparently crude system (also used by South Bend on many of their models) works extremely well and gives an astonishingly long life, the free graphite in the cast iron providing lubrication even when oil is lacking. Some, if not all spindles, were fitted with a spigot behind the thread to more securely locate the fittings screwed on to it - by no means a common precaution at the time.
Able to be engaged without having to use a spanner, the backgear assembly and the large cone-drive pulley were both finish turned on the inside and correctly balanced for smooth running at higher speeds.
Running on a bed with the usual American-type V and flat ways, the saddle was fitted with keeper plates (or "gibs") at both front and rear. The cross-slide was fitted with an adjustable stop and its screw fully covered and fitted with a rather small, but zeroing, micrometer dial.
While many makers of even quite large lathes were content to fit a tumble-reverse mechanism driven from a gear on the end of the headstock spindle, and to run the reversing gear train on pins having support on one side only,  Star positioned the reversing drive to the leadscrew underneath the left-hand end of the headstock spindle, allowing a slightly more rigid assembly to be created. The appearance of the round-headed tumble-reverse control lever and its slot were surprisingly like that fitted to the English Drummond lathe.
Rounded covers guarded the changewheels with the cover doubling - by the use of pegs on the inside face - to hold spare gears neatly in place. The changewheels were fitted with "retained" split-spring washers which enabled the gears to be slipped on and off quickly when changing the screwcutting ratio.
Slotted so that it could also act as a power shaft, the leadscrew passed through a bronze worm carried on the inner face of the apron - a key drive providing both a slow rate of sliding feeds as well as a power cross feed. The selection and clutch engagement of feeds was controlled by independent "star" shaped handwheels on the apron's  front face.
Like a South Bend, all small screws, nuts and other components, which might be bruised in the course of routine maintenance were case hardened to protect their appearance.
Standard equipment consisted of both large and small faceplates, two centres, fixed and travelling steadies, changewheels for screwcutting, a drop-forged tool-post wrench and a countershaft assembly.
If you are restoring one of these lathes you might like to know that they were finished with: " …five coats of filler and oil-proof paint leaving a smooth, easily cleaned surface."..