Shown below is the only known surviving example of the Seneca Falls "Handy" lathe, a 10" x 15" machine first offered in 1922 and that, unlike other models from the Company, had no maker's markings or patent dates cast into the bed. Instead, the "Handy" was equipped with riveted-on badges, though the serial number - "HP-1" in the case of the first example shown - was stamped into the tailstock end of the bed. Might this have been a bought-in machine, one to extend the company's range without the expense of tooling up for an entirely new, low-cost machine?  The owner of this model writes that, except for the headstock, the construction of the lathe does somewhat resemble that of a South Bend.
The supplying dealer was located in Rochester, not far from Seneca Falls, with lathe sold to a now-closed motor-repair shop. When discovered, the lathe had all the appearance of being unused; the paint was (and still is) all original and there was no wear on any part - though the cone pulley was broken, perhaps when it was being installed?
Running in scraped bores direct in the cast iron of the headstock and able to pass a 3/4" bar, the No.3 Morse taper spindle has a 17/16" x 12 t.p.i. threaded nose with a long, plain register the same diameter as the thread. The bearing at the chuck end is 3 inches long, at the left 2 inches, with each having an oil well beneath it - the lubricant being distributed by oil thrower "dipping" rings in the centre of each bearing. Like South Bend, who supplied hundreds of thousands of lathes with the same headstock arrangement, the combination of free graphite in the cast iron and a hardened steel spindle guaranteed a long and trouble-free life.
Able to be set-over for the turning of slight tapers, tailstock is equipped with a No.2 Morse taper spindle 11/8" in diameter that lack any ruler graduations.
To make this still-in-active-service, 100-year old lathe more versatile - while preserving its originality - the present guardian has stored the original, wall-mounted countershaft and arranged the drive to come neatly from underneath driven by variable-speed inverter. Sensibly, he has added a pulley guard to the headstock, a final drive by V-belt, a South Bend swivelling top slide and bed wipers on the carriage and tailstock. He reports that it's a very useable lathe, perfectly accurate and enjoyable to own.
Rather oddly, the catalog lists the lathe as being of the "Plain Turning" type, an expression normally reserved for ones that have no screwcutting but, in this case, probably referring to the lack of a slow-speed backgear. In addition, the "leadscrew" is not cut with a thread but left as a plain shaft with a keyway, drive to the carriage being by tightening a starwheel on the apron to bring the necessary drive gears into mesh.