I've Never Seen A Lathe Like This One

That looks strongly reminiscent of the Conover - I wonder if that's actually an early example of one?

EDIT: Curious that the power switch & tool rack are both mounted on the back side of the lathe...
 
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A friend of mine had one in his shop. It was a Conover with a 16' bed. He made a fortune turning columns for home restoration businesses. He needed the overhead crane to lift the blanks. 5 horse motor to run the thing. When he retired he sold it for $2,800.
 
My uncle had one very similar to this in his shop in Nanimo, BC. It was about 20 feet long though and he used it to mill the center pole in spiral staircases, his specialty. Now that he is retired, I have no idea what he has done with it. He had some very cool equipment in his shop, all that would be considered vintage today.
 
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