Here are users' suggestions on modifications to their Sherline metal lathes and milling machines. Naturally many of the ideas or modifications applicable to the Taig mill and lathe can be adapted to use on Sherline machines. Please read there too. If you got to this file directly from my HOME PAGE, return there by using your browser's back button. BUT if you came to this file as the result of a web search engine, see more than 70 additional files on my home page Machining and Metalworking at Home http://www.janellestudio.com/metal/ SAFETY WARNING BEWARE: DO NOT ASSUME that any subject matter or procedure or process is safe or correct or appropriate just because it was mentioned in a news/user group or was included in these files or on this site or on any other web site or was published in a magazine or book or video. Working with metals and machinery and chemicals and electrical equipment is inherently dangerous. Wear safety devices and clothing as appropriate. Remove watches, rings, and jewellery -- and secure or remove loose clothing -- before operating any machine. Read, understand and follow the latest operating procedures and safety instructions provided by the manufacturer of your machine or tool or product. If you do not have those most recent official instructions, acquire a copy through the manufacturer before operating or using their product. Where the company no longer exists, use the appropriate news or user group to locate an official copy. Be careful -- original instructions may not meet current safety standards. Updated safety information and operating instructions may also be available through a local club, a local professional in the trade, a local business, or an appropriate government agency. In every case, use your common sense before beginning or taking the next step; and do not proceed if you have any questions or doubts about any procedure, or the safety of any procedure. Follow all laws and codes, and employ certified or licenced professionals as required by those laws or codes. Hazardous tasks beyond your competence or expertise should also be contracted to professionals. Let's be really careful out there. (c) Copyright 2003 - 2008 Machining and Metalworking at Home The form of the collected work in this text file (including editing, additions, and notes) is copyrighted and this file is not to be reproduced by any means, including electronic, without written permission except for strictly personal use. ======================================================================== Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 22:51:52 -0500 From: ron ginger Subject: Re: alternate use of Mill or Lathe Daniel Munoz wrote: > I have maybe a strange question. Please forgive me in advance. > I wondered if there is some known use of Sherline Mill or Lathe, to > transform then into alternate tools. > My goal is model ship building, and I want to buy some Sherline tools not > because there are absolutely necessary to build wood ship, but because I > like beautiful machinery tools (and surely I'll do some other stuff with > them too!). > But, as a ship modeler, I also need a table saw, and/or a jigsaw, a disk > sander, a grinder... and I was thinking watching the sherline catalog > and in the same time the Small Parts catalog that maybe some > transformations could be possible (and save some $$$!). Yes, it is very possible. I also do ship modeling, and have built a few additions to my Sherline, and planned a couple more that I have not yet done. I made a thickness sander by placing a sanding drum in the lathe spindle, and making a wedge to fit on top of the tool table. The wedge is a 10:1 taper, and is the same width and length as the table. For each .001 of advance of the wedge the wood gets thiner by .0001. Makes it possible to sand wood to very accurate thickness, for sizes up to about 1/4" thick, and width of over 2". I will try to photograph this setup and post a picture. I planned to make a table saw. Put a 4" slitting saw blade into the saw arbor in the lathe position. Make an aluminum table to fit just over the top of the headstock. It shuold be supported on a peg of about 1/2" dia. To hold this to the lathe bed I made the WR Smith toolpost, and use the base of the toolpost to hold the table. For a fence I would make a Z shaped piece of aluminum to bolt to the tool table. You can then set the width of the cut from the leadscrew, so you can make very accurate rip cuts. A grinder is very easy, just put a grindstone on the arbor, and use the tool rest. Unimat sells this, but I thnk Sherline does not suggest it because of liability reasons. If you claim a machine is a grinder, then you must provide very strong guards over the wheel FOr such small wheels I would do it myslef, but I would not sell it to someone else. I also made a lathe tracer tool for making duplicate parts like cannons or rail stanchions. For this I made a simple holder to hold a flat pattern of the shape I want to turn. I place this on the back edge of the tool table. I made an aluminum block, about a 1" cube. This has two steel pins that protrude from one side. The lower one is a pointer that follows the pattern, the upper one is exaclty on lathe centerline and is a cutting tool. It is important that both the guide pin and the tool be shaped the same. I have made two of them, one has a round nose tool, the other has a square nose to get up to the edge of parts. The tool is held down on the table and freehand moved to follow the template. This works well for both wood and brass turnings. A simple skotch yoke driven in the lathe could make a recriprocating saw or a die filer. There is a book of accessories for the Unimat, most of which could be made for the Sherline. I think the book has been out of print but I recently saw an ad for a reprint. Of course my sensitive drill attachment would also be very useful for ship models- there are pictures of that on the egroups site and my web page http://plsntcov.8m.com Ah, lots of good ideas, just not enough time to make them all.... ron ginger ------- Date: Sat, 03 Feb 2001 18:11:18 -0500 From: Tom Bank Subject: Re: bigger mill ??? -One thing I have thought would be nice, in this regard, would be a table on the Sherline mill with three T-slots, each spaced the same distance apart as the current two. In other words, a wider table. As for the idea of making (cobbling together) a bigger mill with a Sherline head, that's the way I started out. I got the lathe and the vertical column, then bought a Delta bench top drill press base and column. Took a piece of large pipe that was laying around and made a couple of bearings to fit between the pipe and the column. Then my son welded brackets to the pipe to hold a long square chunk of aluminum, onto which the Sherline vertical column, less the black base piece, was mounted. A "feature" of this assembly was that the aluminum piece could easily be pulled out of the bracket and reinserted with a quarter turn, then the head could be flipped up and the setup used as a horizontal mill. Distance from column to cutter was much greater than on the Sherline mill, actually out to the center of the originally designed drill press table, which was 8" or 10". For a movable table, I used a Palmgren 8" rotary table with X-Y slides that I bought new from Sears many years ago. They had picked up a lot of them a number of years before that, hadn't sold them, and finally sold them off on special sale at a fraction of their original (years before) price. The setup worked, but like the Sherline 2000, you had to clamp it really tight or a cut could grab and throw the column registration off. I planned to slot the pipe and put a screw-in pin in the drill press column to prevent rotation of the milling head while in use. I bought a Pacific Rim X-Y table for it, I think from Enco, but then found that the slop built into it was unworkable. After about a year I traded the X-Y table for a bunch of Railroad model kits and parts and then bought the Sherline 5400 and their horizontal conversion plate (which makes the whole mill extremely stable and quiet in operation). I have never looked back. Still have the pieces other than that table, but have never had a need to dust them off. Bought the Sherline rotary table and haven't even used the Palmgren on my drill press since. I only keep that part because my son might need it at some point in the future in his full scale hobby work. Tom ------- Date: Thu, 08 Feb 2001 18:48:55 +1100 From: "Charlie Lear" Subject: Re: Re: 2000 Mill column rotation? On Thu, 08 Feb 2001 06:46:28 -0000, ballendox~xxyahoo.com wrote: >idea!(look at the relief in the slides of sherline machines) If the >outer 3/16 of the round were kept flat, and the interior relieved a >few thou, the "stackup" will stay the same height, BUT... >The central bolt will now apply pressure at the periphery, where the >leverage will be maximised to resist rotation. Of course the centre must be relieved, else it will rock. I don't like the idea of forming a taper on the faces at all, as depending on the angle they will behave as a portion of a sphere and allow the assembly to slip and rock. The securing bolt and matching hole will have to be made to very fine tolerances to stop that happening. I'm very sure Joe thought of all this while coming up with the design! However, if you relieve too much, you are increasing the crushing force on the faces, because the same torque on the nut is transferring the load to a much smaller area on the contact faces. I agree with you, except we are dealing with aluminium here, and the natural tendency to overtighten (especially when things slip!). You need a relatively wide contact face for this - more than 3/16" in my opinion (open to correction). >graphically show this (like the rice paper?) Or is the plan to have >the rice paper act as an inhibitor of rotation? To be replaced with >something else later? The rice paper is an old turners' trick to stop sliding between machined faces. Use it when mounting part-finished work on the faceplate, on a boring table or in a machine vice. In addition to stopping the tendency to slip, it also reduces markings on the finished work. Don't bother using it on rough surfaces (eg a raw casting, or hot rolled steel). The reason rice paper is used, is that it is very common and cheap (cigarette papers are available from everywhere that sells pipe tobacco), is uniformly good quality, and is only a thou or slightly less thick. In the days when almost all people smoked and those in the mechanical trades "rolled their own" it would be a rare machinist without a packet. Don't use cartridge paper as I've seen mentioned elsewhere, it is too thick and will compress unevenly depending on the grain of the paper. My reason for suggesting it is that it is a "proof of concept" - if it stops the 2000 head rotating under climb milling, then replace it later with a friction washer made from thin annealed copper or red fibre. I don't know about various gasket materials - they may be too thick and/or compress too much, you'll have to experiment. Of course, if you're lazy like me, and find that the rice paper stops it slipping, there isn't really much need to use anything else unless you move it all the time. Cheers Charlie Lear, Melbourne, Australia Hutt Valley Model Engineer Soc. http://steammachine.com/hvmes Eastern Bays Little Blue Penguin Foundation: same site /penguins ------- Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2001 15:34:44 -0000 From: "Bill Lindsey" Subject: Work Stop for Sherline Mill Having found similar devices helpful over the years on full size mills, especailly for making multiple identical parts (columns, legs, etc)I thought it might be a nice addition to my Sherline as well. I posted a picture of the finished result in the files section of the group under "millstop.jpg." There may be other workstops out there but haven't seen one from Sherline. The design of this one using generously sized CRS may be overkill, but with reasonable care in positioning work, deflection should be nill and repeatability good. The swing arm can be adjusted from either side for those times when one side may be too close to the vise or other workholder and the whole assembly can be turned around 180 degrees if an extra inch or two is needed, though the brass 10-24 screw would also need to be reversed and inserted from the opposite side of the swing arm. Anyway, it was a fun project and one which I hope yielded a useful addition to the toolbox. I may have the wrong terminology but that is what I have always called it. As for use, if you have multiple pieces to mill to length or several pieces requiring a drilled hole at the same location along the length, then you can make the original set-up, position the work stop at the end of the work piece, and then simply slide the other pieces into the vise one at a time until they touch the stop and the remainder of your settings should remain the same ( or at least close enough for many tasks). I have found it helpful also for milling multiple lengths of rod, for examply to the same length. There are also stops that fit over the fixed vise jaw and those that may attach to the back of the vise with a rod extending outward to the side and an arm that fits over that rod which can be positioned outside of the jaws and running in the "Y" direction to serve the same purpose. ------- Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2001 22:48:38 -0500 From: "Carol & Jerry Jankura" Subject: RE: B&D Screwdriver as parts source for lead-screw drive? I picked up a Black & Decker Versapak battery powered screwdriver. I bought the Sherline lathe with the threading attachment, so I got some of the parts that go on the end of the lead screw opposite the knob. I made a piece that had a hole bored in one end to clear the shaft that comes out of the lathe and had a notch to catch the pin on the shaft. The other end had a hex to fit into the socket on the screwdriver. It works pretty well, except that the batteries don't last as long as I'd like. I might start checking into building a small power supply for it. The advantage over the Sherline provided item is both dollars out of pocket and the ability to reverse the drive direction. I noticed that the current (March-April) edition of HSM uses parts from the same screwdriver to make a threading attachment. If I add the power supply, I might just take the screwdriver apart and mount it on the table. Jerry Jankura Strongsville, Ohio ------- Date: Thu, 10 May 2001 02:39:37 -0400 From: "Rich D." Subject: Sherline Mods in Files Area I have placed in the "SHERLINE" Files area, in the Folder "Rich D's Views" http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sherline/files/Rich%20D%27s%20Views/ a pic of the Saddle nut mod for lash adjustment. Simply saw cut thru the center of the threaded portion and squeeze closed enough to obtain the needed fit. To open up, should you over do it, force a wedge into to slot. The nut is hard bearing bronze. Also in a seperate folder "Spindle Lock" are a series of pics showing my attempt at a spindle locking device. This is not for the faint of heart. Drilling into the head as shown will miss the vital parts. Use the lock pin (a slight pip was left on the top) to score a line on the pulley underside then divide for 4 holes. There should be enough clues to build your own version. Have fun, Rich D. ------- Date: Sat, 12 May 2001 13:36:53 -0000 From: n2562001x~xxyahoo.com Subject: Re: Sherline Saddle nut Mods Rich, I have never been able to figure out the problem with backlash. I have found my most accurate work is done when the gibs are as loose as possible and I have at least .010" backlash. I like to be able to feel what is happening. At any rate I looked