My NJ lathe was minus the legs (see Tony's pix) and is otherwise as Tony describes it. It is a 43 inch bed. Weight about 150lbs.
My Western MA lathe HAD the legs (now I have a model to have more cast) and is 48" bed. The lathes are "near identical," although the condition of the shorter one is a bit better. The longer a little heavier as befits the length.
Curious is that both lathes appear to be Morse Taper No. 1 in the tailstock/headstock - which to my thought puts them POST Civil War. Another respondent to the board disagreed and considered they (both?) had been modified. An earlier lathe probably would not be made this way, although it might be modified. Absence of Morse Taper might be a point of price negotiation on the Dartmouth, MA Lathe. (Non-morse taper ARE harder to use - ask me about Barnes No. 5 lathes!)
Of the extant Ames Toolmaker lathes probably Hit&Miss of this board has the most complete Ames Toolmaker lathe including the unusual steady rest, follow rest and other original appointments. He scanned, sent to me, and I have transcribed and figured out the thread/gear options for this lathe (need a HP32S program to figure gear trains for this? I have it.)
I will leave it to him to give you pix of his "block-letter" lathe (A spoiler here.) Below the thread chart.
12 gears brings you to a full set. Between 2 lathes I have five original gears. (No repeats) They are 20DP and 1/2 inch width.
The NJ lathe will be restored as best I can. The Western MA lathe will be kept as I found it. A model for missing parts for the NJ lathe certainly. Meanwhile, it will wait its turn for restoration probably by another hobbyist (this is the "custodial" part of old machinery I guess.)
Joe in NH