ElgaKoster Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 One tool that I don't have yet is a mill, I am interested in the Sherline mill, mainly because the sole importer of Sherline and Proxxon is a 45 minute drive from me and he sells it to me at wholesale price, and they are the only decent small tools imported to South Africa in any case. Basically what I would like to know...is the normal vertical mill sufficient for miniature work or will the eight direction mill be better. I don't have a big workroom with space for lots of tools so I want to buy the best I can that would be the most versatile in the different things it can do, I am wondering if the eight direction mill would be overkill and maybe more difficult to set up each time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Hudson Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 If you have the need and the money, go for overkill. Two of the best accessories I find is the rotary table and tilting angle plate. Of course a couple of the vises. Sometimes I find I need a vise when I have something already set up in one. If you can also afford it get the sensitive drill attachment. You will never want to use another drill press after you have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wm. R. Robertson Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 It can always be hard to figure out which machine when there are choices, maybe that is why folks that have been building things for a long time seen to have a few of each type machine......I am not super familiar with Sherline mills, I sold mine over 30 years ago. One thing I do remember is it didn't have a lot of space between spindle and table, I think I saw that they offer a taller version now. This becomes important when you start adding accessories like indexing heads and then want to angle those upward. Even my big mill, a Aciera F-3 sometimes lacks enough room. Another thought on a mill that rotates on its different axis, will you really use these features? My F-3 rotates on 3 axis, it has been years since I have used it that way mainly because it takes so long to tram ( a term meaning set everything back perfectly square) it back to less than a thousandth of inch.I think the thing to do would be to write out a list of things you want to do with the mill, see which tasks you need which model for, also consider what tasks you might do on your lathe. I do a lot of my milling on my Taig lathe. As with any machine, it is all the tooling and accessories that make it so useable and expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Hudson Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Elga, I read your posting wrong. You probably will not need the eight axis. I use 3 axis as Bill R says. I assure you once you tilt the column it will be a real chore to tram the mill back to a true vertical position. I do recommend the lifting block which will give you more height for the spindle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member1 Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 I have had this photo in my archives and I just couldn't resist posting it……. one of the wonderful features of Guild School is they certainly have more tools than any other miniature school in the world! Now I know, that is a pretty strong statement but this photo of Pete Acquisto setting up his classroom at Castine is proof. And to think, this is only one of many fully equipped classrooms! Anyway taking classes is a good way to as I would say "Take the tools you want to buy out for a test drive" I'm sure this photo makes the folks at Sherline happy….. you can see both type mills being used…. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Boorum Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Having been a reader of the Sherline Yahoo Group for years I have come to the conclusion that there is a deflection issue with the 2000 8 direction machine and I agree with Bill H. that tramming the 8 direction mill can be annoying. There are, however some operations where the extra room afforded by the 8 position mill is helpful. It all depends upon what your are planning to do. In summary it is mostly a clearance versus deflection issue. I have used the 2000 8 position mill for over ten years and it has worked well for me. (I do yse it mostly for small work!) I think if I needed a more rigid machine I would go much larger model or at least, to a Taig. One of the nice things about Sherline is that they have a large vasriety of accessories that work on both their mills and their lathes. I agree with what Bill H. says about the rotary table, the tilting angle plate vises. If you ever decide to get a Sherline lathe, which I use much more often than the mill, I highly recommend the long bed model which I do not have! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Hudson Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I don't have the love for the Sherline long bed that Pete does. I had one and used it for a while for turning pens. It is fairly good for turning something like a column but you need to use the wood turning attachment. You need to turn a very large diameter or you will have deflection. I ended up setting the tail stock near where the regular lathe's tail stock is. I felt it was a waste of bed. The main drawback for me was that the end hand wheel for the lead screw was so far away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Boorum Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I don't have aany experience with the long bed but often have problems fitting things in the space available on the short bed. Is the long bed inherently less rigid than the short bed? If so, I am, happy not to have one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wm. R. Robertson Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Pete, I'm curious what kind of things you are fitting on that you don't have enough bed length for? To me the thing that would drive me nuts would turning that hand wheel at the end...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElgaKoster Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Thank you for all your input on the mill, now I have some things to ponder, the photo of Pete's class is great Bill.I have the 4100 Sherline lathe, so far I have used it mostly for wood turning. I use a duplicator if I need to turn a large number of identical legs. Pete Boorum was so kind to help us with info on making a cup live center for the tailstock, my husband turned it out of aluminum and I love using it. Thank you Pete, any diameter wood stock is centered perfectly with this, it can take up to about 1/2" thick square stock easily and I doubt I will ever need bigger.If I remember right Pete added a cup to an existing live center, we at that stage couldn't find an affordable one with the right taper, so hubby turned the whole thing from scratch using two standard sized bearings, here is a photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Boorum Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 When I need to drill a hole in a big aluminum bar with a larger drill, say 10 mm using a 1/2" chuck in the tail stock, I have had to cut the drills off to get them to fit. Of course I could look for a shorter chuck. Sorry, this isn't exactly making miniatures but things I make for miniature equipment. To be fair, I should have a bigger lathe but have run out of shop room. I start with 1" aluminum rod to make bushings to run the 2 1/4" slotting blades with a 5/8" bore on a Proxxon or Microlux table saw. The longer the piece, the more busings I can make in one run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Boorum Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Elga, when Joe Martin designed the Sherline Lathe for the US market he decided to use a #0 Morse taper in the tailstock for some reason that escapes me. He later admitted that a #1 taper would have been better. The #1 taper has available live centers but for #0 tooling I believe you may be limited to Sherline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Hudson Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Something else I recommend for the mill is the zero adjusting (resettable) hand wheels and the over size hand wheel for the top used in raising the headstock. It is a lot easier and faster with the larger hand wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 I agree with Bill R. The wheel at the end is annoying and causes me discomfort when I'm using my lathe for extended periods. If you are using a hand held tool rest this would not be an issue for you. Other than that I have really enjoyed my Sherline lathe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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