Newbie looking for advice on first lathe/mill

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rogeryung

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Hello, l have no machining experience but really want to get into it as a hobby. I'm curious about the Sherline Lathe & Mill, mainly due to limited space. I'm pretty sure everything I would want to make would be no more than 3 inches in diameter. I've been watching videos on youtube and saw one from Clickspring that made a die holder for the sherline tailstock. I thought it was a great project to do but noticed he made it on a 7x lathe. Would a project like that be feasible to do on a Sherline Lathe/Mill?

Thank you
Roger
 
I made a 180 mm disk on my mini lathe, facing 2 sides and turning the outer diameter. It is the absolute max diameter for this small lathe. To reach the inner and outer portion of the disk, I had to reposition my turning tool several times because the range of the cross slide is very limited. To turn the outer diameter I had to use a internal threading tool upside down positioned at an angle.
The result was absolutely top but it took me 4 hours to get it done. On my bigger lathe, this would be a 10 minute job.

Size is important and you have to look at the machine specs to see what the limits for the machines are. It is not only the max diameter that can be turned, but parts needs to be mounted to and small lathes have small chucks. Even if it fits the chuck, if you have to drill a hole, you also need space for the drill and the drill chuck. So pay attention to the length (space between centers) of the lathe. This space has to fit the chuck, part, tools, etc.

To start with, a small lathe is a good idea any way. When things go wrong, on a small lathe, the damage is less. Larger lathes are far more dangerous.

My mini lathe can be as precise as my bigger lathe. On the bigger lathe, it is easier to make precision parts.

For small parts, I prefer my mini lathe because it has a smaller (80 mm) chuck and can run faster (3000 RPM). Most of the time I use the bigger lathe (160 mm chuck) because it is more silent and it is easier to make precision parts.

If I had to choose, I would keep my bigger lathe and buy a small 80 mm chuck for the small parts.
 
I would play it safe and get something that you won’t grow out of. Maybe this Kent lathe?

1698804603909.jpeg
 

Specifications of the Taig Micro Lathe II​



L1017.jpg
The Assembled Taig Lathe with 1150 tailstock, 1050 3 jaw chuck, 1097D tool bit, 1023 mounting board, 1162 pulley set and 1092 drill chuck


Swing over bed4.5"
Swing over crosslide2.375"
Overall length of bed15.5"
Overall length of lathe16.5"*
Bed ConstructionGround Steel Dovetailed Ways on Concrete Filled Aluminum Extrusion
Bed MountingCantilevered Instument Lathe Style
Bed Width2-5/16"
Headstock Normality to Bed.0004" max. error
Cross slide Normality to Bed.0004" max. error
Max. taper bed dovetail.0001"
Dovetail Angles45 deg. All Slides
Gib TypeBronze (Brass?) 3 setscrew Horizontal adjustment, 2 Vertical Locking Screws
Tool bit size.25"
Distance between centres9.75"
Carriage Travel**9", .60" per handwheel revolution
Carriage MaterialAluminum Casting
Crosslide Travel2.25", .050" per handle revolution
Crosslide Dial Divisions.050" in .001" steps (50 divisions)
Bearing Size OD1.5748" (40mm)
ID.6692" (17mm)
Max Bearing Runout.0004
Spindle Nose thread3/4"-16 SAE
Spindle Nose register.75" dia., .10" length
Spindle Hole.343"
Spindle Taper15 deg. included
Collet Type15 deg. self releasing, threaded spindle nose closer***
Max Collet ID5/16"****
Headstock Pulley Bore5/8"
Standard Speed rpm525-5300, six steps, Max. 7000 rpm. (525,825,1300,2100,3350,5300)
Tailstock Chuck Integral Mount3/8"-24 tpi.
Tailstock spindle travel1.2"
T-slot locationsCrosslide(2), back side of Headstock and Tailstock (1),Top of Headstock(2), Front side of Headstock(1), Top of Tailstock(2),Compound & Milling Slide(2)
T-slot NutStandard 10-32 Square Nut

*This doesn't include the space taken up by a motor
**This is deceptive, with the 4 jaw chuck on, the actual travel between the fully extended tailstock centre and the 4 jaw chuck jaws, without moving the toolpost on the slide (which allows you to take several cuts at different points on the work) is 5.875"
***Thus work can be fed through the spindle, unlike a drawbar closing mechanism.
****5/16" collet is not bored through, 9/32" collet is the largest that can have stock fed through.

This was my first lathe. My favorite tool. Really! Check out https://www.cartertools.com/ Nick Carter is the best. I bought mine from him 13 years ago and he will still answer a question just like I was a new customer. You may ultimately get a larger machine but you will keep the Taig!
 