at my saddle nut and I would suggest you make your cut about .200" from the top or the bottom. There is more than enough material at any point on the nut to drill and tap a 0/80 or 1/72 cap screw for compression. You may want to use stainless for strength. Jerry Kieffer ------- Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 08:51:40 -0700 From: "Craig Libuse" Subject: Re: Spindle Thread Subject: [sherline] Spindle Thread > Can anybody tell me if the spindle thread is 3/4 - 16 UNF or 3/4 -16 > SAE I want to buy a tap to make a special mounting plate Thanks Mike Mike, the thread is called out on the plans as UNF. --Craig Libuse Sherline Products Inc. --------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 12:20:56 -0700 From: "Craig Libuse" Subject: Re: Spindle Thread > I've tried to order (MSC, etc) that size tap and die twice, please let > me know where you find it! Ballendo suggested mounting a Dremel tool on > the Sherline's Z axis, to replace the spindle for PCB work. Alan KM6VV Alan, The 3/4-16 spindle nose threads and the internal threads on the chucks are single-pointed on CNC machines to UNF specs, but we do have some 3/4-16 UNF taps that were purchased from MSC. Keep trying. In our shop, we have mounted Do-All grinders on our machines for special operations. I have also given thought to the installation of a Fordom grinder in our headstock body. You can order a blank headstock casing (P/N 40100, $50.00) and either sleeve down or bore out the bearing journals out to the size of your Dremel or Fordom tool. Perhaps split the top and crossbolt to grip the tool. When required, just swap headstocks. There might be a market for a product like this for jewelers and engravers (hint to the person looking for accessories to make--perhaps Fordom would even be interested...). Craig Libuse Sherline Products Inc. ------- Date: Wed, 16 May 2001 17:29:43 -0000 From: blscopesx~xxsympatico.ca Subject: RE: Spindle Thread When buying a 3/4" x 16 UNF tap for accessories to thread on the Sherline spindle it is important to specify the "H Limit" number. The H Limit number tells you in half thousands how far above nominal the pitch diameter is. e.g. H1 is .0005 above nominal (.7505"), H3 is .0015 above nominal (.7515"). The Sherline spindle does not have a "Register" and relies on the thread alone to maintain concentricity. A 3/4" x 16 UNF tap with an H1 limit should work fine. When I make adaptors that will thread on a lathe spindle I usually cut about 98% of the thread on the lathe and then finish with a tap. Gordon, Toronto ------- Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 01:47:22 -0000 From: blscopesx~xxsympatico.ca Subject: Re: Spindle Thread Alan: to the best of my knowledge the H Limit does not apply to Dies as they are normally adjustable. My 3/4" x 16 die has sufficient range to cover taps from H1 to H3. Gordon, Toronto -------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 May 2001 20:26:40 -0400 From: "Rich D." Subject: Re: Re: Accessory Update Part 2 (SPEED) > I have this same question!! Would it be worth while to make a > new pully ratios for the sheline mill to increase the speed? When you > guys talk small tools what diameter are you guys talking about??? > Would it be good to increase the spindle speed for lets say a 1/8" > endmill??? thanks tauseef tauseef, You read me mind! Mine is now 1/1. Measured motor speed only pulling the spindle is 5800 rpm. I need this for engraving work using single edge cutters with tips as small as .010 dia. The only real problem is the drive belt. The existing belt is apparently made by a Japanese outfit and there are, as yet no useable web site or catalog. I am in the process of contacting them, but on an alternate thought, maybe I should steer clear of hard to find stuff and stick to locally available material. Presently I'm using a 3/16" cord O-Ring but, this clearly is not the solution as the centrifugal speed is throwing it out too far. Buna-N O-Rings are 70A durometer, tooo soft. Other small V section belts are also hard to find. None that matches the Sherline belt. A 1/1 drive needs a shorter belt (270-280mm) using the existing brackets. Alternately, I have a small selection of timing belts of 0.080 pitch from SDP/Sterling that may fit the bill perfectly. All I need now are the grooved pulleys machined to fit and I'm done. These come in a wide range of sizes and types and are not too expensive to experiment with. I use them for the Z drive on my CNC 5400 mill. Real nice. Rich D. ------- Date: Wed, 23 May 2001 20:07:24 -0400 From: "Dan Statman" Subject: Re: Re: Accessory Update Part 2 Tauseef, I could use more spindle speed when I cut with a 0.025" endmill. The max speed of the Sherline motor is just barely enough for this size cutter. Here is an example of one of my milled "Greek Key" rings: http://members.rennlist.com/statmandesigns/style-X.html Dan. ------- Date: Thu, 24 May 2001 00:00:04 -0400 From: "Rich D." Subject: Re: Re: Accessory Update Part 2 Daniel, the motor spindle is not the problem. It already runs at ~6000 rpm. The headstock bearings are large and greased. I'm running at 5800 rpm, seems to be fighting the grease. I may have to add a drop of 30wt machine oil to each one. High speed bearing operation can only use oil. If you need to go higher, a different motor and spindle is advisable. These are sold for this purpose at: http://www.visionengravers.com/html/spindles.html Cutters: http://www.engraverschoice.com/Products/products.html ------- Date: Tue, 05 Jun 2001 15:14:28 -0000 From: blscopesx~xxsympatico.ca Subject: Handwheel Backlash To eliminate handwheel backlash, it would be necessary to devise a system of providing tension between the handwheel bearing and the handwheel itself. In most other machinery, handwheels are threaded on the leadscrew and secured with a lock nut. This system makes it easy to eliminate backlash and provide "drag" on the handwheel so that it will stay in position. A simple solution for Sherline equipment would be to drill and tap the handwheel end of the leadscrew to accept a small socket head cap screw, say 5-40. In addition, a washer with 1/2" OD, drilled with a clearance hole for the abovementioned screw and with a 1/4" recess in case the leadscrew protrudes through the handwheel. Note: it would necessary to modify this procedure if the larger handwheels are used. When installed, the cap screw is tightened so that there is some drag and then secured with the set screw in the handwheel. With regard to thrust bearings, I have had good success using acetal/delrin. The washers only have to be about .020" thick and it is best if they are "NOT" lubricated. Gordon, Toronto ------- From: "Craig Libuse" Date: Thu Jul 19, 2001 12:42 pm Subject: Re: [sherline] Sherline Mill to Lathe Conversion Dear Ed, Sherline doesn't make a mill-to-lathe conversion, but you can purchase any Sherline lathe without a motor and speed control to save some money and use the headstock/motor/speed control from your mill. (Call for prices or have your dealer call us..it's not on the price list.) If you switch often, however, you'll probably want a complete lathe eventually so you don't have to keep aligning the headstock with each swap. Craig Libuse Sherline Products --------------------- From: myjakjsx~xxa... Date: Thu Jul 19, 2001 5:48 pm Subject: Re: Sherline Mill to Lathe Conversion In sherline, WolframEdx~xxc... wrote: > I have just begun to explore my 5400 series mill and was > wondering if there was a conversion kit to go from milling to lathe > (I have seen references to a lathe to mill conversion) Thanks Ed Ed, Take a look at my site to see how I use my mill as a lathe. www.geocities.com/myjakjs/sherline.html John ------- Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 00:27:57 -0400 From: "Carol & Jerry Jankura" Subject: RE: How to use cut-off tool with riser blocks? Bill: If Craig gets your parting tool riser out the door in the next day or so, maybe he can start on another project - decent way covers for the Y-Axis of the mill. Of all their lead screws (Lathe & Mill), that looks to me to be the only one that's not protected from the swarf that machining turns out. Right now, I'm using some light card stock folded back and forth to simulate a bellows. It does decently, but I'd really prefer something more permanent. Have any of you folks got any better ideas? Thanks, Carol & Jerry Jankura Strongsville, Ohio ------- Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 00:45:47 -0400 From: "Carol & Jerry Jankura" Subject: RE: Way Covers (used to be---Re: How to use cut-off tool with riser blocks?) Bill - As a starter, you might want to take some 60 pound card stock and bend it in an accordion fashion. I did that with two sheets and it seems to work pretty decently. Don't know how it will wear as I start using some cutting fluids. Right now, I'm doing aluminum & brass and am running dry except for some tapped holes. Staples or one of the other so-called office superstores should have the cardstock. Carol & Jerry Jankura Strongsville, Ohio ------- Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 06:20:41 -0000 From: jtecx~xxcnw.com Subject: re: Way Covers Visit your family dentist and get him to sell you a full sheet or two of "rubber dam". The material is very tough, usually grey in color, and will stretch way beyond it's relaxed dimensions. From there, get creative ------- From: Terry Godwin Date: Wed Aug 1, 2001 8:58 pm Subject: Re: [sherline] duplicator Dave, there currently is no duplicator made specifically for the Sherline. Vanda-Lay made one but he has gone out of the manufacturing business and none are available. I have one of these and they do work. It is fairly easy to adapt duplicators made for other desk top lathes. One in particular is the Anker now sold (made) by Pennstate. They are shown at http://www.pennstateind.com/duplicat.html I originally had an anker duplicator for my Unimat. I sold it along with the Unimat when I upgraded to Sherline. A mistake. I think the Anker is a better duplicator than the Vanda-Lay and wish I still had it. It would have been pretty simple to adapt to my Sherline. Good Luck Terry ------- From: "Yasmiin Davis" Date: Thu Aug 2, 2001 12:06 am Subject: RE: [sherline] duplicator : for metal ?? In machines a bit larger than these they are called tracers -- usually hydraulic tracers. They are a technology that has been replaced by CNC but these attachments work essentially the same as your duplicator. Since metal is a but more resistant to cutting the follower is usually driven by some hydraulic link to the cross slide much like a taper attachment but the tracer is able to move the cross slide back and forth to follow a contour that is the master. Yasmiin ------- Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2001 21:19:10 -0000 From: n5wrxx~xxhome.com Subject: Tightness in the center .... Hi, I am new to this group and have a question perhaps you can help me with. I bought a new Sherline lathe and am using it to make pens. I am using a long lever arm to control the cross feed table for faster movement. The problem is that the table seems to be tighter in the center of the bed than at either end. Here is a link to a photo: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/penturners/files/Willee%27s%20Pens/lever1.jpg Any suggestions? ------- Date: Mon, 03 Sep 2001 02:53:13 -0000 From: witstockx~xxmail.ohio.net Subject: Re: Tightness in the center .... I have the same attachment for my lathe and have used it to make many different objects with no difficulty. My first thought would be to make certain that the carriage moves freely when not attached to the lever arm. Secondly I would check to make certain that you had the mounting for the arm located correctly. The template for placing the mounting is different for the long and short bed lathes. The placement could affect the middle more than the ends if it is too close to the lathe. It certainly beats turning the handwheel over and over again. Good luck, Nelson, K8DJC ------- Date: Mon, 03 Sep 2001 03:53:40 -0000 From: witstockx~xxmail.ohio.net Subject: Re: Tightness in the center .... I purchased it from an outfit called HUT Products as what they call a Carriage Control System. They are online at www.hutproducts.com. To use it you disconnect the carriage from the lead screw and connect it to a bracket which is on the arm. Moving the arm them moves the carriage back and forth. For repetitious work like making a batch of pens or whatever it saves a lot of time and effort. It comes with a small knob as the handle which I replaced with a hand-sized turned handle for preventing the dents I was geting in my hand from the little knob. Nelson ------- Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 14:58:24 -0700 From: "Craig Libuse" Subject: Re: Re: Sherline FlashCUT CNC Package > second, the spindle speed is way too slow for milling or engraving with > tiny cutters; Marcus et al, This gives me the perfect opportunity to let you all know that Sherline now offers a 10,000 RPM pulley set for the headstock. It was done at the request of our CNC customers and jewelers. It came too late to make the new catalog but will be known as P/N 4335 and goes for $75.00. It takes about 10 minutes to remove the old pulleys and standoffs and install the new ones. It also has a second pulley position (like the "hi torque" position on the other set) that gives a maximum speed similar to the present standard pulley position...about 2200 RPM max. The high speed set can also be ordered as a complete headstock/motor/speed control unit preassembled as P/N 33070 for $75 above to price of the regular unit. ($260.00 + $75.00 = $335.00). We just showed the first production units at the PRIME show and I heard it run for the first time. I was expecting 10,000 RPM to be more impressive, but it sounds just as quiet as 2800 RPM on the old unit. Torque is also amazingly high considering the motor is being geared up instead of down. I am now even more impressed with the motor and its capabilities than before. The bearings in the headstock are the same ones we use for the regular setup. We checked with the manufacturer and they said 10K RPM should be no problem. We test ran it at 10,200 RPM for 5 hours straight and you could still put your hand on the headstock without it being too hot. We do loosen up the preload on the bearings from .0002" of end play to .0003" to free it up a bit and recommend that the user do that in a retrofit as well. Craig Libuse Sherline Products Inc. ------- Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2001 10:51:00 -0700 From: "Craig Libuse" Subject: Re: Re: Sherline FlashCUT CNC Package > Mind telling us which machine is used to do which operation, using > what tools, and if the tools are available from Sherline? Dear Mickey, Everyone who comes for the factory tour gets to see the setup in operation. A photo of the drilling/facing operation is shown at www.sherline.com/factour.htm in the photo factory tour. It is basically a sherline mill XY table by itself with four toolposts mounted to it. A Sherline headstock/motor unit mounted oposite the table holds the blanks. (The collet blanks are first turned, threaded and parted off on the Mazak barfeed CNC machine.) Then they are loaded into the spindle of this fixture. The first toolpost holds a center drill, the second a drill, the third a boring tool and the 4th a cutter to produce the curved face. The collet is then moved to a Sherline 8700 CNC rotary table just off to the right of the photo where the collet is slit every 120° with a fine slitting saw. Coolant is applied using a simple gravity drip bottle. This operation is also run by a Flashcut controller. The operator loads the parts, applies a little coolant with a brush to each tool, pushes the start button and is then free to assemble chucks or grind chuck jaws while the part runs. An operation like this could easily be put together by using components of a Sherline mill or by purchasing slides and spindles from Sherline's industrial site at www.sherlineIPD.com. (Industrial Products Division). Craig Libuse Sherline Products Inc. ------- Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2001 17:47:02 -0000 From: marcbernhardtx~xxyahoo.com Subject: Is there Another Belt Source? The belt on my 4400A broke the other day. It was dumb, but it happened---the tool jammed in a big piece of soft brass at high speed. Anyway, does anybody sell the belts besides Sherline? I'd love to know if it is a standard size (miniature metric animal of some sort, I would guess) that I can get from McMaster-Carr, Grainger, or one of my local suppliers that don't charge freight to ship a 10 gram item 3,000 miles to NJ. Thanks Marc ------- Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2001 14:12:58 -0400 From: "Rich D." Subject: Re: Is there Another Belt Source? Try your sewing machine repair shops. They have the same brand here. The size is 330mm V belt by MB(Mitsuboshi). I don't know of any other source. RichD ------- Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2001 11:32:33 -0000 From: til128x~xxaol.com Subject: Re: Is there Another Belt Source? Hi marc...This is from an earlier post of mine...hope this helps.. >> RE: Drive belts for the Sherline.....On occasion my belt broke and I had no replacement, but had to get up and running in a hurry. I "borrowed" some belting from where I work and it worked out so well that I kept it on and it hasn't failed me yet. << The belting that I used is from McMaster-Carr The stock No. is 6567K51. This is for 10 feet of belting.