Originally sold in two centres heights as the SV90 and SV102 the Schaublin 102 is the best known and most widely used of the company's precision plain-turning (non-screwcutting) lathes. Although the SV90 had disappeared from the maker's lists by 1946 the 102 was constantly modernised (though in reality this was just rectangular styling of the main castings and accessories) and is still being made today (2008). All models of Schaublin precision plain lathe were designed so that a customer could order one or more types of bed and then mount on each, or subsequently interchange, a variety of different headstocks, tailstocks and slide rests. In order for this to happen it was necessary, of course, for all components to be made to such a high standard of accuracy that each was absolutely interchangeable, aligned perfectly and would allow, for example, a precision plain-turning "toolmaker's" lathe to be instantly converted into a production machine by simply removing the compound slide rest and bolting in its place a rotating capstan toolholder. This ease of conversion was achieved not by building complete machines in batches and then dismantling them but by concentrating on the accurate gauging of the sub-assemblies where limits of 0.001 mm were the norm. Even if the factory received an order for a lathe built-up to a particular specification the required elements were just drawn from the stores, assembled, checked to limits in excess of those proposed by Schlesinger, packed and dispatched; the company claimed that no "fitters" were needed to scrape or otherwise modify parts. A disadvantage of this system was the need to carry in stock, at some expense, a cushion of built-up sub-assemblies ready for dispatch - and if you were one of the world-wide network of Schaublin agents you too were required to hold a certain number of the more common parts for instant delivery. As confirmation of this accuracy, in 2006 a used faceplate was brought over from Switzerland for a 102. When fitted it had a run-out better than 0.0001", yet the part and the lathe had been manufactured 20 years apart. For the popular 90 and 102 lathes every year of manufactures (until recently) has seen Schaublin list beds in short ("Type 1a" 600 mm long) and standard ("Type 1" 900 mm long) versions, with feet at both ends, and another short-bed version ("Type 1b" 650 mm long) with a single foot and cantilever construction. As lathes bolted to cast-iron chip trays - or mounted on self-contained underdrive stands - became more popular they widened the range to include models with beds specifically adapted for these purposes, the earliest version for an underdrive model being designated bed "Type 1c" at 900 mm long. Until the 1980s, when the length was increased to 1000 mm, the standard "Type 1" bed remained faithful to the 900 mm figure - a specification that gave between-centres capacities of 300 to 425 mm depending upon the particular combination of headstock and tailstock fitted.
Model descriptions and definitions used by Schaublin varied over the years but included (for all models, not just the 90 and 102):
"Toolmakers'" when fitted with a headstock having a screw-operated draw-in collet attachment, a screw-feed compound slide rest and a screw-action tailstock. This model was often equipped with a beautifully made screwcutting and power feed attachment where a bracket, carrying changewheels, was bolted into the T-slot that ran down the front face of the bed. A universally-joined shaft took the drive to the long-travel top slide.
"Repetition" and "Second-operation" were interchangeable descriptions applied when a machine was assembled with quick-action lever controls for movements of collet closer, cross slide, top slide and tailstock.
"Turret" was used if the lathe mounted a 6-station rotating capstan head and "Lead-screw" when fitted with a combination of screwcutting by changewheels, a proper leadscrew and a backgeared headstock..