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With a small lathe you are not only limited by the size of parts you can make on the lathe you are also limited on the size of cut you can take with the lathe. The amount of stock you can remove with a 12 in lathe in 10 minutes might take an hour or more to remove with a micro lathe.

Everyone has to start somewhere, I am just trying to give you another point to consider.
 
Chip Hacket said:

Specifications of the Taig Micro Lathe II​



L1017.jpg
The Assembled Taig Lathe with 1150 tailstock, 1050 3 jaw chuck, 1097D tool bit, 1023 mounting board, 1162 pulley set and 1092 drill chuck


Swing over bed4.5"
Swing over crosslide2.375"
Overall length of bed15.5"
Overall length of lathe16.5"*
Bed ConstructionGround Steel Dovetailed Ways on Concrete Filled Aluminum Extrusion
Bed MountingCantilevered Instument Lathe Style
Bed Width2-5/16"
Headstock Normality to Bed.0004" max. error
Cross slide Normality to Bed.0004" max. error
Max. taper bed dovetail.0001"
Dovetail Angles45 deg. All Slides
Gib TypeBronze (Brass?) 3 setscrew Horizontal adjustment, 2 Vertical Locking Screws
Tool bit size.25"
Distance between centres9.75"
Carriage Travel**9", .60" per handwheel revolution
Carriage MaterialAluminum Casting
Crosslide Travel2.25", .050" per handle revolution
Crosslide Dial Divisions.050" in .001" steps (50 divisions)
Bearing Size OD1.5748" (40mm)
ID.6692" (17mm)
Max Bearing Runout.0004
Spindle Nose thread3/4"-16 SAE
Spindle Nose register.75" dia., .10" length
Spindle Hole.343"
Spindle Taper15 deg. included
Collet Type15 deg. self releasing, threaded spindle nose closer***
Max Collet ID5/16"****
Headstock Pulley Bore5/8"
Standard Speed rpm525-5300, six steps, Max. 7000 rpm. (525,825,1300,2100,3350,5300)
Tailstock Chuck Integral Mount3/8"-24 tpi.
Tailstock spindle travel1.2"
T-slot locationsCrosslide(2), back side of Headstock and Tailstock (1),Top of Headstock(2), Front side of Headstock(1), Top of Tailstock(2),Compound & Milling Slide(2)
T-slot NutStandard 10-32 Square Nut

*This doesn't include the space taken up by a motor
**This is deceptive, with the 4 jaw chuck on, the actual travel between the fully extended tailstock centre and the 4 jaw chuck jaws, without moving the toolpost on the slide (which allows you to take several cuts at different points on the work) is 5.875"
***Thus work can be fed through the spindle, unlike a drawbar closing mechanism.
****5/16" collet is not bored through, 9/32" collet is the largest that can have stock fed through.

This was my first lathe. My favorite tool. Really! Check out https://www.cartertools.com/ Nick Carter is the best. I bought mine from him 13 years ago and he will still answer a question just like I was a new customer. You may ultimately get a larger machine but you will keep the Taig!
Click to expand...
Nick Carter is one “Smart Cookie “
 
Write a list of what you want to do with your lathe. Now and in the future. I call this a Statement of Requirements (SOR). Put everything you can think of on your SOR to make what you want to make. That's the easy part. The hard part is to prioritize the SOR. Put the highest priority at the top of the list and work down to the nice to have but not absolutely necessary at the bottom. Then use your SOR to look for a lathe that meets your requirements. Only you can make these decisions.

I think the biggest problem people run into with any lathe is the actual working distance between centers. Within reason longer is always better.

IMHO another trap that hobbyists fall into is how fast they can make something. How big of a depth of cut can they make. I have the reverse of that. If it takes me longer to make something, that's a plus. I get to spend more time in my shop doing something I like to do.

Once you narrow down your search to a couple of different lathes, post them and ask for other peoples' experience with those lathes. Then buy the one you like the best.
 
rogeryung said:
Hello, l have no machining experience but really want to get into it as a hobby. I'm curious about the Sherline Lathe & Mill, mainly due to limited space. I'm pretty sure everything I would want to make would be no more than 3 inches in diameter. I've been watching videos on youtube and saw one from Clickspring that made a die holder for the sherline tailstock. I thought it was a great project to do but noticed he made it on a 7x lathe. Would a project like that be feasible to do on a Sherline Lathe/Mill?

Thank you
Roger
Click to expand...
You might consider something in the 10x20 or 10x30 size range, Grizzly, Precision Mathews and little machine shop are good places to look for these machines.

I would also suggest that you look up Blondiehacks on Youtube (This is a good start
) and go through her video Library, she has some really good information on small hobby machine work and you can watch and listen to her to understand the limitations of the smaller machines.
 
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