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No, the lathe's not a different colour here, this shot was taken at a different time, with different lighting. Marks on the bed are my mistakes not South Bend's fishtails. After I had the bed planed to remove wear, several machinists told me to "break" the newly planed way surfaces with a scraper to help them retain oil. It's an old wives tale - the scraper marks retain dirt as well as oil and will accelerate future wear, so they shouldn't be there. Feedscrews have small dials, and topslide travel is just too short to turn a full length 2 Morse taper. Chip tray is home made, galvanised steel sheet, with rolled and wired edges, and soldered corner joints to hold oil and coolant drips