(3/16 Dia.) You will also have to get connectors for it. That stock No. is 6567K26. (There are 25 connectors in a package.) These should last you a lifetime. Cut off 12" of the belting and insert one of the connectors into one end of the belt Thread the belt around the two drive pulleys, and attach the other end of the belt to the connector. (Don't forget to loosen the tension screws at the headstock, and then retighten.) A worst case scenario is if the tool jams in the work, the pulley will spin on the belt and deform it from the heat generated. I have had no problem with the belt slipping during normal use. I hope this will help someone. ------- Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 00:37:11 -0400 From: Thomas Gilmour Subject: Re: Removing tapered tools from the headstock Jaime, it sounds like you're tightening the draw bolt too tight. You only have to snug it down. I made my own draw bolts which have 3" round handles attached to the upper end of the bolt (got real tired of reaching for my wrench). All I have to do is snug the bolt down by hand and it's more than tight enough. Just takes a couple good taps with a mallet to loosen. And 'NO' do not grease the taper. It should be clean, oil and grease free, to make a tight friction fit. That's what locks it in place. Tom ------- Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2001 00:17:00 -0400 From: Thomas Gilmour Subject: Re: Removing tapered tools from the headstock Cathy & George Dunham wrote: > Tom, was that handle a tee, welded across the head? George No, not a tee. I used some small six lobed round knobs I got from MSC. They're made of a black duroplast plastic with a steel hub. I drilled out the hub to fit the shaft of the draw bar I made and tapped a set screw hole through the side. This screw lines up with a hole drilled into the side of the shaft on the bar so there's no chance of it slipping. The draw bar extends through the knob and has a steel cap mounted on the end with locktite. This cap is what I strike with my hammer. I figured that over time if I was striking the end of the bar the steel would deform and not be able to slide through the handle anymore. Tom ------- Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2001 09:57:30 -0700 From: "Craig Libuse" Subject: Re: Deluxe Tailstock Assy. Picture??? > 1. Does this part feature the easy detatchment? > 2. Is the hand wheel large? Zero setting? > 3. Could someone email a picture of this part number? I can't > seem to find it on Sherline's site. George: The new two-piece tailstock with gib can be installed on the bed without removing the leadscrew handwheel as was required with the old design. It is easily installed and removed. The tailstock assembly is considered a "replacement part" rather than an "accessory", so it is listed in the Replacement Parts Price List rather than the Accessory Price List. The standard 4111A (inch) or 4111M (metric) tailstock is $65.00 and comes with a standard handwheel. If you want the 2" adjustable handwheel you would order P/N 4411A (inch) or 4411M (metric) which runs $85.00 but comes with the adjustable zero handwheel. A 2.5" handwheel is used on the leadscrew, so we use just the 2" adjustable handwheel on the tailstock to avoid interference between the two, but it is larger than the standard 1-5/8" handwheel. I was going to refer you to the photo of the 4400 lathe on our web site to see the tailstock, but I noticed that I still have an old photo there that shows the old tailstock. Photos in our 6th and 7th edition catalogs show the correct tailstock. We are also in the process of putting SolidEdge 3D drawings of each replacement part in the on-line price list at www.sherline.com/prices3.htm, but John hasn't gotten to this particular part yet. Craig Libuse Sherline Products Inc. ------- Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 09:24:05 -0800 From: "Craig Libuse" Subject: Re: convert rotary table? > I was just wondering if Sherline sells the bits to convert a > normal rotary table to a cnc ready table, ie. the stepper motor mount > and drive coupling? Al, as others have already answered, a manual Sherline rotary table cannot be converted to a CNC version, but here's why. The base and worm housing are ground as a pair in production to maintain maximum accuracy. The CNC worm housing is different from the manual worm housing because of the shape at the end to accept the stepper motor mount. We did not feel we could maintain needed accuracy by bolting up a new worm housing that had not been ground with the base as they would not be an exact fit. Taking everything apart and regrinding the pair would be more expensive than just making a new rotary table. As you may know, it is Sherline's policy to make any new part we come out with retrofittable to older machines whenever possible. We are not trying to make people buy new rotary tables here, we simply could not adapt the new version to fit up to an existing table because of the way these particular parts are produced. However, there always seems to be a good market for used rotary tables if you decide not to keep your manual version. Craig Libuse Sherline Products ------- Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 10:47:33 -0800 From: Alan Marconett KM6VV Subject: Re: convert rotary table? No, but it's been done. The rotary table is mounted on a plate, and a bracket to hold the motor is also bolted on the plate. A flexible coupler connects the motor to the 1/4" shaft, after you remove the handwheel. MaxNC and Taig (I believe) use the SAME actual table, and do something similar. Perhaps they would sell the parts, although I don't believe it would be hard to make. Alan KM6VV ------- Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 17:23:56 -0800 From: Alan Marconett KM6VV Subject: Re: convert rotary table? Hi Jerry, sorry, I didn't convert my rotary table, I bought a CNC-ready table. I did see a pix on MaxNC's site: http://www.maxnc.com/page7.html And their rotary table is marked "Sherline", I'm told! So I don't see why an appropriate bracket and base wouldn't work as well for you. Wanna bet it's not a Sherline table? Taig offers this rotary table: http://naturecoast.com/hobby/taigopt.htm Alan KM6VV ------- Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 08:48:17 -0000 From: "tauseef" Subject: Re: convert rotary table? Heres How hey guys, I have converted my rotary table and having good success. You can check it out at my website on how I mounted a motor to it. If others find a different/better way please let us all know. So far its working great! I have made a few projects with it, you can check them out at http://home.talkcity.com/ImaginaryPl/tauscnc/cnc.html (candle). Anyway here is the direct link to that page. http://home.talkcity.com/ImaginaryPl/tauscnc/cncparts.html You will need to take it apart when you're drilling and tapping the top mounting hole for the support and then CLEAN out any chips and regrease. I used 3mm screws as there available to me (rc helis). Set the backlash where you find MAX binding in the gears. Let me know if you have any questions. tauseef http://home.talkcity.com/ImaginaryPl/tauscnc/main.html ------- Date: Sat, 08 Dec 2001 21:30:04 -0800 From: James Eckman Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: power feed accessory > From: Thomas Gilmour > Jim, why did you add the drill/screwdriver adapter? It slows it down and increases the torque. That adaptor has two speeds as well, the really cheap driver I have has on and off! Net price about $30 plus a working power screwdriver. > From: "ecm69692001" > If you are needing power feed, go for the FROG, and you will > never regret it......the best $200. I ever spent. 10 speeds left and > right, your choice coming or going. Program it (simple) or just use > the << >> < > buttons. I have artheritis and more than a > little while I poop out. NOW I just love watching that frog movr the > tool (for hours now) save the pain and hop to it, get a FROG.... That doesn't help you with the crossfeed! Though I've heard very good things said of the FROG. Jim Eckman ------- Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 02:59:04 -0000 From: "ecm69692001" Subject: Re: power feed accessory In sherline, "Jack Maher" wrote: Jack....go here www.emachineshop.com by the way, it threads also. I hope you will be as hoppy with your FROG as I am. Ed Mowery Tallassee, AL ------- Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 10:08:52 -0800 From: "Craig Libuse" Subject: Re: Re: DRO > I suggest you buy 2 digital calipers, which can be bought for as little > as $40-50 on various sales. Make a couple brackets to attach them to the > tables. You then have a direct measuring device, most have zero reset > and will do metric to inch conversion. And if you make the bracket well > the caliper can be removed quickly and used as a caliper. Ron: A word of caution on this approach. It has been the experience of some who have tried this that digital calipers don't stand up well to vibration. When attached directly to the machine their life is shortened substantially. I don't know if it an expensive one would last longer than a cheap one. Perhaps someone who has had this system in place for some time can comment on it. We looked into this approach before designing the DRO and gave up on it because of the lack of reliability in the long run. Craig Libuse Sherline Products Inc. ------- Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2001 20:08:49 -0000 From: "larry4496" Subject: Re: Sherline T-Slot Spec In sherline, "kentfreeman" wrote: > Does anyone know a good place to purchase the cutters to cut Sherline > T-slots? I am working on building a face plate with t-slots in it. You have 2 options, make your own cutter or use a 1/4 inch mill to made the slot and use a dremel #199 cutter to make the tee slot. thats what I do. The Dremel #199 is 3/8" dia cutter x .045 , I use my dremal mounted in a holder on my milling machine to cut the slot. You must made at less 3 cuts to get .100 in height for the slot. You must feed it slow as not the bind the cutter.. ------- Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2001 08:16:18 -0500 From: "Daniel Munoz" Subject: RE: Sherline T-Slot Spec Here's the web site of W.J. Ward (from the forum) that made it's own: http://www.geocities.com/wjw2000athotmaildotcom/projects.html This subject has come up multiple times in the past and you may want to search previous messages in the forum archive for possible solutions. Daniel ------- Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2001 13:01:42 -0800 From: "Brad Butler" Subject: Re: Sherline T-Slot Spec Daniel, I do not use any cutting fluids on aluminum at all. Especially with small cutters you will create that slurry you were talking about unless you are using flood coolant. What I use in all my end mills for cutting aluminum including my 1/8 inchers are special cut high helix 2 or 3 flute endmills specially made for aluminum. These are available from several different suppliers but I get mine from MSC (mscdirect.com). These special cut endmills really do make a difference because their steep helix prevents the chips from clogging up the cutter so no cutting fluid is needed. Stay away from 4 flute endmills for aluminum though because they will clog up very easily. All I add to the mix is some low pressure compressed air to clear the chips from the cutting zone or your shop vac. This is the same setup we use at work on our Bridgeport's. Other than that your cutter speed sounds about right. ------- SAFETY NOTE: Blowing chips with compressed air is a forbidden operation in many safety-conscious workplaces. Besides the unsafe aspects of flying chips, compressed air can drive debris deep within machinery and cause excessive wear over time. Removal with a vacuum pickup or using a cutting fluid is generally preferred. ------- Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 19:04:54 -0800 From: Brian Pitt Subject: Re: Re: Sherline T-Slot Spec You might try a "keyhole" router bit. The one I picked up at the home warehouse store is a 1/4" shank ,with a ~3/8" dia x~3/16" tall head on a ~3/16" dia neck single flute with a brazed carbide tooth. Not the best tool to use on metals but its worked for me on brass and cast iron with a slow feed rate (roughed out with a 1/4" end mill first). Brian ------- Date: Sun, 23 Dec 2001 15:02:38 -0500 From: "John Barnwell" Subject: RE: tap size x&y 1/4-20 on all lead screws on an INCH based sherline ------- Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 18:53:52 +0100 From: "Joachim Reif" Subject: Added some photos Added some photos of my Dremel attachment to my new mill column. As you can see it is not ready. I´ll need to mill the Sherline key alignment slot and of course polish the surface and anodize the aluminum piece. Next thing that is coming up is the extra milling surface with possibilities to attach the rotary table and the milling wise on it. Has anyone any good advice on measurement of the drilled and tapered holes. Joachim Reif Gothenburg, Sweden By the way - the photos R under PHOTOS and in the album "Dremel collar and attachment to mill" -------- Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 20:57:39 -0800 From: "Marcus & Eva" Subject: Re: Re: more on alignment [LATHE HEADSTOCK] NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!! Ahhh, glad I got that off my chest! You guys are doing it the "way too complicated way". A far easier way to evaluate the machine and also to tune it, is to do the following: Chuck up a hefty bar of aluminum or brass; 3/4" dia minimum. a 4" long bar is plenty. Turn two spots to exactly the same diameter,; one at the headstock end, and one at the tailstock end. Do whatever you have to do to get them the same size. Now mount a clock on the carriage and indicate the spots. This will tell you how parallel the headstock is to the ways. Now you can start knocking the headstock around. If you want to get