email: tony@lathes.co.uk
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Harrison L2 (9"/11") L5 (9") Lathes
Essential Differences: Mk. 1, Mk. 2, Mk. 3 and Mk. 4

Manuals are available for most Harrison lathes

Flat-belt Drive L2   An Original L5

Harrison Home Page   L5 Early Model   Later L5 9" & L5A 11-inch"   140
   
L5 Accessories   10-inch   Late 10" & 12" L6   Early 12" L6    Late L6 Mk. 3   

13" & 15" Late Models    13"   14"   16"   17"    Hydraulic Copy Lathes

Harrison Union Lathes   Models 155 and 165   Model 190

14", 16" & 17" Accessories

Newer Models:
AA-10 VS  VS330 & AA   M250   M300   M350 & 390   M400   M450   M500

If you have a flat-belt drive Harrison L5, or any literature concerning
the earliest machines, the writer would be pleased to hear from you.




Late 1930s to around 1946 Harrison L2 with a 4.5-inch or 5.5-inch centre height. Apart from its flat-belt drive headstock and lighter headstock-end bed foot it appears almost identical to the first of the geared-headstock models listed as the L5 Series. Unusually, the same model appears to have been offered with a choice of either a flat-topped (as above) or V and flat-way bed (as in the photograph below).

What must be a slightly later L2 with a V and flat-way bed

Catalogue picture from 1938 showing the Model L2

A previously unknown version of the L2 fitted with a different, 3-ratio screwcutting and feeds gearbox with a tumbler selector

Harrison Mk. 1 L5 - circa 1944 to 1948: 3/4" bore spindle running in plain bearings; a lift-off headstock cover with the letters "A" and "B" cast into the front face; micrometer markings engraved into the flat rims of the cross and top slide handwheels; cast-iron plinth under the headstock and a simple leg under the tailstock end of the bed (although some full cabinet stands in cast iron were also manufactured); flat-sided, triangular-form, bolt-on changewheel cover in cast aluminium; clutch operated by a bed-length horizontal bar. On this lathe the handle is missing from the apron-mounted clasp nut closer

Details of the  "lift-off" rounded headstock cover that reached down to the centreline of the bearings

Harrison L5 Mk. 2 - circa 1949 to 1951: full-length cabinet stand fabricated from heavy-gauge steel plate; roller-bearing headstock with a smaller, bolt-on top cover with a raised rib around its lower front edge and a small spindle-speed plate between the "A" and "B" markings; sheet-steel cover over the changewheels; simple bar (without safety spring loading) on the face of the headstock to engage the high and low speed ranges; conventional zeroing micrometer dials; short clutch operating lever pivoting on just the headstock and a lever with bronze trigger to engage the power sliding and surfacing feeds; tailstock spindle clamp set across the top of the casting; leadscrew support bracket at tailstock end with curved styling. Slightly earlier versions had the  name Harrison written diagonally across the door.

Harrison L5 Mk. 3 - circa 1952 to 1956: headstock spindle with the option of either 0.75" or 1.25" bore; headstock cover without the "A" and "B" letters but with a larger spindle-speed chart often protected by a transparent plastic plate; large, snug-fitting, combined changewheel and belt-guard in cast-aluminium with hinge-open gear cover; tailstock barrel clamp positioned vertically at the rear rather than horizontally over the top of the smoothed-off casting; exposed spring and thumb catch removed from the apron-mounted power-feed engagement lever and its material changed from cast-iron/bronze casting to a metal rod with plastic knob; leadscrew reverse control knob changed from solid steel with a knurled edge to plastic with seven finger grips; 3-speed feeds and screwcutting gearbox changed to an enclosed type with an upwards-pointing lever; Harrison name removed from the bed, relocated to a headstock-mounted plate; leadscrew support bracket at the tailstock end formed from a larger, rectangular casting.

Mk. 4 - circa 1957 to 1966: cross-feed and carriage traverse handwheels with 3 spokes and  internal finger grips; large speed-change lever on front face of headstock fitted with spring-loaded safety catch requiring the lever to be pulled out before it could be moved. This particular L5 is shown with a large-bore spindle with a threaded end - a rare combination that was discontinued after 1959.

Manuals are available for most Harrison lathes

Flat-belt Drive L2   An Original L5

Harrison Home Page   L5 Early Model   Later L5 9" & L5A 11-inch"   140
   
L5 Accessories   10-inch   Late 10" & 12" L6   Early 12" L6    Late L6 Mk. 3   

13" & 15" Late Models    13"   14"   16"   17"    Hydraulic Copy Lathes

Harrison Union Lathes   Models 155 and 165   Model 190

14", 16" & 17" Accessories

Newer Models:
AA-10 VS  VS330 & AA   M250   M300   M350 & 390   M400   M450   M500

If you have a flat-belt drive Harrison L5, or any literature concerning
the earliest machines, the writer would be pleased to hear from you.


Harrison L2 (9"/11") L5 (9") Lathes
Essential Differences: Mk. 1, Mk. 2, Mk. 3 and Mk. 4
email: tony@lathes.co.uk
Home   Machine Tool Archive   Machine-tools Sale & Wanted
Machine Tool Manuals   Catalogues   Belts   Books  Accessories