Cross over tooling between Sherline and larger lathe?

Aaron_W

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A combination of starting to bump up against the Sherline's size limits on a few projects and finding a good deal on an 10" lathe will soon result in a larger lathe moving in to share space in my shop. The bulk of my work is still likely to remain at the 1" and smaller size, so I don't expect the Sherline to gather dust.


I'd like to know what others in this situation have found relating to shared tooling or just use in general. Do you find everything stays separate or do you find some cross over?


I have a Beall ER32 chuck set up for the Sherline 3/4-16 spindle, and see they offer an ER32 chuck for a 1 1/2-8 spindle as well which would fit on the new lathe, allowing me to use my existing collets on either lathe. Alternately I thought I might try to make a 1 1/2-8 to 3/4-16 adapter which would allow the use of any of the Sherline chucks on the larger lathe.
I'm not sure how much benefit that would actually be though, since it would hold work that fits on the Sherline. I suppose small but hard materials might find that useful, or I could start borderline stock on the larger lathe and transfer it chuck and all to the Sherline once the initial resizing is complete.

I also see Beall offers an ER50 chuck for a 1 1/2-8 spindle which is more of a useful size for the larger lathe. Any experience with this?
I would assume similar quality to the ER32 chuck. They offer collets from 7/8" up which takes over from where the ER32 leaves off. ER50 collets are available well into the Er32 ranges so maybe it would make more sense to just go that route and have a few overlapping sizes?


Interested in thoughts and experiences of others who started small and continue to use both sizes.
 
I went from a Sherline to a Southbend 10K. I now use the Sherline to grind tools using a diamond wheel. I do not have a use for it as a lathe. I am able to use some of the 3/8" shank carbide insert tools from the Sherline. I also made an adapter so I could chuck the Sherline 4 jaw in the 6" Bison on the Southbend. That works out nicely. Also, the Sherline spindle can be mounted on your cross slide and used as a toolpost grinder.
Robert
 
The first thing that transfers are all the skills you learned on the Sherline. Everything will apply on the larger lathe. You will likely find that the larger lathe is not as precise or tight.

The spindle bore on most older 10" lathes is around 3/4" or so, which is just about right to take advantage of your ER-32 collets. If Beall makes a chuck for it, that would be perfect. I'm not sure there is an advantage to adapting the smaller Sherline chucks to your larger lathe. I own an Emco 11" lathe and cannot remember a time when I wished for a smaller chuck, but you're the guy so do what feels right to you.

I don't see an advantage to an ER-50 set up unless you plan to work on finished or threaded bigger pieces that are short. ER-50 collets are not cheap, at least not the good ones, so unless you have a specific need for it, I would probably not spring for it.

All your measuring devices will transfer, as will all your turning/boring/parting/threading tools. You will need a drill chuck and live center to fit the new lathe.

My 11" lathe is tight, rigid and powerful for its size and it is also damned accurate. Still, for smaller work, the Sherline is even more accurate, at least in my experience, and I will never let go of that little lathe. It has taught me more about metalworking than any other machine I own so even though not much of the tooling for it transferred, the knowledge did and that made a huge difference.
 
Good comments Mikey.

Sherline diamond wheel toolpost grinder:

1544190496403.png

A crazy setup using the sherline in a vise as live tooling:

1544190686461.png

1544190323566.png
 
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I have a 14” lathe. I can hold 0.0002” on it all day long. And I don’t need or use collets with it. I pay good money for my chucks and they make life sweet in my shop. That lathe is for stuff down to maybe around 1/8” diameter. Smaller than that and I have several Levin lathes to do the task. I use collets on them mostly. The Levin is a well-built machine. It does not have a funky plastic gib like some other little lathe (to name at least one short coming). The Levin is not cheap nor are its accessories. The prices can stop your heart! But they also make life sweet in the shop. If you take your shop seriously and the toys in it. Then be a grizzly and not a bear and get the best. Life will be better…Dave
 
Thanks, I didn't really expect much to transfer between them, but it can't hurt to ask. Regardless of accuracy issues working really small stuff just seems like it would be handier in a little lathe, but I guess I will find out. I'm rearranging the shop to fit the new addition so considering options. If most things don't cross over it allows more flexibility, no need to have things readily available to both.

The lathe I'm getting includes most of the basics I need to get started, 6" 3 jaw and 4 jaw chucks, drill chuck, live center, steady rest, QCTP. I know the prior owner so he has pointed out some of its needs, but it is mostly there and ready to go.


Bealls ER50 is only $12 more than their ER32. The lathe has a 1" spindle bore so the ER50 might be a better option since it would allow the full use of the spindle. I'm not in a rush to buy one, I was just curious if anyone had one. I know you (Mikey) are a fan of their ER32 chuck, so thought you might have their ER50 on your Emco.


rwm, it never ceases to amaze me the jobs people find for Sherlines. It sounds like a joke, but you've just shown that you can actually mount a lathe on a lathe.
 
My lathe spindle has a 1.44'' bore but I opted for an ER32 chuck. My 4 jaw independant chuck handles anything over 3/4''.
In general my ER collets are used mostly for diameters under 1/2''.
I think that making an adapter to fit your Beall chuck to the new lathe is an interesting project. Since you have a 4 jaw, if you ever need something different for general use I'd be surprised.
 
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