super fancy, drop a couple of setscrews into the side of the headstock at a 30 degree angle and mill a little angled pocket into the bed at the points where the screws protrude below the headstock. Now you can tweak the alignment without having to bash and guess. When you want to swing the headstock around, just back up the screws until they are above the bed. Once you have the spindle aligned dead nuts to the ways, you can set up your adjustable tailstock center. The easy way to do this is to get it close first. Best way to do that is to bore a 60 degree cone into a bit of scrap (Use the compound slide for this so you don't trash the effort that you just went through to align the spindle.) and then shove the center up against it with the screws loose. Snug the screws down and you'll be awfully close. If you want to get really tricky, you can chuck a clock in the 3 jaw, and indicate the center. I personally wouldn't bother, because the tailstock likely won't be repeatable within 0.001" if you clamp and then unclamp it, or if you drive the barrel out to a different position. If you have really small holes to drill, it's probably worth the effort, but not for normal work. Cheers Marcus ------- Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 15:27:38 -0600 From: "Brad Butler" Subject: Camshaft cutting method Ok guys here is my method. First in my description when I refer to the base it is a 3/4" thick aluminum plate that my lathe is bolted down to. It is about 12" wide so I can bolt accessories to it in front and in back of the lathe. The setup The camshaft material is held between centers with a lathe dog or a chuck just like any other long shaft but there is no motor on the lathe headstock. In front of the lathe I have 2 bearing blocks and another shaft, we will call this shaft the pattern shaft, bolted to the base parallel with the lathe spindle. The lathe spindle and this pattern shaft are linked together on a 1:1 ratio with a timing belt and pulleys. Now behind the lathe bolted to the base I have the Sherline milling column with another headstock and motor with the spindle centered on the camshaft stock in the lathe. On the pattern shaft I have mounted a pattern of one cam lobe. Then I have a stylus connected to a lever arm that goes underneath the lathe and over to the milling column and connected to the mill head. The stylus rides the cam profile underneath the pattern shaft. If it rode on top then your movement would be backwards. The brass lead nut has been removed from the mill head so it can freely move up and down on the column independent of the lead screw. I also have a threaded adjustment so I can adjust the height of the milling head independent of the lever arm. My lever arm is a 2:1 reduction so the cam pattern on the pattern shaft is twice the size as the one I am trying to make. Cutting the cam Turn on the mill head with a milling cutter and lower it until it is taking a light cut. Now, as the lathe spindle is rotated slowly by hand, the pattern shaft turns in time which rotates the cam pattern and with the stylus following the pattern, the mill head goes up and down cutting the correct profile in the cam shaft material. After each pass lower the mill head a little bit more until the cam profile is cut to your satisfaction. So far I have only cut a 2 lobe cam but it turned out really really well. Now I am working on a means of accurately gauging the position of the cam lobe pattern so I can rotate it a set number of degrees in order to get the correct timing on a multi lobe cam. I am also figuring out how to hold a grinder in this same setup so I can grind the lobes to the final shape. Not exactly the easiest setup as it requires several parts and an extra headstock but it seemed like an easy way to cut a cam profile. I am a ways off from making a complex cam like one required in a V-8 engine but I will get there. By the way, my extra headstock is a home made one with a home make spindle. Any other ideas? Brad Butler ------- Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2002 21:39:54 -0500 From: ron ginger Subject: Re: Camshaft I cobbled up a cam grinder- I made a simple frame out of steel that could hold my shaft with a center at one end and an old gearhead motor at the other- I think it came off a grill spit. I placed the master cam on the end of the shaft, and set the whole thing under my grinder head. You could also put it under a sherline mill with a grinding wheel. There are some photos on my web page under the Water Pup heading- http://plsntcov.8m.com Indexing the master cam to the shaft was interesting- I drilled 4 holes in the cam grear 90 deg apart. I put the gear on the shaft as it would be in the finished engine. I took the master cam and drilled 2 holes in it, at the valve overlap angle of about 120 degrees. I marked one of these holes for Intake and one for Exhaust. By putting a pin through the hole in the master and one of the holes in the gear I was able to get the cams aligned right. You do have to keep your mind on the sequence as you do it. Since cams should be hard I think making a grinder instead of amill attachment is better. ron ginger ------- Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 10:09:39 -0800 From: "Craig Libuse" Subject: Re: RE: Horizontal Milling conversion > Can I buy a shorter column, so I can retain the taller column? I didn't > find the number in the accessories list. > When switching to the horizontal position, the headstock spacer seems > superflous. What is your opinion? > It would seem, that in using the horizontal conversion on parts only a > couple of inches high, that deflection might be reduced because the mill > is lower on the column. Does this make sense Craig 1. Yes, you can buy the split column base top (P/N 61060, $35.00) and keep your column full length, although you will have to switch the steel column and saddle back and forth between the two (4 bolts plus squaring up). 2. Yes again, throat distance is not usually a problem when working on the side of a part. 3. Yes, I would say that a shorter column would deflect less than a taller one. Also, the thick aluminum tooling plate to which everything is mounted makes an excellent base (flat and stiff) even when using the mill with the conventional column setup. Craig Libuse Sherline Products Inc. ------- Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 14:08:59 -0600 From: "Brad Butler" Subject: Re: New Sherline >>>I took delivery of my new Sherline lathe today, and needless to say I'm delighted with it! I didn't have too much time to try it out, that'll have to wait a few weeks until I return from holiday, so I just spent my lunch hour assembling it and working out how to reduce the backlash in the cross slide feed, that took me a little while as the instructions in the manual don't appear to tell you how to do it, they just mention how to do it on the mill, or did I miss something? Anyway I figured it out and reduced i from 0.010" to 0.003" which is what I think it's meant to be? I must make a base unit for it too, something with a couple of drawers for tool storage, I had hoped to just buy the one supplied for Unimats but at 16" it's too short. As far as I can see Sherline don't make a base unit, I wonder why as it's impossible to use the lathe without one unless you bench mount it? Graham in London, England <<< I mounted mine in the exact manner that you are talking about and then promptly threw it away and bolted it down to a bench. The hollow base with drawers amplified any machine vibration/cutter noise and got to be really annoying quick. Right now mine is bolted to a 3/4" thick aluminum plate that sits on my workbench. Brad Butler ------- Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2002 15:32:14 -0000 From: "karlw144" Subject: riser kit I recently got the riser kit for my lathe ( headstock and tailstock risers, and a taller toolpost). I made a riser block for the compound from a piece of aluminum. I noticed that the tailstock riser is approx 1" longer than the base of the tailstock. I was thinking of cutting this "extra" inch off and using it as a riser for the steady rest. Looking for comments from members of this group. thanks, karl ------- Date: Sun, 24 Feb 2002 14:11:07 -0800 From: "Carol & Jerry Jankura" Subject: RE: riser kit Does the tailstock riser stick out behind the tailstock,or in front of it? If it sticks in front, I'd bet that it's because Sherline's "OLD" design for the tailstock had more beef up front. Unfortunately, that beef got in the way of the tool carriage, so they redesigned it. If that's the case, I'd bet you'll find that the tailstock riser will get in the way of the carriage if you don't shorten it. Whether or not that "extra" piece is suitable for the steady rest, I've got no idea. Carol & Jerry Jankura Strongsville, Ohio ------- Date: Tue, 09 Apr 2002 03:55:08 -0000 From: "ballendo" Subject: Re: Y axis leadscrew cover >>I made a bellows from relatively heavy paper stock by folding it accordian style. I used double backed tape to fix one between the post and the carriage block and one between the handwheel and the carriage block. It works pretty well and keeps the chips out. It'd be nice if Sherline offered a real bellows for that axis, though. The other two are pretty well protected. Carol & Jerry Jankura << For a cnc sherline awhile back, we moved the column bolts to the sides (away from the center) of the column support block. I then bored a hole in this block for a loose slip fit with a thinwall tube, which fit over the leadscrew. The tube in turn, was attached by a press fit bore in the rear of the saddle. Although a lot of work, no travel was lost, and chips NEVER got in there. Hope this helps, Ballendo P.S. We played with the idea of using the tube to deliver oil to the leadscrew/nut; but never pursued it... ------- Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 09:33:11 -0700 From: "Craig Libuse" Subject: Re: renewing mill Woo: The steel dovetailed bed and chucks are made from 12L14 steel. The brown you are seeing is rust. The spots can be removed by polishing with scotchbrite pads. When storing your machine, coat all the raw steel parts with a little light machine oil or rust preventative like WD-40. Clean off the rust preventative and lubricate a little with fresh oil when you are ready to use it again. If you live in a humid environment, preventing rust is more of a challenge than here in the Southern California desert where they are made, but even here they will begin to rust if left unprotected. Store the machines in as dry an environment as you have available. (In the house is better than in the garage if you have the room.) Craig Libuse Sherline Products ------- Date: Sat, 15 Jun 2002 08:21:59 +1000 From: "Charlie Lear" Subject: RE: sherline adjustable handwheels On Fri, 14 Jun 2002 14:16:04 -0400, Carol & Jerry Jankura wrote: >Craig - Any reason why Sherline didn't put a flat on the shafts? Next time you've got a little bit of brass chucked up, turn up some little slices about 1mm thick and just small enough to fit in the set screw holes. I turned up a stub about 3/8" long to (I forget the exact diameter, it isn't critical), faced the end with the tool dead on centre height so there was no pip, and "parted off" with an X-acto razor saw, and repeated half a dozen times. Remove the set screw in the handwheel, pop in a pad with the machined side towards the shaft, and tighten. Works for me, YMMV. Cheers Charlie Lear, Melbourne, Australia Hutt Valley Model Engineer Soc. http://steammachine.com/hvmes Eastern Bays Little Blue Penguin Foundation: same site /penguins ------- Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 02:46:03 -0000 From: "apescronch" Subject: Cleaning the Sherline Mill I'm very new to machining and just purchased a Sherline mill a couple of weeks ago. I have been machining aluminum and generating lots of spiral chips. In spite of using my Shop Vac every few operations, the chips get on the lead screws, get in the area of the dovetailed slides, etc, etc. The fact that the slides are covered with grease from the factory only aggravates the problem. I have been trying to keep everything as clean as possible but am concerned that chips are finding their way into the grooves or other areas that will become a long term problem. Question: Should I be worried about the chips causing a problem? If I'm reasonably careful in cleaning up the chips in the critical areas (e.g. slides) is that good enough? Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated. Jim Hall ------- Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 00:16:44 -0700 From: "Dave Hylands" Subject: RE: Cleaning the Sherline Mill Hi Jim, I too just purchased a mill and lathe. I cleaned as much of the factory supplied grease off and used a light oil. Get a magnet so you can tell which parts are steel and which ones are aluminum and apply some light oil to everything steel after each use (don't forget the bottom of the dovetails on the lathe bed or mill Z-axis). Where I live (west coast of BC) things rust in a hurry if they're not protected (you can see some rust on my mill holder in the brass mallet project). See http://davehylands.com/Sherline/ and http://davehylands.com/Projects/ (new pics since I last posted). I plan on getting some rubber (or similar material) and covering the leadscrews. I used paper and taped it to my CNC mount for my first project. An old rag would work pretty well too (and make cleanup easier). I think that if you cleanup then things will be fine. Dave Hylands ------- Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 08:26:59 -0400 From: "Carol & Jerry Jankura" Subject: RE: Cleaning the Sherline Mill I took a piece of heavier paper and made a fan-fold I then worked this accordian like fold until it was well-worn (the folds would open and close without the paper significantly rising) and used double backed tape to fasten it between the saddle and the bed. Jerry ------- Date: Fri, 09 Aug 2002 07:19:58 -0700 From: jmhdakota Subject: Chip Guard Bellows LittleMachineShop.com now has the chip guard bellows in stock. I just purchased a single one (should have bought 2!) They look well made and are pretty flexible. Will be fitting to my Sherline Mill this weekend. Julian ------- Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 02:40:17 -0700 From: Brian Pitt Subject: Re: Dremel keyless chuck size I'm a little late on this but anyway I'm starting to put together a small toolpost spindle attachment a bit sturdier than the usual mototool but that can share some tooling with the dremels the spindle threads on my dremel are, near as I can figure M7 X 0.65 pitch measured by starting the cap on by a couple threads then turning it on ten full turns ,measure the gap from the cap to the dremel body then back the cap off ten full turns and measure the difference it came out as 6.5mm / 10 so 0.65 close to 40tpi at .0255 something inch pitch its also real close to the .275-40 thread on the WW collets but I dont have any to test the fit this seems to be an oddball thread but I couldnt find any other info on a websearch so I'd like to hear any other info that might be floating around before I get too far into it Brian ------- Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 09:08:01 -0400 From: "Daniel Munoz" Subject: RE: Dremel keyless chuck size it's never too late Brian :-) > on my Dremel are, near as I can figure M7 X 0.65 pitch The diameter my caliper report is a little above 7mm. I don't know much about threads, but I believe that the diameter of a threaded rod should be a little less than the intended diameter, not a little more. So, I believe it should be 9/32" (7.14mm). I don't have a 6.5 pitch gauge, but the SAE 40 fit most perfectly, and is consistent