Steel Plate For Sherline Lathe Base?

[ogberi]

Very nice setup! You will be amazed at the tolerances that tiny machine can hold. I have a Taig lathe and a 9" south bend, and I still find myself using the Taig quite a bit. I fitted mine with inexpensive digital calipers for a poor-man's DRO. But I still find that I slap an indicator or test indicator on it from time to time when really splitting hairs.

I think you'll find that razor sharp HSS tooling works best on these small lathes. I use a 6" bench grinder to do the bulk of the shaping of the 1/4" HSS tools, and an el-cheapo Harbor Freight variable speed 3" bench grinder to put the final edge on them, and for touchups. A diamond hone can really refine a cutting edge.

If you get the chance, make a tangential tool holder. The bits are dead easy to sharpen, quick to touch up, and can flat out hog off material, even on a small lathe like this.

Can't wait to see what projects you turn out.

 

[tomw]

Mikey,

Thank you for the additional comments. I did the headstock alignment thing, but only over a very short distance. I will follow your procedure to get it dialed in a bit better. I have already had pretty good luck shaving 2 tenths off of a brass rod with a very sharp HSS bit. This was over less than .250 in length, so the headstock was sufficiently aligned.

Ogberi,

Thank you for the comments. I have not yet heard of a tangential tool holder. Looks like I have some reading to do!

Cheers,

Tom

p.s. Attached is my 2nd steam engine, which I finished last night. I had to remake or repair several pieces that were originally done on the misaligned lathe. In the photo you can see the brass bushing in the flywheel I made to correct the angle of the shaft hole.

I think this one will actually run.

 

[mikey]

I did the headstock alignment thing, but only over a very short distance. I will follow your procedure to get it dialed in a bit better. I have already had pretty good luck shaving 2 tenths off of a brass rod with a very sharp HSS bit. This was over less than .250 in length, so the headstock was sufficiently aligned.

Ogberi,

I have not yet heard of a tangential tool holder. Looks like I have some reading to do!

I should add that the headstock alignment thing is to get you started. Once you do this you can then continue to refine the leveling process until it is as good as you need it to be, then go back and recheck the headstock alignment. I check this alignment anytime I have a critical project to do and perhaps 3-4 times per year on top of that. Many guys view the Sherline lathe as a toy but it is, in fact, a precision lathe if we take the time to keep it adjusted.

I haven't tried a tangential tool yet, though I've been meaning to. I like that it is simple to grind and there have been so many positive comments on them that it begs for a personal trial. My only reservation is that the same tool geometry is used for all materials and I do not know how that works out. Someday I will have to break down and run a fair comparison to my own tools and settle it for myself.

Nice little engine you made, Tom! I'm afraid you've stepped onto a very slippery slope with this machining thing ...