Sherline lathe: 3" cast iron, brass and aluminum?

[zondar]

Dear Forum Members,

I'd like to ask for opinions about whether the little Sherline lathe can cope with 3" diameter gray cast iron, brass or aluminum rods in the range of 4-6" in length. I'd need to face them and skim at least 0.1" off the diameter of the cast iron in particular, which would be oversized and somewhat rough, and less off the others.

I do have a headstock riser block, which can be used in reducing the diameter, but no riser for the tail stock, so the material would be unsupported at the tail during that operation. I believe facing would not require a riser.

I ask because the material can be costly, and so I'd rather make other plans now before finding out that it can't cope. If you feel it can't, feel free to suggest a suitable upper bound (I presume 1.5" would be OK?).

Thank you.

 

[Badabinski]

I've successfully turned 3" CRS and brass with my Sherline 4400, but it was not pleasant from what I can recall. I was also a brand new machinist (I think this was my second project?), so that may account for some of the difficulty I encountered. Bring lots of patience and you should be able to manage it.

 

[EricB]

That's a lot to ask of such a small chuck. I've seen some large pieces turned while bolted to a steel face plate on a Sherline with no reported problem.

 

[Badabinski]

That's a lot to ask of such a small chuck. I've seen some large pieces turned while bolted to a steel face plate on a Sherline with no reported problem.

This is a good point. I used my 4 jaw chuck and had that sucker cranked down pretty hard. Definitely don't try to use a 3 jaw with this setup. A faceplate would also do the trick.

 

[zondar]

I do have a 4 jaw. But also, again, the tail would be unsupported for some operations unless I got a tailstock riser.

 

[Aaron_W]

I'd say no. I've turned a short 2" piece of bronze and that was a challenge. 3" will not fit over the cross slide so you will be limited to facing and only turning the short distance the tool can reach. I don't think even 4" would be secure without some support, I've had shorter unsupported pieces come loose from the chuck so would suggest using a center for tail stock support. I don't think the steady can handle a piece that large.

Risers will help you, but you would need the full set, for the head, tail and tool post. I have no experience using risers, some say they are great and leave them permanently set up, some say they impact the quality of the work so only use them as needed.

I will add after turning that 2" piece I started looking for a larger lathe to handle the occasional larger part. I still use the Sherline for small parts as it does that work well, but it is a very small lathe.

 

[mikey]

If you can fit it, the lathe can handle it.

What this means is that the work piece has to be able to fit your chuck and you need the appropriate risers (headstock, tool post and tailstock). On a work piece 4-6" long you cannot work safely without tailstock support.

Risers work but they add an interface that inevitably impacts on stability and accuracy. For the kind of project you want to do, risers will get the job done.

 

[zondar]

Based on the advice so far, I think I'll stick to about 1.5" (i.e., the reasonable limits without risers), at least until I have more experience with it.

I initially bought the riser and taller tool post to deal with much shorter disks rather than rods. But if it handles so-called "easy to machine" gray cast iron well enough at 1.5", I'll spring for a tail-stock riser and give something bigger a try.

The Sherline was bought as a fun hobby learning tool rather than with plans to do serious work. It's a great beginner machine that seems well made and accurate for small projects, and the documentation associated with it is outstanding. But I am already finding that larger-scale possibilities are creeping rather insidiously into the picture!

Thank you.

 

[matthewsx]

Based on the advice so far, I think I'll stick to about 1.5" (i.e., the reasonable limits without risers), at least until I have more experience with it.

I initially bought the riser and taller tool post to deal with much shorter disks rather than rods. But if it handles so-called "easy to machine" gray cast iron well enough at 1.5", I'll spring for a tail-stock riser and give something bigger a try.

The Sherline was bought as a fun hobby learning tool rather than with plans to do serious work. It's a great beginner machine that seems well made and accurate for small projects, and the documentation associated with it is outstanding. But I am already finding that larger-scale possibilities are creeping rather insidiously into the picture!

Thank you.

That was my first thought, I don't have a Sherline but if Mikey says it'll work than I'm sure it will.

But, just because you can do something....

Time to start shopping for a bigger lathe

John

 

[Aaron_W]

Based on the advice so far, I think I'll stick to about 1.5" (i.e., the reasonable limits without risers), at least until I have more experience with it.

I initially bought the riser and taller tool post to deal with much shorter disks rather than rods. But if it handles so-called "easy to machine" gray cast iron well enough at 1.5", I'll spring for a tail-stock riser and give something bigger a try.

The Sherline was bought as a fun hobby learning tool rather than with plans to do serious work. It's a great beginner machine that seems well made and accurate for small projects, and the documentation associated with it is outstanding. But I am already finding that larger-scale possibilities are creeping rather insidiously into the picture!

Thank you.

Insidious is a good word for the hobby. I bought my Sherline for some very specific projects where 1-1/2" was "big", it was just meant to be a tool. It didn't take long before my new tool had become a new hobby and 1-1/2" no longer seemed so large. The little Sherline still retains a prominent spot in my shop as it is basically my go to for anything in the 1" and smaller range. It is very hard to find another lathe with such a wide range of accessories that is even close to the cost.

I've now gone a little off the deep end buying small lathes, but personally if trying to maintain a relatively small foot print I think a Sherline and 9 or 10" benchtop lathe with a quick change gear box would be an ideal set up. Of course some will say the Sherline is redundant once you have something bigger, but I find it preferable to a larger lathe when working with small parts, much less intimidating.