Abstract: A reeled feed web is unreeled and passed through a set of slitting knives before the slit webs are rewound on rewind reels each carried by one of two differential or lock-bar shafts. The shafts are fixed in position and the slitting knives and rollers for handling the feed web and the slit webs are mounted on a movable carriage which can be traversed towards or away from the shafts. The carriage includes two mounting beams, parallel to the shafts, on which lay-on rollers can be mounted for guiding or laying-on slit webs onto respective rewind reels carried by the shafts. Variable predetermined torques can be applied to the rewind reels and the lay-on rollers, and the movement of the carriage controlled, to implement any of the following winding geometries; center winding, center winding with lay-on, surface winding, center surface winding and constant gap winding. The shafts are cantilevered so that reels can be unloaded from the ends of the shafts.