Sheldon EXL-56B?

J

Jason280

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What is the general consensus on Sheldon lathes? Local seller has a Sheldon EXL-56B, sereial # EXL-27048, that looks to be in pretty good condition. Looks complete with everything (steady rest, quick change tool post, tail stock, etc), except no 4 jaw chuck....but it does have a complete collet set.

How do they compare with Atlas/Craftsman lathes, or South Bend 9" lathes?
 
I've had a Sheldon 13" MW-56-P machine about 5 years and love it. Mine is a 1960 model with infinite variable speed. Sheldon's are good machines originally intended for industrial and commercial customers. They in my opinion are worlds above Craftsman and at least several steps above South bend.

I say this because I used South Bends in the shop where I worked, and have owned a Craftsman. Neither could hold a candle to the Sheldon's and LeBlond's.

Keep in mind the machine you're looking at probably spent it's life in a commercial shop working 40 or more hours a week. Unless it's been well taken care of there's probably some wear on the ways and cross slide. The top end of mine (headstock, bed, carriage, and cross slide on mine were all rebuilt by the previous owner. The rebuild included grinding the bed and cross slide ways, and replacing all the bearings in the headstock.

After about a year in my shop I rebuilt the Worthington variable speed drive. It cost about $200.00 for new bearings and bushings. I also added an electronic tachometer.

For more information I would join the Sheldon Lathe group:
groups.io

sheldonlathe groups.io Group

Sheldonlathe is for sharing information about Sheldon, Sebastian, and Vernon machine tools. The Files, Photos, and Links sections contain basic information. Members may upload machine photos to the Photos section. For a manual or parts for your Sheldon, check the Files for "Sheldon Parts FAQ"...
groups.io groups.io

One of the members (John Knox) is an engineer who worked in the design department of Sheldon for nearly 40 years. He has a wealth of information and is more than happy to share it with fellow owners and enthusiasts.
 
I went and looked at the Sheldon today, looked to be in solid condition. The 3 jaw chuck was reading .003-.004 runout, and no abnormal noise from the gears. The one weird thing about it, the speed selector is a lever on the side of the motor housing. It's not a matter of simply sliding over belts, you have to reach underneath to the motor to adjust speeds. Definitely not something I've seen before!
 
Here's a link to the Sheldon Lathe information on Tony Griffith's website. He has a wealth of information on just about any machine tool you can think of:

Sheldon Lathes

Sheldon were based, originally, at 4258 North Knox Avenue, Chicago, USA, and made a range of machine tools including millers, shapers and lathes using their own as well as
www.lathes.co.uk

As OTmachine mentioned it was one of several options offered by Sheldon for many years. It's relatively simple and all but bullet proof. When measuring the runout did you chuck up a known piece of round stock? I usually use a 1" x 4" dowel pin. They're ground to within .0002" so you can be assured the stock itself isn't influencing the measurement.
 
Yes, the owner used a piece of die stock to check runout.

The speed selector is completely unlike anything I've seen. The motor itself is in a longer housing, with what appears to be come sort of gearbox at the end. The speed selector is just a small single lever on the side with 4 speeds (total of 8 speeds with back gear).
 
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