with the inch sized diameter. Daniel http://www.nutsnbits.com ------- Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2002 05:26:54 -0000 From: "mszollar" Subject: Reed switch for limits - anyone done it? I was considering using small magnets and micro reed switches mounted into the base of my Sherline mill to be used for limit and home switches. I figured that mounting magnets into the underside of the table and the switch in the mated surface would be a good solution; nothing exposed, nothing to break is overtravel happens and fast switches. Before I drill and mount I thought it a good idea to check the group and see if anyone else has gone this route and what they thought of the idea (good or bad). Thanks, Ken ------- Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2002 09:47:19 EDT From: goodolddanx~xxaol.com Subject: Re: Reed switch for limits - anyone done it? I would try a mock up first with the components. Reed swiyches have a historic problem of "bounce" and overshoot that results in erratic operation. The electronics must be designed to relieve these operational problems. Placement of the magnets becomes a key issue for operation. Mounting of the magnets to the distance to the switches is another area that needs to be looked at in the operation. Happy Chips Dan ------- Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2002 22:35:46 -0000 From: "tatkinsonavon" Subject: Sherline Mill Stops I have long intended to post some information on some mill stops I have made. I posted some photos today in an album entitled "Sherline Mill Stops". I don't know how to post text to a photo album, so here is the text which accompanies the photos: Comments on photos. These stops were published in "Projects in Metal", now "Machinist's Workshop", in December, 1997, signed using my first name, "Charles". Craig Libuse (I miss him already) was kind enough to post them on the Sherline website. These comments are intended to provide additional photos and some comments. Photo 1 - Shows the general arrangement. There are five stops altogether - right and left X; front and rear Y; and down Z. Photo 2- Shows the left stop on the x-axis, which controls the motion of the table in the right-hand direction. (The other one is exactly the same.) A ¼ inch steel rod slides in an aluminum block slung below a bridge, also aluminum, which in turn is fastened to the table with regular Sherline T-nuts and #10 screws. Make the block large enough for the ¼" horizontal hole to clear the holes for the fastening screws which can be #6 or #8, getting the holes as square as you can. Make the bridge and fasten it on the table quite square. Press the block, with the rod inserted in it, up against the side of the table and clamp firmly to mark holes for the fastening screws, so the whole thing will be in line with the x-axis and the rod aligned on the target. (If you drill tapping holes in the bridge you can use it to guide the drill after the two parts are clamped together. Then open up the tapping holes in the bridge to clearance size.) The target is a piece of ¾" angle iron, finished or not as you please, placed as shown at the corner on top of the saddle, close to but not touching the side of the table, and held down by a single screw. You may want to do some disassembly of the mill to drill these holes and the others on a drill press - Sherline's metal is quite hard. My second version locking screws are shown here - knurled brass knobs with brass stems, My first version was better - #10 recessed-head cap screws with plastic handles forced on, like that for the z-axis stop shown in photo 5. A bit of brass rod is dropped down the hole ahead of the screw to keep from marring the bar. (If you take the rod out for any reason, don't forget this little piece may escape.) Photo 3 - Shows the front stop on the y-axis. In this case the rod slides in a ¼" x ½" steel stem slightly cocked to clear the hand wheel and to target the front of the saddle at a clear spot. All else should be obvious. (It can go on either side.) It targets directly against the front of the saddle, and it is gratifyingly rigid. This view also makes clear the location of the two x-axis targets. Photo 4 - shows the rear stop on the y-axis. Again, provide enough hole clearance, as you can see, I didn't quite.. Place it low enough on the column base so that it targets the saddle and not the table to avoid creating a wear point. It looks like it is butting the gib in the photo but not so, it is actually just above it. This photo also shows the preferred method for the locking screws. Photo 5 - Shows the z-axis stop. It is simply a block clamped to the column. The rod is fixed and adjustment is by moving the whole assembly up or down to a pre-established position. You could easily make the rod adjustable or incorporate a dial indicator. The four small holes are for the screws which hold the clamp jaws, see photo 6 for the back of this assembly. They are easier to drill clear through. Photo 6 - The parts all together On the upper left is the right hand x-axis stop inverted to show the bottom. The right x-axis stop, shown upper right, is held on the table with T-studs and wing nuts because the large-size handwheel prevents it being slid into the slot from the end, and studs are much easier to locate then T-nuts when working from the top of the table rather than the end. On the lower left is the back of the z-axis clamp for clarity. This part could be machined instead, of course. On the lower right is my adaptation of this same clamp principle to a simple stop for the lathe bed, which is indeed machined rather than built-up.. I can be reached at tatkinsonx~xxattbbi.com or (860) 677-6747, which is in Avon, CT. Tracy Atkinson ------- Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2002 19:56:20 -0400 From: "Carol & Jerry Jankura" Subject: RE: milling collumn for 4400 |Anyone have any opinion on a milling column for the 4400 lathe? |the normal 1 direction milling column (with limited throat) |or the multi-directional milling column (with deeper throat, greater |movement and heftier price :-( lee I'd ask myself the following questions: 1. What size work envelope do I need? This could limit your choices? 2. Do I plan on eventually purchasing the X-Y table and perhaps another headstock? 3. Since Sherline is "infinitely upgradable" (ie, you can add the 8 position parts to the standard head, what is the cost differential between buying "everything at once" vs. buying the column now and then buying the 8 position parts later? FYI, I've got the 2000 mill and like it very much. That being said, it's a little more work to tram (square to the table) than the 5x00 mill. However, you've more flexibility with the 8 position column. Bottom Line - if your work envelope is small enough, you can buy the 5x00 column and then upgrade. However, since the X motion is much smaller on the lathe than on the mill, you might find that you want to position things so that the "Y" direction has the larger part travel. You'll have more travel with the 8 way than the 5x00. Jerry ------- Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2002 17:17:08 -0000 From: "jeastwoodlm" Subject: Re: larger Mill options In sherline, "kevin_sedota" wrote: > I've had my sherline mill and lathe for about a year now and I'm > looking into getting some larger equipment. I've got a pretty good > idea where I want to go on a lathe but I'd like to hear from people > who have gone to larger mills. Is there something smaller that a > bridgeport type that would do the trick? I see these mill/drills > but I don't really know if these are a waste of money. Opinions? thanks. You can make your Sherline mill a bit larger by buying a longer Z axis and lead screw for it. See the Sherline site; I believe the parts you need to get are 45260 and 45270. This extends the Z height by 4". ------- NOTE TO FILE: There are many comparisons both between Sherlines and also with other brands in the Lathe Comparisons and Mill Comparisons two files. ------- Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 17:05:41 -0000 From: "tomdoyle123456789" Subject: Sherline Warning - I recently replaced the Sherline mill z-axis column and leadscrew with the longer 45260 and 45270 parts. The additional 4" of Z axis travel has made the mill much more useful. With the 3560 milling plate and the 3551 mill vise and a 3/8 chuck in place there is very little space left. I was going to sell the Sherline mill and buy a bigger machine until I found out about these parts. I was very surprised to find that Sherline did not drill and tap the end of the 45270 leadscrew but all in all it I would recommend the conversion EXCEPT - if you spend the $100+ and make this mod and then try to do the CNC conversion you are out of luck. Hard to believe but it appears that the CNC conversion will not work on mill with the Sherline 45260/45270 parts. Bummer ------- Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 14:13:09 -0400 From: "j.guenther" Subject: RE: Sherline Warning - The CNC modification using the Sherline mounts also includes a new lead screw with the Sherline motor mount. These lead screws are different from the manual lead screws, that is the end is machined different. I am forwarding this to Craig Libuse to see if we can get an answer from Sherline. John Guenther ------- Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 11:12:40 -0500 From: "j.guenther" Subject: RE: CNC Rotary table [sherline] > From: mbstingray [mailto:mark.brown2x~xxmed.va.gov] > In a previous message I was asking about using CNC on my rotary table > as my mill is CNC. I am ready to move forward with this so I > contacted the vendor that sold me my CNC setup to get the mounting > brackets and stepper. He replied that there is no mounting bracket > to convert an existing rotary table that you have to purchase a 'CNC > ready' rotary table. Does anyone know if this is true? Obviously > this is very cost prohibitive as rotary tables are a very expensive > accessory. Thanks, Mark Yes it is true if you want all Sherline components. If you don't mind rolling your own, you can do the way MAXNC does it. Look at the pictures on www.maxnc.com/page7.html to see what they did. Basically they mount a small plate to the end of the rotary table and use a bracket and coupler to attach a 70 oz/in stepper to the non CNC Sherline rotary table. I have actually seen one of these and it looks pretty clean and functional, probably $10.00 worth of material and an hour or two to fabricate in your own shop. Should be relatively easy and not a permanent change to the rotary table. John Guenther 'Ye Olde Pen Maker' Sterling, Virginia ------- Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 11:04:10 -0500 From: "Dan Statman" Subject: Re: CNC Rotary table Hi Mark: This is true, Sherline does not provide a bolt-on mounting to convert a manual rotary table to CNC. You can, however, build your own if you are worried about saving the $50-$90 it will cost you for the upgraded rotary table. Why is it only $50-$90?? A new CNC-ready rotary table lists for $300, and can be purchased from many different vendors for about 15% off (I recommend Tim Goldstein from CO at http://www.ktmarketing.com/). So you are looking at about $265 with shipping. If you kept your manual rotary table in good condition, it will sell on eBay for between $175 and $215. The net effect is an out of pocket expense of $50-$90. This is the exact route I took with my manual rotary table and my new CNC-ready rotary table. I cannot believe you could duplicate Sherlines CNC-ready table for less than this in time and actual dollars. Daniel J. Statman, Statman Designs www.statmandesigns.com ------- Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2002 10:05:22 -0800 From: "Dave Hylands" Subject: RE: CNC Rotary table Tauseef shows how he converted his manual rotary table into a CNC one on his web site: http://www.cuttingedgecnc.com/machinemods.htm Dave Hylands Vancouver, BC, Canada http://www.davehylands.com/ ------- Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2002 14:23:42 -0600 From: "J.T. Travis" <1911_fanx~xxbellsouth.net> Subject: T-slot cutter for Sherline Size - at ENCO! Guys, Don't spend a fortune getting a custom cutter to machine Sherline size T-slots. You need a #303 Woodruff cutter (standard size). Keo makes them. I got mine from Enco - item 367-2540 for $16.34. You might be able to find an off brand for less, look for a #303 Woodruff cutter (standard size). Unfortunately, it has a 1/2" diameter shank - not sure you can use it if your only mill is a Sherline..... #303 Woodruff is: 3/8" diameter and 3/32" cutter face - fits my Sherline slots perfectly. Joe ------- Date: Sun, 3 Nov 2002 20:11:49 -0800 From: "Marcus & Eva" Subject: Re: Re: Sherline sized tee slot cutters: Normally, tee slots are milled in 2 passes; one for the central slot with an endmill, and a second for the undercut portion using the tee slot cutter. My experience is in precision tee slots used as guides for slides in injection molds. These need to be far more accurate than the tee slots used simply to bolt a job to a machine table. I need to be able to hit precision of +/- 0.0005" on all dimensions, so my strategy has always been to rough out the slot first, and then finish it with light cuts. So that is my preferred habit...but it is by no means necessary for this application. By the way, have you all seen Joe Travis' comments regarding off the shelf woodruff keyseat cutters. If these work well, then this is the obvious way to go. Cheers Marcus ------- Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 16:33:12 -0500 From: "j.guenther" Subject: RE: Re: T-slot cutter for Sherline Size - at ENCO! I have bored out a Sherline 3/8" end mill holder to 1/2" on a Sherline lathe and it works fine. John Guenther 'Ye Olde Pen Maker' Sterling, Virginia ------- Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 16:40:52 -0500 From: "Carol & Jerry Jankura" Subject: RE: Re: T-slot cutter for Sherline Size - at ENCO! Hi, Bruce: You can purchase a blank arbor from Taig. Taig uses the same 3/4-16 headstock spindle thread as Sherline, so you can interchange a few of the parts. You'll have to remove about 0.090 inches from threaded end of the Taig arbor. After that, you can drill, bore, and ream a 1/2 inch diameter hole for the 1/2 inch cutter shank and then add a 10-32 tapped hole for the set screw. It's interesting that Sherline doesn't offer a 1/2 holder, as there are several different cutters that work well with their equipment. Jerry ------- Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 21:22:45 -0800 From: "Marcus & Eva" Subject: Re: Re: Tee slot cutters...the lowdown Hi All: I did some comparative shopping today, so here's the full meal deal with regard to the Great Sherline Tee Slot Cutter Caper: >From the KBC catalogue: -I can buy a brand spankin' new "Internal Tool" brand micrograin carbide keyseat cutter with 3/8 shank for $55.83 Canadian Dollars. - The same sized carbide blank is $33.80 in micrograin carbide. A cheaper blank is available for $14.20, but the quality ain't so hot (trust me on this...I've tried them). - I can buy a solid carbide standard #303 keyseat cutter with 1/2 " shank for $55.01. and a #303 High Speed Steel keyseat cutter for $13.62 if I can live with an "import", or $28.60 for a Keo (US brand) - If I buy a 4 flute endmill with the intention of modifying it, I can get a good cutter in HSS for $13.30 (Niagara brand) or a crappy import for $6.23 -I can buy a solid carbide endmill for $35.74. I tried grinding a cutter today, and found that it takes me about 18 minutes(excluding setup time) to modify a 4 flute endmill in HSS. This includes full relief top and bottom, and involves grinding the relief at the root of the tee by hand with a dental handpiece. If I simply hollow grind the faces and ignore the relief (like a keyseat cutter or slitting saw) it takes me less than 5 minutes to spin down a cutter. If I make a 2 flute cutter from scratch it takes me about 5 minutes to split the blank and about 15 minutes to grind the cutter and relieve it. So: the moment of truth: - Your cheapest option by far is a purchased import #303 HSS keyseat cutter at $13.62.