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Harrison Union Graduate & Jubilee Lathes
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A Manual and Parts List is available for the Graduate--email for details

Not counting the multi-purpose Model L1A, the first proper wood lathe produced by Harrison was the 1939 Jubilee - a model that was to find great favour in educational establishments and amongst professional turners wanting a strong, compact, well-made and self-contained machine. It was joined in 1959 by the even better Graduate, a type that was originally advertised as the Harrison Union Graduate. With Harrison part of the 600 Group, production of this long-lived model was moved to the Multico wood-machinery factory where examples of the Tyne Little Gem, Tyme Cub, Tyme Avon, Classic and Challenger wood lathes were also built.
The Graduate is beautifully made and, being constructed entirely from cast iron and steel, is immensely strong, rigid and safe - all important considerations when turning larger pieces of wood.  The centre height is 6 inches and between-centres capacities of 30, 42 and 54 inches have been offered, though in recent years only the shortest model has been offered. The standard-fit bowl-turning attachment can accept material up to 6 inches deep at a diameter of 18 inches, or 12 inches if limited to a thickness of 12 inches.
The No. 3 Morse-taper, 0.75-inch bore spindle with a 1.5" x 6 t.p.i thread on its nose runs in ball races and is driven through its four speeds of  425, 790, 1330 and 2250 rpm by a 0.75 hp 1425 rpm motor, although higher speeds are perfectly possible if the motor pulley is increased in diameter.
The motor and its drive system are safely enclosed within the main cast-iron pedestal that is fitted, to assist changes of spindle speed, with a large access door on the left-hand face and a hinge-open top - both covers being wired with safety switches to cut the motor when they are opened. A mechanical variable-speed drive option using expanding and contracting pulleys with a speed range from 100 to 2300 rpm. has also been offered. However, following a dramatic fall in the price of electronic controllers, today a better system would use a 3-phase motor controlled by a 1-phase to 3-phase inverter - a system any owner of a standard machine could easily replicate at comparatively low cost (see this page for further details).
The bed is formed from a box-section iron casting with machined ways and is bolted and dowelled to the main pedestal. The gap between the ways is used to guide the tailstock whose No. 2 Morse-taper barrel is bored 9/16" clear through so that it can be used to guide augers for deep-hole boring.
Although a Graduate always holds its price well, and hence is expensive to acquire second-hand, they are an excellent investment and, taken care of, can be sold for an equivalent sum even after many years of use. For the serious wood-turner it can be strongly argued that there has never been a better mid-sized machine on the market.

Two other versions are available: a dedicated bowl turning unit, consisting of the just the headstock pedestal end, and a "short-bed" version, both of which are illustrated below. All versions come apart very easily and can be transported in a small trailer or even the luggage compartment of a hatchback with its rear seats folded. The end plate of the bed, through which the connecting bolts pass, has two dowels whose holes would have been drilled and reamed at the factory after the bed was connected to and aligned with the headstock - almost certainly using some form of jig. Cleaning the joint faces carefully and making sure the dowels are fully home should ensure an accurate realignment. Of course , if the lathe is subsequently bolted to the floor (it's not necessary), it would be possible to pull things out of line..

Harrison (Multico) Graduate 6-inch centre height by 30",  42" or 54" between centres.

Harrison "Short Bed" Graduate lathe.
The right-hand "swan-neck" support allows short (16 inches) between-centres work to be undertaken

The dedicated Bowl-turning version lacks the right-hand "swan-neck" support.

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Harrison (Multico) Graduate
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Harrison Union Graduate & Jubilee Lathes
Click HERE for page 2
Harrison Home Page   Serial Numbers   
Harrison "Jubilee" Wood Lathe   
Union Light Lathes Home Page   Light Lathes Photographs   
Union Restoration