Boring Head For Sherline Mill

tomw

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Dear folks,

I really don't like the Sherline boring head that I have. I find it very difficult to adjust precisely. Thus, I am looking for either a new boring head or tips on adjusting the Sherline head precisely.

If put in list form, my questions are:

1) What is the best way to use the Sherline boring head for precision boring?

2) What alternative are available?*

*On this forum, I have seen reference to the Criterion S-1-1/2A. An interweb search found no such part number. Any ideas? If I'm being an idiot, please point that out. I can't stop being stupid without help.

Thank you,

Tom
 
Tom, I own a Sherline boring head and it is a very light duty head. It does work, though, if you are careful to stay within its work envelope and account for the backlash in the screw (like most adjustable things we use). The problem for me is that I was always at the edge of that envelope so I went with the Criterion S 1-1/2A. There is no comparison between a Sherline head and a Criterion, even one as small as the S 1-1/2A. More mass, more precision and greater work envelope. In fact, you have to be sure to lower your speed when boring larger holes or your mill will walk off the table due to vibration!

The S 1-1/2A comes up on ebay from time to time and that is where I would look for one. It uses a 7/8" adapter that you can get from LMS to fit the 3/4-16 head of the Sherline mill. This is a good head but a little heavy when you bore out past 2" or more. They come in 2 versions to fit 3/8" and 1/2" shank tools and the 3/8" version is better due to the smaller mass of the boring bars.

Criterion also makes the Tinymite series, which are even smaller. The have an integral shank and so will mount with a collet. I seem to recall a very small square head they made, about the size of a quarter, but cannot remember the model number.

There are other makes/models of precision boring heads - Wolhaupter and others - but for the hobby guy a Criterion is a good choice. If you buy one on ebay the cost is not bad at all - mine cost $50.00!
 
I have the Sherline head also, and it is a little bit of a pain, and hard to adjust. But I did manage with it. I also will be looking for a diff one if I start doing more boring. My prob is I keep trying to do things that are bigger than the sherline will handle.
 
Thank you all for the help. MSC has a Criterion for $500. I don't really do much on Ebay for tools, as I have not had much luck with quality.
 
Try HF
I purchase one from there that had 1/2" shank and 2MT shank works great for small mills

Dave
 
About two inches is pretty well accepted for the small boring heads, Perhaps the part No. 1 1/2 is a tip off to size.
 
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