(Thanks to Joe Travis for first pointing this out!!) - HSS endmill with fully relieved teeth will cost $37.00 + shipping and taxes. - HSS endmill with simple hollow grind will cost $20.00 + shipping and taxes. - A 2 flute fully relieved carbide cutter from scratch will cost $60.40 + shipping and taxes. The skinny on relieved vs unrelieved cutters: Relieved cutters are designed to cut more freely with less dragging of the cutter through the slot. They are capable of better finishes and better accuracy. They also load the machine slightly less. Keyseat cutters are unrelieved. Having said all that, lots of people have cut lots of tee slots with unrelieved keyseat cutters and it's worked just fine. I've done it myself in moments of extreme laziness, but I prefer a fully relieved cutter because it does a better job for me. For those who are unsure what constitutes a "fully relieved" cutter, have a look at the end of a standard endmill. Imagine the same shape on the top cutting surfaces as on the bottom. If it's still unclear, look at the pictures of true Tee slot cutters. The KBC catalogue lists these on page 103. If it was me, (and I didn't have access to a cutter grinder) I'd go the route that's been recommended by many on the list. My choice would be a standard #303 keyseat cutter in HSS, and I'd get and modify a Sherline endmill holder to accept a 1/2" shank. For the number of times this cutter is likely going to be used, I don't think I could justify a "super fancy" on a hobby budget. Cheers Marcus ------- Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2002 11:33:39 -0800 From: "Dave Hylands" Subject: RE: Re: Sherline Dovetail Cutters. I'm sure you're aware of this, but I thought I would pipe in just in case... According to http://www.sherline.com/dimen.htm it's 55.5 degrees. I have no idea if the 1/2 degree is significant or not, but thought I would mention it. Dave Hylands ------- Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2002 04:21:34 -0600 From: "Scott Peterson" Subject: Re: Sherline Dovetail Cutters-cheap carbide! I've gotten some good help reading here and might be able to return the favor. This thread goes on and on, so it must be of interest. During a search for metric endmills, I ran across the R.L. Schmidt website. ( http://www.rlschmitt.com/attitude.htm ) They don't sell online but are really good folks on the phone. I had a few tech questions, and was surprised to find myself on the phone with the owner, one Paul Schmidt. I told him that I was just a hobbyist and not even a big purchaser hobby-wise, but he spent a lot of time with me to see that I got what I needed. (I'll hazzard a guess that he lost money in the half-hour that were were on the phone) The prices are below average for solid carbide tools, they're made onsite, (in the US of A, should that matter) and the ones that I purchased were shipped promptly and work well. To the point: They have a section of the site that has over runs and "blems" at greatly reduced prices. ( http://www.rlschmitt.com/Blemlist.htm ) The list changes constantly, so a phonecall (800 number) is in order if there is any interest in picking up some endmills for direct use....or, as is spoken of in this thread, modification. I thought it so good to run across a company that will still spend some time with a "little guy", that I hatched the idea to post about it. I had second thoughts, cause I didn't want these folks to get a flood of penny-ante phone calls...so I called Paul back and asked if he'd mind. His reply was most positive..."Bring 'em on!" (or words to that effect) I guess the prospect of free advertising was not lost on him...but he also showed what seemed to be genuine interest in the miniature machining world, asking where he could read up on it via the internet. This post was completely unsolicited, and I've nothing to gain from it....just want to reward a guy doing business "the right way". I hope all that this will be of some help.... Regards! Scott ------- Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2002 20:31:19 -0000 From: "variousgroups" Subject: Tooling plate for rotary table Does anyone recall who was selling the tooling plate for the rotary table? If a mill riser-block is in place, and if the rotary table is made concentric with the spindle, then there is room for a 3.25" diameter tooling plate to turn free of the mill column. Nice to have would be lots of pre-drilled and tapped holes for mounting hold-down clamps. For T-nut holes all the round tooling plate would need would be just two. Mike ------- Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2002 12:44:02 -0800 From: Alan Marconett KM6VV Subject: Re: Tooling plate for rotary table Hi Mike, I think it was listed on E-bay. I have a JPG of it, but no reference to source. Shouldn't be hard to make one, I think that's what I decided to do. I can send you a JPG file if you desire. There were no T-slots, just a few tapped holes, and clearance holes for the hold downs. The rotary table has the T-slots, I don't think tooling plates do that much. Can you draw plans or make one? Shouldn't be hard to do! I often have either the 3 or 4 jaw chuck on mine, so I'm not sure I'd use one that often. What I DO need is a longer 'Z' axis (Sherline has one for about $100, but no CNC leadscrew yet). Or a riser block! Alan KM6VV ------- Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2002 15:53:11 -0500 From: "j.guenther" Subject: RE: Tooling plate for rotary table Alan, when I did my CNC conversion of my 5400 mill, I mounted the Y axis stepper in the rear of the machine. This made it necessary for me to make a riser block for the column. Mine is 1.5 inches high but you could make it taller if needed. I think I still have the drawing around some where, I can send it to you if I can find it. John Guenther 'Ye Olde Pen Maker' Sterling, Virginia ------- Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2002 15:37:30 -0800 From: Alan Marconett KM6VV Subject: Re: Tooling plate for rotary table Hi John, no need unless you have it handy. I can probably figure it out easily enough. I've already bolted my new deluxe mill to a 1" slab of aluminum, and THIS time I put in access holes for the column. Finding the block of aluminum for the spacer and long Allen head cap screws is another thing! And I have the RF-31 mill to make it on. What I DIDN'T want to try was cutting off my column mount for the Horizontal milling attachments! Alan KM6VV ------- Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2002 20:24:27 -0500 From: "John Guenther" Subject: RE: Tooling plate for rotary table Alan, since mine is used for a stepper motor mount, I mounted the column to the spacer with the original screws, and mounted the spacer to the base with 4 new screws through the base into the spacer. I have a .625 wide by .750 high "tunnel" through the spacer. The spacer is 2 x 3 x 1.5 or there about. I ultimately needed to shim the column a little on the front side to get everything back in alignment, I think it was about .006 or close to it. I did not check the column before I removed it so I don't know if it was square before I started. John Guenther ------- Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 13:04:52 -0000 From: "buchnerb" Subject: Re: Tooling plate for rotary table Alan, Sherline now sells a 2 inch riser block for the mill. I just got one about two weeks ago but I have not installed it yet. I found with my rotary table and a drill chuck I needed more throat space on my mill. I think the part # is 13000 2" COLUMN RISER BLOCK (2-HOLE). It comes with long cap screws to reach through the base and the block to the column. Bruce Buchner ------- Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 11:05:54 -0500 From: "Ron Ginger" Subject: RE: Digest Number 944 > From: Alan Marconett KM6VV >Subject: Re: Tooling plate for rotary table >I've heard of others mounting the Y stepper behind the column, which >would have been nice (out of the way). Did you drill new holes in >either the base or the column? Otherwise I'm not clear on how you used >the same holes! Unless, they are staggered back a little on the spacer >block? I mounted mine in back. I did not make a riser, which might have been a good idea, but I did cut a 'tunnel' under the column mounting block. Alignment was no problem- I bolted the block together with its original holes, then drilled two new holes, one to each side of center. When the new holes were tapped I just switched the boltsd from the old to new holes. The hardest part of this is getting a shaft extension aligned well enough. I made what ammounts to a long coupling with one end threaded to match the lead screw the other bored to suit the motor. I made a square aluminum plate to mount the motor, and bolted the plate to the Sherline base. There are photos of my conversion on my web pages, in fact, I think I was the first to do it this way 5 or 6 years ago. ron ginger http://plsntcov.8m.com ------- Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 13:56:01 -0500 From: "Bob Breed" Subject: Re: Tooling Plate for Rotary Table - II Check out www.shopdawg.com I think this might be what you are looking for ------- Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 16:37:25 -0500 From: "j.guenther" Subject: RE: Tooling plate for rotary table [PLANS] I'll post it to the file section tonight for all to have. John Guenther Sterling, Virginia ------- Date: Sat, 16 Nov 2002 12:22:30 -0500 From: "Bill Rutiser" Subject: Re: Lubrication > How do you "get at" the leadscrew to lubricate it with sewing > machine oil? I have the lathe mounted, so it's awkward to turn it > upside down. I have a piece of bare copper wire, probably #14, with a small eye bent into the end. Surface tension holds a drop of oil in the eye so that it can be transferred to the underside of the leadscrew. Surface tension sucks the oil up onto the leadscrew or bearing. Its not perfect but a lot of the oil makes it onto the leadscrew. Bill Rutiser Gaithersburg, MD, US ------- Date: Tue, 26 Nov 2002 19:59:03 -0800 From: "Marcus & Eva" Subject: Re: Has anyone seen a Sherline modified like a drill press Hi Dave: I made one like that a couple of years ago. I sent it to Joe Martin to see if he was interested in producing it as an accessory, but he couldn't find a good way to make it cost-effective to produce. As far as I know, it's still down there. It was a dovetail plate with a rack and pinion drive, a return spring and an adjustable depth stop to allow peck drilling with tiny drills. It was designed to fit in the space where the riser block normally goes. It was mounted with the standard Sherline mount, so no mods needed to be made to the machine. I may still have the drawings kicking around in my computer. Give me a nudge if you're interested , and I will go on the hunt. Cheers Marcus ------- Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2002 08:04:30 -0800 (PST) From: Peter Suhmann Subject: Convert leathe or Mill to drill press Hey, You guys have been touting the home machinist handook by D Briney. On pages 64 and 65 of my copy it shows a convertion but the details are left up to you. You could use a dremel drill press base, column, and table as a starting point and then use D.B.'s idea. The head just slides up and down the column and a lever pushes it off a locked movable fulcrum on the column. For up and down alignment a bolt or pin passes from the fulcrum plate into the body of the moveable stage on which the head is mounted. Take a look it is elegantly simple...to me. Pete Suhmann in the Slower lower of NJ ------- Date: Sun, 01 Dec 2002 05:38:32 -0000 From: "tonybakermv" Subject: 8 way conversion I am thinking about getting the 8 way conversion adapter for my mill. Has anyone any experience with this and how did it work out for you? Two things I am concerned about. 1, The bed is not as long as if you purchased the 8 way from scratch, is this a problem? 2, Is the mill stable given the way the head is out on a bracket and the forces involved in milling? Any comments welcome. Tony ------- Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2002 10:24:29 -0800 From: Wm. Dubin Subject: Re: 8 way conversion Tony, I bought the model 2000 (8 way). At the time, I figured it was a good idea to have every possible angle I could get. I've owned the mill four years now, and I've never used the 8th. feature. But that is because I've never needed it. Any extra length on the bed is desireable. As to stability, I'd say it is as stable as the cut you're going to use it for. I work mainly in brass, and have had no problems. A bigger mill will always be the answer to stability. You might think about the angle table as an answer to the 8th. angle. Wm. ------- Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2002 11:41:48 -0800 From: "Marcus & Eva" Subject: Re: 8 way conversion Hi Tony: I've never owned the 8 way Sherline mill, but I have a few friends who do. The mill is not as sturdy as the non-tilting, non-swiveling model (I did have one of those), but can be vastly improved with a couple of simple braces. I've heard some minor grumblings about the depth of cut that cannot be taken, but that is after they've driven my Bridgeport clone. All of the guys I know are doing nice work with their machines but they all would like to have the space and resources for something bigger. (So would I, and I've got machines coming out my ears already!!) If you like the versatility that the tilting head provides, then the Sherline is the best machine in its size range, both for quality of construction and for availability of accessories. I chose the simpler machine because I've got a hard-on for rigidity in small machine tools, and the simpler machine is better in that regard. (By the way, I've tipped the head on my Bridgeport only a dozen times or so in the past 3 years. It's just not a highly used capability.) Cheers Marcus ------- Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2002 23:31:25 -0800 From: "Marcus & Eva" Subject: Re: 8 way conversion [AND SIMPLE MILL TOO] > How was the machine braced to make it more robust? Hi Jerry: An easy first step is to make a strap up that can go from the top of the Z axis way to the back of the ram. This will help tremendously in eliminating the tendency of the head to shift forward and backward. The next place to consider bracing is from the back end of the ram to the mounting plate on which you've (presumably) placed the mill. This will eliminate the possibility of having the ram rotate on you. The best way, of course, would be to toss out the original machine column and ram, and make up replacements from solid chunks of aluminum with enough beef to give substantial resistance against movement, but that's overkill considering the light weight of the rest of the machine. This, together with a strap from the top of the Z axis way to the end of the ram would give you a really solid platform. The simple straps, however, will help a lot. 1/4" x 1" aluminum is plenty strong for any of these straps.You can slot them at one end if you wish to preserve the ability to tilt the head. The Z axis strap is a good idea for the plain mill too...just take it all the way down to the machine base instead of terminating it on the ram. Cheers Marcus ------- Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2002 