Thanks for the replies so far guys,
David, I have found a bit more info and it is looking more complex than I can be bothered with just now, the only board that can be salvaged is the PSU and the rest has to be replaced. Unless of course I can find an old BBC computer with the software on it. The main reason I took this lathe is that it came from the secondary school I went to, and the first program I ever wrote was more than likely carried out on this very machine. I have far too much on the go at present to make a decent attempt at it, and more importantly it would probably sit in the shed for the next few years gathering rust and dust. I would rather see someone else get it running and make use of it. It looks like a fine wee lathe and to good to go to waste.
Bill, I am afraid there has already been a dibs called on it by another forum member. But if it falls through for any reason it's yours, I will let you know as soon as I find out.
EDIT: I just had a phonecall from my mate who got the lathe for me, he is an IT guy for the local council and I phoned him to enquire about the BBC computer that would have been lying about with it. His reply was "The reason they replaced the lathe was because the last time they fired up the computer it burst into flames, they couldn't get a replacement at the time and were already looking at replacing the old equipment"
darren