First project on my Sherline Lathe with a question of length

[BiggerNoise]

Mostly completed, still need to tap the hole. My son-in-law is restoring a motorcycle and we made the first of two foot pegs.



The Sherline was great (certainly better than the operators), but we did have to do a lot of working around the short length. For example, to drill the pilot hole for the boring operation, we had to move the part to the drill press, drill the hole, then switch to the four jaw for the boring operation. The boring operation was so close to the travel limits that we had a really hard time measuring the diameter of the hole.

Sherline will sell 17" lathe without the motor and headstock. That space would have made this operation substantially less difficult. However, If I were to spend a bit more, I could move into one of the "proper" mini lathes (little machine shop's model for example).

I inherited the lathe along with a fair number of Sherline accessories, so there would definitely be more to get apart from just lathe.

Curious if anyone has strong opinions on this.

 

[Aaron_W]

This is why you will see many recommend spending a little more to get 4400 / 4410 with the longer 17" bed, 8" just gets used up so quickly.

As far as getting another lathe, that has a lot to do with what you use it for.

If you decide to stay with Sherline I'd probably just buy a complete 4400 plain (no tooling but with motor). The money you save buying without the motor / headstock ($200) isn't worth it to me. Sherlines keep their value and you could easily sell the short bed lathe you have for probably double what you would save by getting a stripped long bed and cannibalizing the short bed. You could also keep the short bed as a second lathe. When you are making multiples of something it can be handy to have two lathes set up for different operations, and Sherlines don't take up much room.

As far as going bigger, again it depends on your needs, but if you are concerned that the longer Sherline will be too small I suspect you would quickly find the same with a 7x16 and might want to consider going to a larger 9 or 10" lathe.

 

[BiggerNoise]

That's a really good point about having a second lathe around.

As far as what I will use it for, I'm not really sure. I doubt that I'll get into really large parts, so I think that the capabilities of the Sherline will certainly suffice. I know I want to cut tapers, but there's a couple ways to approach that on the Sherline, and honestly figuring out how to accomplish the non-obvious stuff was half the fun of the project.

 

[Forty Niner]

I have two Sherline lathes. I bought the first one new and picked up the second one from Craigslist. I leave one set up for threading. It's very convenient. Both are long beds.

 

[mikey]

Sherline will sell 17" lathe without the motor and headstock. That space would have made this operation substantially less difficult. However, If I were to spend a bit more, I could move into one of the "proper" mini lathes (little machine shop's model for example).

I inherited the lathe along with a fair number of Sherline accessories, so there would definitely be more to get apart from just lathe.

Curious if anyone has strong opinions on this.

Let's take a practical look at this.

• A mini-lathe is typically in the 7" class. The Sherline has a 3.5" swing over the bed so it is essentially a 7" lathe. Advantage: neither.
• You can outfit your Sherline with a 17" bed vs the 10/12/14/whatever mini-lathes. Some think these mini-lathes are more rigid than a Sherline. I happen to disagree.
• Bigger motors on the mini-lathes vs the puny 0.08HP Sherline motor. True, but a Sherline can take a 0.060" deep cut in mild steel and a full 0.100" cut in 6061. I would put this up against any mini-lathe, any day.
• Change gears - both types use change gears. The Sherline can cut class 3 threads all day; not so sure about a mini-lathe.
• A stock Sherline spindle is pretty accurate. Mine was less than 0.001" TIR from the factory and is now less than 0.0001" TIR with ABEC 3 bearings in there, and it has held this run out for over 20 years.
• My Sherline is set up to run variable feed. It takes a few minutes to hook up the motor and then I can dial in a cut with variable speed and feed, on the fly. BIG advantage on longer work pieces.
• A Sherline lathe has precision lead screws and nuts. As light as they may seem, these assemblies are capable of incredible precision and can hold that precision for decades. If they wear, changing them is simple and cheap. My leadscrews are original and I can directly cut into the low tenths with just the hand wheels. Try that with an Asian mini-lathe.
• Sherline machines have engineered plastic gibs. As hokey as this sounds, they do not go out of adjustment and they do not wear significantly over time, and they are solid. My lathe gibs are all original and the last time I adjusted them has to be at least 15 years or more; still no play. This allows the lathe to take cuts that such a little lathe should not be able to take.

I could go on and on.

A Sherline lathe is not for everyone. It is a tiny lathe that you can lift with one hand and put it on a shelf. If you routinely need to make stuff that exceeds its work envelope then step up to a larger lathe. However, if most of your work will fit within its work envelope then you will be hard pressed to find a cheaper solution that will outperform it. I have worked on sport bikes for years and made all kinds of stuff on my Sherline machines - foot pegs, bar ends, washers, bolts, fork and frame sliders and so on - no problems. I've turned/knurled/drill and bored stainless, steel, brass, delrin and other materials with no issues so ...

It will come down to what fits on the machines, not what the machines can do. If I were you, I would buy that 17" bed and base and use it. When the work can no longer fit on the machine, buy a bigger lathe in the 11-13" class.

 

[BiggerNoise]

I'm not too surprised that you have a strong opinion on this . More details than I had, but definitely the same shape as my thinking. I was seriously impressed with how well that lathe worked yesterday.

 

[BiggerNoise]

here is the part on the bike

 

[EricB]

I have two Sherline lathes. I bought the first one new and picked up the second one from Craigslist. I leave one set up for threading. It's very convenient. Both are long beds.

I bought a second (used) headstock just for threading. Even with checking alignments it's much easier than taking the motor off. Of course I'd "like" a second lathe but not just yet.

 

[BiggerNoise]

I did have one other challenge that will be present with the 17" as well (though a bit lesser in degree).

When we put the part back on the lathe to do the boring, we had intended to use the steady rest to support the end of the part, Unfortunately, the Z axis gib hit the steady rest. The problem was made worse by the fact that we had to put the tool holder in the slot furthest from the work because we were out of room on that axis.

Assuming that I wasn't doing something really silly with the steady rest, can I just trim off some of the gib material and drill a new hole for the lock so it doesn't stick out quite so far? (wouldn't be enough for this project, but with the 17", I can put the tool holder in the front position and that extra 1/2" might make a significant difference.) For reference, the gib extends about 7/8" from the slide.

 

[mikey]

I wouldn't trim the gib unless you had to. I suggest getting the longer bed and see if you have problems from there. I've done all kinds of work on that lathe and never had to alter the gibs.