Boley was involved in the manufacture of precision production lathes from around 1900 when the company introduced a special lathe that ran in "reverse" with a cutter-support system where a hardened steel support rail was positioned directly under the cutter's leading edge with adjusting screws for fine setting. The lathe could run either backwards or forwards - the latter for threading or reaming - with the direction of rotation being achieved by the operator leaning left or right, his movements being translated through a lever system connected to a pair of arms that partially encircled his hips. This system was later adopted by Boley & Leinen, Fleck and Präwema and also by Britan in England for their small - and rather unusual -  capstan lathe
This simple system - of the cutters abutting against an edge for support - was reminiscent of "chasing" on a watchmaker's lathe and was later adapted (possibly from the mid-1920s) to fit the company's smaller No. 1 and No. 2 precision bench lathes - pictures of which can be seen below.
For many years Boley also manufactured miniature production lathes with their watch and clockmakers' machines Size 1 (50mm centre height) and Size 2 (65mm), being available equipped for repetition work. The larger plain-turning Size 3 and 4 lathes could also be so fitted - with the additional provision of headstock-mounted chase screwcutting.