Drilling with a Sherline lathe

[Amihai]

Hello,
I'm a custom pen maker interested in replacing his mini wood lathe with a Sherline lathe.
I drill holes about 15mm in diameter maximum in woods, plastics, rubbers, and non-ferrous metals.

I saw that Sherline sells a morse taper #1 tailstock that can accommodate a 1-16mm drill chuck. However, the instructions clearly state that tools over 9.5mm in diameter shouldn't be used, even if the tailstock taper can accommodate them.

Even so, I saw people using the Sherline lathe to drill in much harder materials compared to what I plan to drill in. Aside from warranty issues, if Aluminum and Brass are the hardest materials I plan to drill in, do you think the Sherline will handle such operations? If not, what other options do I have with the Sherline or other similar-sized machines?

Thank you very much,
Amihai Fishman.

 

[matthewsx]

Hello and welcome,

I'm not a Sherline owner but I'm fairly sure you will be okay using one for your projects. Mostly drilling is about getting the feeds and speeds right, often stepping up in drill size will give good results. Another thing to consider is you can buy drills with MT shanks so you don't have to use a drill chuck.

Someone with specific experience will be along soon, but from what I've heard the Sherline machines are quite capable with good support and an active user community.

Cheers,

John

 

[Amihai]

Hello and welcome,

I'm not a Sherline owner but I'm fairly sure you will be okay using one for your projects. Mostly drilling is about getting the feeds and speeds right, often stepping up in drill size will give good results. Another thing to consider is you can buy drills with MT shanks so you don't have to use a drill chuck.

Someone with specific experience will be along soon, but from what I've heard the Sherline machines are quite capable with good support and an active user community.

Cheers,

John

Thank you!
Another thought which crossed my mind:

If I drill using progressing diameter drill bits, thus removing less material with each pass compared to drilling to the desired diameter immediately, will such an operation ease the stress on the machine?

 

[EricB]

The folks at Sherline know what they are talking about. There's not much room for error.

I did this to my Sherline with a 3/8 inch drill in brass. The drill caught and spun the chuck in the tail stock. The MT0 adapter for the chuck welded into the tail stock ram before I could stop anything. I managed to get the tool parts separated but they are scrap.


You are better off using a boring bar for large holes on a Sherline.

 

[Aaron_W]

The folks at Sherline know what they are talking about. There's not much room for error.

I did this to my Sherline with a 3/8 inch drill in brass. The drill caught and spun the chuck in the tail stock. The MT0 adapter for the chuck welded into the tail stock ram before I could stop anything. I managed to get the tool parts separated but they are scrap.
View attachment 445036

You are better off using a boring bar for large holes on a Sherline.

I was going to say the same, I'd suggest a boring bar for something over 3/8"

 

[mikey]

The Sherline lathe will drill up to 1/2" if you step up through your drills. This is for most materials except brass.

When drilling brass on any machine but especially the Sherline lathe, it is better not to step drill at all. At most, spot the hole and go straight to your on-size drill and the drill will NOT grab. Not only is this much better, faster and safer but it is also much more accurate. Moreover, it avoids having to peck-drill in brass; just feed so you can feel a slight resistance to the feed and the drill will cut a hole without grabbing.

The same goes for drilling any hole where best accuracy is required; go straight to your on-size drill.

While I have drilled up to 1/2" on the Sherline lathe, I do agree with Eric and Aaron that it is better to bore when a hole above 3/8" ID is required. It takes me very little time to bore an accurate hole ... Sherline owners get good at boring very quickly.

 

[Amihai]

The Sherline lathe will drill up to 1/2" if you step up through your drills. This is for most materials except brass.

When drilling brass on any machine but especially the Sherline lathe, it is better not to step drill at all. At most, spot the hole and go straight to your on-size drill and the drill will NOT grab. Not only is this much better, faster and safer but it is also much more accurate. Moreover, it avoids having to peck-drill in brass; just feed so you can feel a slight resistance to the feed and the drill will cut a hole without grabbing.

The same goes for drilling any hole where best accuracy is required; go straight to your on-size drill.

While I have drilled up to 1/2" on the Sherline lathe, I do agree with Eric and Aaron that it is better to bore when a hole above 3/8" ID is required. It takes me very little time to bore an accurate hole ... Sherline owners get good at boring very quickly.

Thanks.
I saw that the Sherline quick change boring tool holder will hold 3/8" boring tools. Those usually have 0.5" minimum boring capacity, which is too thick if the maximum drilling capacity is about 3/8" itself. What will be the best way to solve this problem? Thanks again!

 

[mikey]

Thanks.
I saw that the Sherline quick change boring tool holder will hold 3/8" boring tools. Those usually have 0.5" minimum boring capacity, which is too thick if the maximum drilling capacity is about 3/8" itself. What will be the best way to solve this problem? Thanks again!

Do you own a milling machine? If so, the best boring tool holder is one you make. See this article for a picture of one.

You can find many boring bars that have a 3/8" shank but smaller diameter boring tips. Some of the best bars are made from cobalt-HSS and there are many high quality solid carbide bars from Micro 100, Circle Machine and others.

Keep in mind that a boring bar is not limited by bore diameter, but by bore depth. Maybe read that article I linked and either I or the other guys can answer any questions you might have.