11:30:13 -0800 From: "Dave Hylands" Subject: RE: shim material > Okay, maybe this is a silly question, but once your mill is found to > no longer be squared, what do you use for shim material? Hi David: First of all, there is no such thing as a silly (or stupid) question :) Anyways, on to your question: you can purchase shim stock. Here's an example of a sampler pack from Lee Valley Tools: http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?page=40946 You should be able to buy this from most places that sell machine tools (like: http://www.use-enco.com/pdfs/635.PDF) I've also used good old fashioned aluminum foil. It's a bit thinner than a thou (0.0007 if memory serves me correctly - different brands probably differ). The heavy duty stuff is a few tenths thicker than the regular. Dave Hylands Vancouver, BC, Canada http://www.DaveHylands.com/ ------- Date: Sun, 1 Dec 2002 16:28:50 -0500 From: "Ronald Melvin" Subject: RE: shim material Post-it Notes make great quick and dirty shim material if you only need it for a temporary set up. They're about 0.004" each and you can just peel off as many as you need in any given set up, and cut them to size easily with a pair of scissors. I find that 5 sheets are just right to raise the Sherline carbide insert tool in the 3/8" Sherline tool holder. Ronald Melvin Toronto, Canada ------- Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 09:24:52 -0800 From: "Brown, Mark A [SPO]" Subject: Rotary table question Recently I purchased a stepper motor for my rotary table and built the hardware to attach it. Everything seems to work fine with one exception. Somehow it appears my rotary table now has 73 turns instead of 72 for a complete rotation. Is it possible that the internal gears must be aligned in a certain manner when installed? When I was modifying it I noticed that the worm gear was accessible and curiosity got the best of me so I pulled it out to "check it out". For the life of me I can't figure out how the meshing of the gears could increase or decrease the rotary displacement of the table. Anyone have input on this? And no it is not a backlash issue as I built a coupler to take out the backlash much like the original handle does. Thanks, Mark ------- Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 11:19:00 -0800 From: "Brown, Mark A [SPO]" Subject: RE: Rotary table question From: Orrin B. Iseminger [mailto:oisemingx~xxmoscow.com] >> It sounds like a "fencepost" problem to me. Are you starting to count at "1" or "0?" << First noticed it when the triangular indicator seemed to be off from the markings. Every one turn of the handle should go 5 degrees so if you start with the traingular metal tab on 0 and give it one full turn of the handle you go to 5 then 10 and so on. Mine progressivly gets further off. I am not using the CNC when doing this, just turning the handle. All connections are tight and there is no backlash, ok, maybe .002". ------- Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 11:51:19 -0800 From: "Dave Hylands" Subject: RE: Rotary table question Perhaps your set screw on the handle isn't tightened down on the shaft? It might have some friction which allows it to turn, but it may be slipping. Since you have a stepper motor, there are actually 3 places where you could have a loose set screw. 1 - on the handle to the motor shaft. 2 - on the motor shaft to the coupler. 3 - on the coupler to the lead screw. Dave Hylands Vancouver, BC, Canada http://www.DaveHylands.com/ ------- Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2002 12:23:53 -0800 From: "Brown, Mark A [SPO]" Subject: RE: Rotary table question I checked all three and intentionally bound the rotary table and tried to make the assembly spin. I turned it harder than I would expect myself or the motor to ever turn it. I will check it out again but I am almost certain the total count for a revolution is off. ------- Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 11:43:56 -0800 From: Dave Martindale Subject: rotary table question With a worm gear set, the gear ratio is set by the number of teeth on the worm wheel gear. One turn of the input shaft rotates the table by one tooth on the worm wheel. There is no way you could have changed this. If the worm wheel had 72 teeth before, it still has 72 teeth. So any error has to come from some other source. That's why other people have suggested looking for slipping couplings. Is it possible you just counted wrong? Are you counting 73 turns with a hand crank, or what should be 73 turns with the stepper motor? If you're counting with the stepper, it's possible that you have the steps per revolution set wrong, or the stepper driver is missing steps occasionally. Dave ------- Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 12:12:05 -0800 From: "Brown, Mark A (SPO)" Subject: RE: rotary table question That was exactly what I was thinking about worm gears which is why I'm so perplexed over this. Perhaps I will got back to the proverbial drawing board as I must have overlooked something simple. I was just counting the handwheel turns. There must be some slippage somewhere. Basically what is happening is; you start on zero with the handwheel on zero. Crank the handwheel until you have made a complete revolution of the table. Now when the handwheel is on zero the indication is about 1.5 degrees off from zero. I will start over checking this out. ------- Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 10:42:05 -0800 From: Dave Martindale Subject: rotary table >Basically what is happening is; > you start on zero with the handwheel on zero. Crank the >handwheel until you have made a complete revolution of the table. >Now when the handwheel is on zero the indication is about >1.5 degrees off from zero. I will start over checking this out. Now try turning the handwheel another 72 turns. I'll bet that you're still 1.5 degrees from zero. I suspect that you have some backlash in the worm gears, and you may well have made this worse by taking the table apart. If you approach zero by "backing up" the crank and then change direction to turn 72 turns, you will take up that backlash and it will take more than 72 turns to get back to zero. But *another* rotation, without changing direction, will take exactly 72 turns. To measure this accurately, you have to approach zero from one direction and keep cranking in the same direction for the whole measurement. Never reverse direction. (By the way, you originally said it took 73 turns. Now you say it's 1.5 degrees from zero, but the table moves 5 degrees per turn of the crank, so it must be 72.3 turns. One of these must be wrong). Dave ------- Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 00:05:47 -0000 From: "jeastwoodlm " Subject: Gadget for cross slide DI (Re: Indicating Question) To get around the problem of aluminum construction Ted refers to below, I built a gadget that mounts to the cross slide and lets you mount your DI's magnetic base. Make it out of 3/8" or 1/2" steel, about as long (no longer!) as the cross slide width, and about 1.5" wide. Narrower takes up less room, but also allows the magnetic base to rock too easily. Drill two holes for the T-nuts 1.50" apart. I tried to make them a tight enough fit with the barrel of the T-nuts so that the nuts won't spin easily, making it easier to slide the gadget on and off the cross slide. Counterbore the top of the holes so that the 10-32 cap screws don't stick up about the surface. I used this to mount my DI on the slide and run it back and forth along a piece of drill rod I'd chucked up as accurately as I could, to check that the axis of the spindle was properly aligned with the ways. I'm making a 5C collet chuck for my Sherline, and wanted to make sure the lathe was dialed in as well as I could get it. ------- Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2002 20:36:17 -0000 From: "tomdoyle123456789 " Subject: Tall Boy CNC Mod Some time ago I added the extended Z-Axis parts to my manual 5400 mill. The additional 4 inches of Z length was a big help. Up until recently you could not make the CNC mod to Sherline mills with the extended Z-Axis. Fortunately Sherline now sells the CNC Z-Axis lead screw for mills with the extended Z-Axis. The only additional hassle when doing the CNC mod to an extended Z- Axis mill is due to the fact that the Z-Axis parts comes pre- assembled in the CNC upgrade kit. You must take it apart to substitute the longer Z-Axis lead screw. Since some sort of locktite is used to hold the parts together it is a bit more work than you might expect. Things went smoothly except for the X-Axis. It was prone to bind up and never operated smoothly. After trying everything I discovered that the problem was due to a defective bearing in the X-Axis stepper motor mount assembly. When I looked at the bearing I discovered that the bearing was made in CHINA. Very disappointing to see junky Chinese bearings mixed in with all the quality components used in the CNC mod kit. I hope that this is not a sign of the times for Sherline products. There is a photo of my "Tall Boy" Sherline CNC mod in the photo section. tom ... ------- Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2002 14:24:45 -0800 From: Wm. Dubin Subject: Re: Tall Boy CNC Mod Tom, I am planning to change over to the longer Z-Axis. I don't have CNC so that's not a problem, but I have wondered about rigidity. Have you found when at the top of the bed, there is any increase in movement? I am also considering leaving the Sherline spacer in place, rather than putting it on and off..... any thoughts on this? Wm. ------- Date: Wed, 25 Dec 2002 14:32:17 -0000 From: "tomdoyle123456789 " Subject: Re: Tall Boy CNC Mod Wm, I was also very concerned about rigidity but decided that unless you were near the top of the Z-axis it would not be any less rigid than the standard Z-axis. Given the choice between a little loss in rigidity and not being able to fit the part in the mill at all, I voted for a little loss in rigidity. The only times I have had to run near the top of the Z-axis is for drilling and reaming where the side loading is minimal. I have been very happy with the longer Z-axis. Even if I was not doing the CNC mod I would be tempted to put in the CNC Z-axis lead screw and mount. I believe that one of the weak spots in the Sherline mill design is the setscrew holding the Z-axis in place. The setscrew on mine came loose one day and the whole Z-axis dropped down (not a pretty sight). The CNC Z-axis leadscrew and mount fixes that weak spot in the mill. I did not install the Sherline spacer on my mill. Decided to wait until I needed the space and would put it in then. tom ------- Date: Wed, 25 Dec 2002 10:54:06 -0800 From: Wm. Dubin Subject: Re: Re: Tall Boy CNC Mod Tom, thanks for the info. My reason for wanting the extra length is for reaming, I rarely have parts that are so big I need it. Your thoughts re: the set-screw design are very interesting. By any chance, would you know if I could use the CNC leadscrew with the DRO? I've never had the problem you describe, but its certainly NOT one I'de like to go through. I assume the Z-lock will still work with this leadscrew..... although I very rarely trust it to work, preferring the set screw on the side instead. Wm. ------- Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2003 18:53:35 -0000 From: "tomdoyle123456789 " Subject: Re: Tall Boy CNC Mod The instructions for the CNC mod indicate that the Z-lock is not used with CNC. I suspect that they are trying to avoid having the CNC motor try to move the Z-axis when it is locked. I do not see any reason why you could not leave the Z-lock in place. The CNC z-axis part is not a drop in replacement for the standard z-axis. The coupling on the "knob end" of the shaft is not the same. tom ------- Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 12:42:29 -0800 From: Wm. Dubin Subject: Re: Re: Tall Boy CNC Mod Tom, I am just back from Sherline, and having the tall column installed on my mill. The column is replacement part #45260, the regular leadscrew is #45270. When I was there, I heard that the CNC leadscrew didn't yet have a part #, but they will know what you mean if you ask for it. If you use the CNC leadscrew, you must use the CNC housing . If you do THAT, then you must mount the motor as well, or you can't use the handwheel. As I doubt I'll ever use a Z axis motor, I just had them install it with the regular lead-screw set up. Won't have a chance to use it until tomarrow... but NOW I can ream with a 1/4" reamer!!!!!!! Just in time. Sure makes the mill look big. Wm. ------- Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2003 22:26:57 -0600 From: "Al Lenz" Subject: RE: Re: Tall Boy CNC Mod Hi Wm. It is possible to modify/replace the Z axis support housing with one that incorporates two ball bearings that can be adjusted for preload, just as Sherline's CNC housing. They fit within the envelope just as if it had been designed for it. I made that mod several years ago and it ended the problems due to the weight of the Z being supported by the handwheel. I thought that I put pics and drawings in the files, but couldn't find them just now, (maybe another group?) If anyone's interested, I can look them up. This is a very desirable and worthwhile mod to the basic setup, IMHO. al lenz ------- Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2003 23:37:20 -0500 From: RichD Subject: Re: Re: Tall Boy CNC Mod Al, That is what I did (for cnc). The existing black steel collar is counterbored for the thrust bearing (two washers and ball assy). The end of the screw where the handwheel seats is threaded 1/4-40 for a locknut that includes a locking setscrew. The handwheel wheel goes back as usual. There is a thrust bearing under the collar too. I used to have pics on the Yahoo site, but they get lost, moved and linked to the wrong owners. Out of control. I gave up. RichD ------- Date: Tue, 7 Jan 2003 02:39:59 -0600 From: "Al Lenz" Subject: RE: Re: Tall Boy CNC Mod Hi Rich and group: Now that you jogged my memory, you are the one that first mentioned this potential mod, and I just decided to follow up on it. Thanks. It's been a while, time does fly... I found my old files, tweaked them a bit, and loaded to the 'Files' as 'Mill Z-axis Mod'. And guess what? There was the old original file right next to it. I guess I overlooked it before, but as you might guess, Yahoo won't let me edit or remove the old file. Turns out the JPG's weren't readable in the original for some reason, so I left the revised one which is better, (readable), as a zipped file. Al Lenz P.S. If it were anyone else I would challenge the 1/4-40 as a typo (grin). The shallower cut would be preferable over a 1/4-28 , (but not really required). ------- Date: Tue, 07 Jan 2003 14:01:07 -0500 From: RichD Subject: Re: Re: Tall Boy CNC Mod Al: The thread is 1/4-40. Fine threads are stronger and allows better adjustment. The mod I did is for a stepper motor 2/1 belt drive. The handwheel is not used anymore. I am wanting to rehash the Z setup as the rear spindle motor drive is an excellent idea. Trouble is, my stepper is already at the rear hanging down. I have a set of 6 (640x480) pics if anybody wants to see the Z CNC mod. This has performed very well. Only complaint is the screw ***needs to be a ball screw****. Rich ------- Date: Tue, 7 Jan 2003 13:15:06 -0600 From: "Al Lenz" Subject: RE: Re: Tall Boy CNC Mod Wm., take a look in the 'Files' section. It's listed under 'Mill Z-axis Bearing Revised'. The changes are all contained within the original housing envelope. I'm not familiar with the DRO but since everything external to the housing is essentially unchanged, I would guess that its installation would be unaffected. But I don't really know, see what you think. Al Lenz ------- Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 03:02:09 -0000 From: "jimknighton1948 " Subject: Re: Expected run out when using a 5C collet? jeastwood, I'm well along with my 5C collet chuck project and have the body just about finished. With any luck the chuck will be ready to use before the weekend. This afternoon as I was laying out the position of the indexing pin I realized that in your comments you hadn't made mention of this component. I began to wonder if you had included one in your design? If not, its absence might be the cause of your excessive runout. I am not using the drawbar closer as you are but decided to use the tommybar operated internal closing nut suggested by John Guenther. In one of his posts on another board he suggested the inclusion of thrust bearings and I've included that feature as well. Regardless of the closing method the collet needs to move straight back into it's seat without axial twist. This is the function of the index pin and the matching lengthwise groove on the collet. Without the indexing pin the rotational force imparted by tightening the closer (regardless of which end of the spindle it's on)can twist the collet out of alignment and result in excessive runout. I'm using a setscrew threaded just far enough into the bore that it prevents the collet from rotating but not so far as to drag on the collet itself. The setscrew is secured with a dab of loctite to keep everything secure. I'm mentioning this on the off chance that maybe it might be helpful, assuming of course that you've not already resolved the issue. Regards, JBK ------- Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 03:37:35 -0000 From: "jeastwoodlm " Subject: Re: Expected run out when using a 5C collet? Thanks for the info. Hope your chuck works well. I did indeed add a pin to keep the collet from turning, but I did so after I took my measurements of run out. It didn't occur to me that a twisting moment on the collet could get it out of alignment, but it made sense once I thought about your idea a bit. Not simply rotation of the collet, but actual twisting of it. I'll go check again now that my pin is in place. Thanks again, and good machining! ------- Date: Wed, 01 Jan 2003 05:37:00 -0000 From: "jimknighton1948 " Subject: Re: Small band saws About a year ago John Gjertsen sent me a photo of a Sherline sized vertical bandsaw he designed and built in his own shop. It was a very well done. An impressive project. At the time I was corresponing with John regard his cleverly designed threading gear box specifically for the Sherline lathe with riser blocks. He was kind enough to share his plans with me and I built the gear box. I highly recommend it, by the way. He was thinking about putting together a parts kit for the gear box but I don't know if that actually materialized. I found John to be helpful and very generous. Perhaps if you contact John directly he will share his bandsaw experiences with the group. I, for one, would be interested in the outcome. I catch myself contemplating the possibilities of building one myself. Regards, JBK ------- Date: Thu, 02 Jan 2003 01:02:18 -0500 From: RichD Subject: Re: Mill CNC conversion (need cable/connector reccomendations) Marshall Pharoah wrote: > Having had the parts kisking around since last summer, I am finally > converting my mill. I need to make up some cables to connect the > controller board to the steppers. I'm thinking DB-9 connectors and 20 or > 22 guage wire. I have Sherline stepper motors, which I think are 4V 2A. > Has anyone got any other suggestions, including a source for decent > stranded wire cable with 6 or 8 conductors? My usual sources for > components don't seem to carry anything other than CAT-5 or similar > tiny, solid strand wire. Thanks, Marshall Marshall, I used 4 pin mic connectors and #20 wire stuffed thru 1/4" black vinyl tubing. Inline connectors were attached to each motor lead, a 2' cable made up and this plugs into the control box. All neat & trouble free. #20 wire is the smallest you should use. The 4 pin mic connectors are available from many sources, but the chassis mount and inline type are hardest to find. I got most at Hamfests. The male conn is found at RadioShack. RichD KT4IZ ------- Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 05:57:35 -0000 From: "jimknighton1948 " Subject: Re: JBK lathe mods For those of you who are interested, Don Christensen of this forum graciously sent me a copy of my MS Word document, JBK's Lathe Modifications, in Adobe Acrobat format. The pdf version is much smaller than the original and consequently I've uploaded the file JBK.pdf to the files section and deleted the MS Word version. JBK ------- Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 01:52:58 -0000 From: "jimknighton1948 " Subject: Re: JBK lathe mods Ron, thanks for your comments. Concerning the mill, I don't have a Sherline mill. I use an Asian mill/drill from Jet. It is much larger than the Sherline and uses R8 tooling. As you probably know, to really get a mill operational and useful takes tooling, etc. that can easily cost several multiples of the mill itself. Since I don't have $$$, I've had to use as much ingenuity as possible to get to the point where it is at present. I haven't made many mods to my mill and really don't plan to. It's size (over 500 lbs as curently configured) is both an advantage and a drawback). No one will ever accuse that machine of being portable or even lugable. However, I wouldn't want to even think about making my lathe's motor mounts on a Sherline vertical mill. It could probably be done with a rotary table setup and a long endmill but not easily. Its far beyond the capacity of the Sherline boring head attachment (which I have and use on the lathe). Making these was a piece of cake with the 3" boring head in the Jet mill/drill. I have several Sherline milling accessories that I use on my Jet mill/drill, including the CNC rotary table, the 2" vise with rotating base, adjustable angle table, etc. The Sherline vise augments my usual 6" vise for special setups. I've had to build mounting plates for each of these accessories. Since these can have both horizontal and vertical orientations, that means several mounting plates for each accessory. This isn't a complaint - it's just how it is, and once built these mounting plates are available when needed for the next project. When I first bought the mill I spent nearly all my shop time making fixtures and accessories. Eventually I got to the point where I had enough tooling etc. that this wasn't necessary. I'm still in that mode with the lathe. This process is cumulative, however, and over time the focus is shifting to the point where I can actually start thinking about model shipbuilding again. I'm not ready to build models, however. The focus is now on the additional tools and accessories I need to get seriously into scratchbuilding. Enhancing the mill and lathe's capabilities in this direction is still the priority but the focus is increasingly on stuff like disc and thinkness sanders, miniature table saws, scroll saws, etc. In fact, I will almost certainly build a lathe mounted 5" disk sanding attachment this next week. Most of the materials are on hand and this will be a simple and straightforward project. I've figured out how to use my current machine tools and tooling to build a (hopefully) competent small scroll saw. In comparison with the disk sander this is a complex project and will almost certainly be a stand alone machine, not an accessory. If $$$ weren't an issue I would purchase a Sherline 5400 lathe with DRO and the horizontal milling attachment. That configuration comes with a 1/2" thick mounting baseplate approx 12" sq. I'm doing this from memory and don't have the catalog in front of me, so please forgive me if I don't have the dimensions right. I would then use some 1/2" x 3" bar stock to form the "legs" of a channel and essentially duplicate the lathe's base configuration with switches, controls, outlets, etc. By the way, if you can't find a length of channel you could use this approach to build your own. I can get 10" alumin bar in several thicknesses from my local metal supplier (Metal Supermarket, a franchised chain with stores around the country). There is a nice photo of a stalk mounted mill DRO box in the tips section of the Sherline web site. I would do something similar using 1/2" conduit to keep the encoder cables out of sight and out of the way. The horizontal milling conversion is very interesting to me. I already have a good vertical milling capability and the horizontal configuration presents some intriguing possibilities for the tools and accessories I would like to build. I can and will do some of the above using the lathe as a starting point, but the horizontal mill would sure be nice. At present this is nothing more than a pipedream, but occasionally funds become available. When they do, this will probably be where I'll be going. Regards, JBK -------- Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 16:46:05 -0000 From: "silverwaterh " Subject: transfer time of motor from lathe to mill I will be purchasing a Sherline lathe package and the XYZ mill base in the near future. Note: only one motor and controller... I'm on a budget. According to the instructions (taken off the Internet) it takes only about one minute to transfer the motor and controller between the lathe and XYZ mill base (and vice versa). What are your experiences? Anyone. Thank you for your time. Howard -------- Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 08:58:52 -0800 From: "Dave Hylands" Subject: RE: transfer time of motor from lathe to mill Hi Howard, that's pretty much the case to just transfer the motor. There's only one screw holding it down. Basically it boils down to how much accuracy you're looking for. For typicaly hobbyist needs, using the key that's provided is probably sufficient. If you're looking for more accuracy, then the amount of time will be primarily how much time it takes you to set things up to get your desired level of accuracy. Dave Hylands Vancouver, BC, Canada http://www.DaveHylands.com/ ------- Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 11:02:56 -0600 From: "Nance, Tom" Subject: RE: transfer time of motor from lathe to mill They are right, it only takes a minute. You unscrew it from the lathe and screw it onto the mill. It's a pain in the ass, when you have to move it back and forth several times, but it's not too bad. You are usually transfering your work from the lathe to the mill anyway, so it's just a few extra steps. I also use the Sherline motor to power other machines I have made (miniature saw and a thickness sander). You can buy the headstock post from Sherline for $5.00 and it's a simple matter to mount it on a 3 x 3 inch piece of 1/4" alum with a keyway cut into it. Using the same motor for several projects is sometimes a pain, but it makes the projects much less expensive. Tom ------- Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 13:15:54 -0800 From: "Carol & Jerry Jankura" Subject: RE: transfer time of motor from lathe to mill If the mill base you're purchasing already has the Z-Axis slide and saddle, it's one setscrew to loosen the headstock from the mount on the lathe and position it on the mill. If your shop is like mine, it's about twenty-five minutes to find the allen wrench and about 60 seconds to loosen the screw, remove the base and reinstall on the other tool. Jerry ------- Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 03:18:33 -0000 From: "Gary Severson" Subject: Re: Leadscrew nuts - Teflon/Polymer instead of Brass? > I was wondering why Sherline machines have brass nuts when there > exist very low friction materials like teflon and other polymers. > Using these low friction materials should greatly reduce wear and > result in less backlash over a longer period of time. Is there any > reason why brass is used? Threads in a polymer would wear way too fast and sacrifice precision imo. Sherline uses brass because they want the nut to wear out before the leadscrew. Gary Severson ------- Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 06:52:16 -0600 From: "Dan Horn" Subject: Re: cleaning the mill Hi Tony, I use a chip brush during the milling jobs, then with a small 1.5 gallon vacuum cleaner, suck up the debris. The only modification is to the vacuum hose which has an added length so the cleaner can set on the floor next to the desk work station. Happy Chips! Dan ------- SAFETY NOTE: Never use compressed air to blow away chips. Such practice is hazardous to people and machines! ------- Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2003 16:59:51 -0000 From: "Mark Vaughan" Subject: Re: Sherline T Nut Slots Sherline sells the T-slot cutters for +/- $45.00. As near as I can determine the cutters are not listed on any price list, but are a special under-the-counter item. Mark Vaughan ------- Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 21:22:08 -0000 From: "Nelson Wittstock" Subject: Re: Re: Sherline T Nut Slots I used a 1/4 inch straight mill and a Dremel bit for the "T" portion. It takes more than one pass but its worked out for me. The Dremel bit number is 198. Good luck, Nelson Wittstock ------- Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 15:44:27 -0000 From: "Bob Breed" Subject: Re: Reverse for the lathe? I believe that at Sherline web site, Tips section someone shows how to use two DPDT switches, that way both switches have to be in the same position and cuts down on the chance of a mistake. Bob ------- Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 09:04:12 -0800 From: "Marcus & Eva" Subject: Re: Reverse for the lathe? Yeah....I did it according to the instructions supplied by Sherline (with a clear warning that it was NOT recommended practice.) Caught the reverse switch with my coatsleeve while the lathe was running and instantly blew the brushes to dust. (The leading edge caught in the commutator segments and broke off a good sized hunk.) But it does work. And it is simple to do. Cheers Marcus ------- Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 19:06:00 -0000 From: "n2562001" Subject: Re: Reverse for the lathe? Accidental reversing can be prevented by installing a rotary reverse switch rather than a toggle switch. I have had chucks come off in reverse and it is a real thrill and a half, but when tapping the speed is so slow I have never had a problem in the ten years I have been doing it. Jerry Kieffer ------- Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 11:06:28 -0800 From: Dave Martindale Subject: Re: Digest Number 1070 "Nance, Tom" wrote: >>There's a discussion of adding a reversing switch to the lathe on the Sherline web site. I just amounts to adding a DPDT switch on the wires leading from the electronics (connectors A and B) to the motor. Pay very close attention to their warning at the end of the text. It states that if you throw this switch while the motor is still turning, the reverse EMF from the motor will burn out the electronics. I just knew that if I installed this feature I would someday hit the switch by accident and so I passed. << I know someone who did this. In his case, the electronics survived, but the current was so high for a short period that it damaged the brush and brush holder inside the motor. To avoid this for sure, you need to make sure that the motor is stopped and the speed control disabled, or the speed turned back to zero, before connecting the motor in the opposite direction. This has been discussed here in the past, and several solutions were offered. One way is to get a switch that mechanically locks in the centre (no connection) position. You can accidentally knock this from either running position to off, but t