Whilst the SV90 and SV102 looked superficially similar they were, in nearly every respect, entirely different and although each had an accessory range tailored to its exact requirements items could often be interchanged and also transferred from the smaller SV65 and SV70 models - though in the latter case the use of raiser blocks or other adaptors was often required. However, although the rest of the lathe might have been different, the standard SV90 and SV102 headstocks of early years were (apart from their centre height) identical with an open, un-braced front and a 20 mm bore spindle, hardened and ground, running in adjustable bronze bearings. At the front the spindle bearing was formed with a long 3-degree taper and short 45-degree taper (in the manner first adopted in 1865 by Stark in the USA) with a plain parallel bearing at the other end. The cones of the 3-step pulley were 30 mm wide, with the largest carrying three rings of division holes (100, 60 and 48) in its flange and a single circle of 12 in its smallest. The bore of the largest collet that could be fitted was 14.5 mm. For the 102 model only the makers offered what they referred to as a "Reinforced" headstock; this had larger diameter bearings, wider (35 mm cone pulleys) and a 25 mm bore spindle that could accept collets with a maximum through bore of 17.5 mm. The W20-type collets (also used on the VM-102 screwcutting version) were 19.7 mm in diameter, 73 mm long with an unusual buttress-form thread of  0.780" x  1.666 mm pitch, a type also found on some Jones and Shipman grinding machines. Confusion can arise because not all collets marked W20 are identical - with some made to fit Mikron lathes, for example, being 19.75 mm in diameter, 80 mm long and with either a 2.0 mm or 1.25 mm pitch thread.
Two backgeared headstocks with a reduction ration of 1 : 5.15 were also available, both with a stiffening, half-height front wall: one, a standard-duty type with a 20 mm bore spindle fitted both the SV90 and SV102 whilst the other, a heavy-duty version for the 102 only had (like the "reinforced" version) larger diameter bearings, wider (35 mm cone pulleys) and the same 25 mm bore spindle that could accept collets with a maximum through bore of 17.5 mm.
Various drive systems were available from simple non-adjustable bench, wall and ceiling-mounted countershafts with fast-and-loose pulleys to more complex arrangements involving foot-operated pedals for engaging countershaft clutches to give instant changes of speed. The beautifully made bench countershafts units usually incorporated a socket into which a separate overhead drive system could be plugged - this long-used system providing a simple and reliable means of driving high-speed grinding and milling attachments held in the toolpost. In later years an effort was made to provide countershafts which were not only neater but also allowed the belt tension to be quickly and effectively adjusted with one particularly effective example, the Type 102.95.400, using a tall flange on the end of the electric motor to carry the drive shaft in an eccentric housing with the input and output pulleys arranged on each side of a large central bearing.
Copying the established American precision bench lathe makers Schaublin offered a huge range of accessories designed to convert a simple lathe into a multi-use machine-tool: in addition to previously-mentioned slide rests, production equipment and collets amongst the many items listed over the years were: vertical slides of early and later (stronger) types all with high-speed milling and grinding heads, swivelling T-slotted tables and vices - together with several different designs of the required "overhead" round-rope drive system; external and internal grinding spindles to fit in the toolpost; screwcutting attachments of the four types - sliding headstock spindle, simple chase and chase combined with changewheels and "changewheel-direct-to-top-slide"; an attachment to provide power feed to the cross slide (this was combined with the screwcutting attachment); tailstocks with screw, lever and capstan-handle operation (the latter with and without a large micrometer dial), headstock, slide-rest and tailstock raiser blocks; headstock-mounted dividing units with indexing plates; adaptors to fit headstocks and tailstocks to the tables of  Schaublin milling machines; several different kinds of single and multi (rotating) micrometer stop for the carriage and both cross and top slides; T-rests of various sizes for hand work; fixed steadies with closed and open bodies and a choice of bronze-tipped or roller fingers; faceplates with T-slots, tapped holes or a combination of both together with a selection of adjustable "finger" clamps to convert them for holding delicate parts; special "quill" holders to replace the tailstock that allowed high-accuracy spindles to be carried holding collets, faceplates and other fittings (the quills could also be fitted with pulleys and driven); saw tables and the necessary between-centres cutter arbors; a cam-turning attachment; roller filing rests with either single and double rollers; a number of different machine vices; a cross-slide mounted horizontal indexing and milling attachment; an unusual horizontally 4-way toolpost; an eccentric "chuck" (complete with adjustable counter-weight) that accepted both collets, faceplates and a conventional 3-jaw chuck (Schaublin's term for this unit was Universal offset and co-ordinate head); a centring microscope and stands with locking drawers, seats, footrests and electrical controls operated conventionally or by a knee hoop or foot pedals..