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.