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Info on Sheldon Vernon horizontal mills
- Thread starter TomKro
- Start date
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2013
- Messages
- 1,791
Thats a sweet looking machine right there. I know prices change with areas your in, but down here, you got a good deal barring any major issues. There are 2 of them down here thats been "restored" for over 5k. They look pretty but dont know how deep the resto is. 5k is new mill money to me. ahaha
Yep, I’m pretty excited about this one. Here’s another pic of the upper section sitting on the trailer.
The vise looks like it was used for some special purpose setup – it has some spring pins and a screw set into one of the jaw plates. In the pic it looks rusty, but in person it appears to be dried oil/grease. Still have to clear away the junk, but it appears to move OK. I only have one other small vise of this style, for a small drill press, so it sure beats nothing.
Right now I don’t even know what arbor diameter it is. The nut on the end of the arbor is jammed on tight, so I’m just going to soak it a while. I don’t have any spare spacers, so I’ll be looking for those. It definitely needs a new drawbar, as this one is the ultra-custom all thread version. No harm smacking that thing with a hammer (nice and soft). I did buy one collet off e-bay (3/4 ID,B&S#11 I believe), so maybe I can get a small drill chuck or one of those double taper collet holders with a straight shank, so I can mount some cutters. I have no experience with mill tooling, so any feedback/guidance as to size and brand will be appreciated.
After my “no-bite” initial offer, I did see some old web postings of these units in the $2K range, but I assumed that was closer to “pristine”, with tooling. If they’re really fetching big coin down in Florida, I may have to get new tires for the trailer. It’s funny how some machines get popular with the home shop crowd. I just assumed these Sheldon’s went on the lower end of the spectrum because it’s a horizontal. I did see pics of a few small Sheldon’s with vertical heads on the overarm. Sweet looking setup for a little machine, but I better give the ATM card a rest.
The vise looks like it was used for some special purpose setup – it has some spring pins and a screw set into one of the jaw plates. In the pic it looks rusty, but in person it appears to be dried oil/grease. Still have to clear away the junk, but it appears to move OK. I only have one other small vise of this style, for a small drill press, so it sure beats nothing.
Right now I don’t even know what arbor diameter it is. The nut on the end of the arbor is jammed on tight, so I’m just going to soak it a while. I don’t have any spare spacers, so I’ll be looking for those. It definitely needs a new drawbar, as this one is the ultra-custom all thread version. No harm smacking that thing with a hammer (nice and soft). I did buy one collet off e-bay (3/4 ID,B&S#11 I believe), so maybe I can get a small drill chuck or one of those double taper collet holders with a straight shank, so I can mount some cutters. I have no experience with mill tooling, so any feedback/guidance as to size and brand will be appreciated.
After my “no-bite” initial offer, I did see some old web postings of these units in the $2K range, but I assumed that was closer to “pristine”, with tooling. If they’re really fetching big coin down in Florida, I may have to get new tires for the trailer. It’s funny how some machines get popular with the home shop crowd. I just assumed these Sheldon’s went on the lower end of the spectrum because it’s a horizontal. I did see pics of a few small Sheldon’s with vertical heads on the overarm. Sweet looking setup for a little machine, but I better give the ATM card a rest.
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2013
- Messages
- 4,395
congrats Tom! Sorry you missed out on the Index, but looks like you got a great score on this instead. Looking forward to seeing it set up and making chips. I dunno about down in warm sunny South PA, but up here we're due for a freeze and perhaps some snow next week so it looks like you won't have to wait for long!
I did not know that nut was left hand. Thanks very much for pointing that out. I tried both directions and didn't get any motion either way.
I'm going to let it soak a few days before I try tightening it any more.
It should be getting colder, but not sure if it will stay cold enough to freeze the ground. Sheldon is still sitting on the trailer waiting for it's new home.
I'm going to let it soak a few days before I try tightening it any more.
It should be getting colder, but not sure if it will stay cold enough to freeze the ground. Sheldon is still sitting on the trailer waiting for it's new home.
Funny how time flies...
Been trying on and off to get my arbor apart, and finally broke it loose with a vise, a pipe wrench, and a big socket with an impact wrench.
I pounded on that thing for at least 10 minutes with the impact wrench before it finally spun loose.
As to machine parts, I only buggered up one sleeve, and one of 12 slitter blades. I did manage to mangle up a soft jaw pad and broke my brother-in-laws electric impact wrench, before I switched to the pneumatic one. I had to clean up the nut a little bit, but all is well.
I've also been trying to find collets when I see them available. I didn't want to hi-jack CoopVA's thread, so I thought I'd ask here. Does anyone know if a "smaller" collet will bugger up or get stuck in the spindle? The one 3/4 inch Hardinge collet I have appears to sit out the nose of the spindle at least a 1/2 inch. The new collet is the same total length, but appears to sit back about a 1/16 when I snug it up. I used a 1/2 inch drill bit in a 1/2 collet to show how the collet appears to sit too deep. I've had the new ones for over a month and didn't even think to check them all for fit.
Progress is slow. The mill is still in the garage, but at least the motor is out for cleanup and made it into a partially heated basement.
Santa brought two sets of dual 500 watt halogen lights, so at least it's bright and toasty warm working in the basement.
Been trying on and off to get my arbor apart, and finally broke it loose with a vise, a pipe wrench, and a big socket with an impact wrench.
I pounded on that thing for at least 10 minutes with the impact wrench before it finally spun loose.
As to machine parts, I only buggered up one sleeve, and one of 12 slitter blades. I did manage to mangle up a soft jaw pad and broke my brother-in-laws electric impact wrench, before I switched to the pneumatic one. I had to clean up the nut a little bit, but all is well.
I've also been trying to find collets when I see them available. I didn't want to hi-jack CoopVA's thread, so I thought I'd ask here. Does anyone know if a "smaller" collet will bugger up or get stuck in the spindle? The one 3/4 inch Hardinge collet I have appears to sit out the nose of the spindle at least a 1/2 inch. The new collet is the same total length, but appears to sit back about a 1/16 when I snug it up. I used a 1/2 inch drill bit in a 1/2 collet to show how the collet appears to sit too deep. I've had the new ones for over a month and didn't even think to check them all for fit.
Progress is slow. The mill is still in the garage, but at least the motor is out for cleanup and made it into a partially heated basement.
Santa brought two sets of dual 500 watt halogen lights, so at least it's bright and toasty warm working in the basement.
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2011
- Messages
- 67
THat's interesting. I thought my collets sat in too far as well. B&S#9