Hey xyz, I'm Mikey and I own a Sherline lathe. The first thing I would like to know is if the "knowledgeable" guy you mentioned ever actually put his hands on a Sherline lathe. In my experience, the most vigorous critics have never even seen one, let alone operated one. Not sure where this negativity comes from but anyone who has ever owned a lathe will tell you that you do not know a lathe until you've lived with it for a while, and I have lived with a Sherline lathe for over 35 years so I sort of know a little bit about it.
You mentioned in your original post that you are looking to turn small steel parts and want to keep your lathe purchase under $1K. Any other details you care to share? For example, are you a model maker, Horologist or are you just a hobby guy looking to get into machining? Any idea of the largest work piece you are likely to make?
Pending your input, let me give you a general overview of the Sherline lathe.
- It is small and light. You can store it on a shelf and take it down when you need it. As long as it is mounted on a solid platform, this lathe will maintain its accuracy and levelness for years. Mine has been stable for 35 years on the same piece of Melamine ply and I move it all the time.
- It can handle 1-1/4" over the cross slide. This is important because this is the largest diameter you can turn from end to end unless you use riser blocks. With risers, you can double this clearance, making the Sherline the equivalent of a 6" mini-lathe. I don't use these blocks because it reduces rigidity but they are available for the occasional big work piece.
- It uses a 0.08HP DC motor that can go from a crawl to 2800 real RPM and maintain torque throughout the range. There are two pulley positions for the belt - high speed/lower torque, low speed/higher torque. I mostly run in the high speed range and never had the lathe bog or slip a belt, even when taking heavy cuts. With the right tool, this lathe will take a 0.050" deep cut in mild steel for an overall diameter reduction of 0.100", something that even a 9 or 10" lathe will struggle to do. Make no mistake. The Sherline lathe is small but it is a real lathe and can do real work.
- This lathe is precise, meaning it is capable of doing precision work. The Sherline leadscrews are very precise. If I dial in 0.005" of cut, that is what I get. If I dial in 0.0001", that is what I get. You will find that how big a cut a lathe can take is not nearly as important as how accurately it can take small cuts to come in on size. I usually work to personal tolerances of +/- 0.0005" or less because on this lathe, I can.
- This lathe will cut pretty much whatever a hobby guy runs across - stainless, mild steel, titanium, brass, plastics, aluminum, wood, etc. If a regular lathe can cut it, a Sherline lathe can, too.
- My 4400 lathe is fully manual but I have an outboard DC variable speed motor on the leadscrew for power feed. With it and the motor speed control, I can alter spindle speed and feeds on the fly to give me incredible control of the cut in real time. In manual mode without power feed, I do admit it is a bit tedious hand cranking to move the carriage around but to be honest, this never really registers and I just work without thinking about it. I raise this to advise you that you will have to turn wheels to do things on this lathe. It is not a problem.
- Sherline has the largest inventory of accessories of any machine tool manufacturer. If you need something to do something, Sherline will have it OR you can usually make it yourself if you also have a Sherline mill. The quality of Sherline accessories, especially their chucks, is really hard to beat. Nobody, and that includes Taig, even comes close in this size of machine.
But all is not roses. Here are some negatives.
- The lathe is small and there will be times when you are pushing the size envelope with this machine. If you can fit it on the lathe, the lathe will cut it. The problem is that some work just will not fit and then you're sort of screwed. It is why I now own a larger lathe but it took over 20 years before I was forced to buy it.
- The Sherline tailstock is not adjustable and this well and truly sucks. There are work arounds, like their adjustable live centers, but this is the single biggest negative to this lathe. It isn't truly that horrible. Mine is something like 0.001" or so off, I think, but on a long work piece this is a pain to deal with. You would think they would have made it laterally adjustable after all this time but they haven't. I got around this issue by making a better live center.
- You have to use a threading attachment to cut threads. The motor has to come off and you have to attach a gear cluster to the end of the lathe to use it, which is a pain at times. On the other hand, this arrangement allows you to cut more threads than any other lathe I have seen and it is capable of cutting class 3 internal and external threads all day. Feed is manual so no worries about crashing or damaging anything and control is extremely fine so while it can be a pain to set up, it works very well.
- They have engineered plastic gibs. This is not a negative really. I raise it because others will. The gibs on Sherline machines will probably outlast the machine itself, rarely needs adjusting and allow the machine to take cuts it really shouldn't be able to take. They are a superb piece of engineering that allows a machine that is largely made from aluminum to function without much wear at all over decades of use. My lathe is over 35 years old and has almost zero wear on the ways or anywhere else. The same thing applies to my mill. The naysayers don't know what they're talking about.
I hope this helps. Almost everything I know about machining was learned on Sherline machines. They are real machine tools and can do real work. If they fit your work envelope then they are worthy of your consideration. If you have questions, I can probably answer them or point you in the right direction.
. Based on my research, this is the only brand (other than TAIG mentioned above, which have shorter platforms) that can be had for under $1k while almost never receiving any quality complaints.
