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- Aug 5, 2015
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Similar to what others have done, my Sherline lathe is mounted on 1" thick butcher-block looking wood shelf board from one of the box stores. I have the long bed version.
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Table for mini lathe
- Thread starter skeptonomicon
- Start date
Have you looked at Taig? The clearance without riser blocks is around 4.5", if I recall correctly. It also comes with the mounting board. The prices are very reasonable as well. I liked my first one so much (purchased used) that I ended up buying another one with the power feed, and I also bought one of their milling machines. Although I have a larger lathe, the Taig is my go to; especially because, I mostly make small parts.
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- Aug 5, 2015
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- 279
Interesting that you bring up the Taig lathe. In addition to my Sherline lathe, I have a Taig lathe that I bought used. I powered it with a treadmill motor. A nice thing about the Taig is that the accessories are quite reasonable and readily available. AND some of them will also fit the Sherline lathe. For example, I use the Taig ER-16 Collet setup on the Taig and on the Sherline.
An advantages of the Taig for me is the bit more diametrical capacity without riser blocks (1 1/4" above cross slide clearane vs. 15/16" on the Sherline).
Advantages of the Sherline for me are cutting tapers, threading, and longer bed length.
I go back and forth depending on the project. The 1/4" HSS bits I grind are used on either lathe.
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- Nov 14, 2016
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I recently bought a Taig, it was a curiosity buy. I have a Taig ER16 chuck, and a Taig tailstock die holder, both of which will fit on my Sherline. The quality of these is good, and I've always been curious about the Taig lathe (did I make the right choice when I bought my Sherline). I saw that now they offer a power feed as well which Sherline doesn't. I've been working crazy hours the past few months so I decided I had earned a "what the hell" purchase so I bought a standard (3/4"-16 spindle) Taig lathe with powerfeed and the tail stock.
It is a neat little lathe, but for what I do, the Sherline was the right choice. I can see the appeal for certain types of work. Like somebody who is doing artistic work, working more by eye than trying to hit a measurement on the dot, I think I'd rather use the Taig. I can also see where somebody building a custom lathe might prefer the Taig, as you can literally buy it bit by bit, only getting the parts you want. I mean technically you could do that with Sherline but the cost of buying all the individual parts makes that impractical. So clearly different if partially overlapping markets.
The accessories are also about 1/2 the cost of Sherline's bits and bobs so when you add up the lathe being about 3/4 the price of a Sherline and the chucks and such being about 1/2 the price you are looking at maybe $700 for a Taig with all the basic tooling, vs about $1050 for the base model (4000) Sherline with a similar tooling set up (B package plus a 4 jaw).
The one real short coming that I have found is the lack of a graduated handwheel for the lead screw which really baffles me. I know these are supposed to be pretty popular with model engine makers, and I would think that would be a pretty big issue for them. I mean I guess you can count revolutions to get you close, but Sherline's resettable zero graduated handwheels alone would make me pick a Sherline over a Taig for the things I generally make.
I'm curious for those of you who use a Taig, how do you deal with the lack of a graduated handwheel on the lead screw or is this just not an issue for you. I am now at a stage with it, where I actually like the Taig lathe, but I'm trying to figure out what niche I will find for it. Where will I go to it vs the Sherline (or Enco or Powermatic, perhaps I have a problem
).
Famous last words.
That is what I said too, then the Sherline's started inviting friends to come and live with us. I don't know how I found room, but I did.
I don't know what you intend to make, but if you are concerned the Sherline is too small, it probably is. You can use riser blocks to increase the swing, but I think that is more of an occasional bigger part thing, not an all the time solution.
It is a neat little lathe, but for what I do, the Sherline was the right choice. I can see the appeal for certain types of work. Like somebody who is doing artistic work, working more by eye than trying to hit a measurement on the dot, I think I'd rather use the Taig. I can also see where somebody building a custom lathe might prefer the Taig, as you can literally buy it bit by bit, only getting the parts you want. I mean technically you could do that with Sherline but the cost of buying all the individual parts makes that impractical. So clearly different if partially overlapping markets.
The accessories are also about 1/2 the cost of Sherline's bits and bobs so when you add up the lathe being about 3/4 the price of a Sherline and the chucks and such being about 1/2 the price you are looking at maybe $700 for a Taig with all the basic tooling, vs about $1050 for the base model (4000) Sherline with a similar tooling set up (B package plus a 4 jaw).
The one real short coming that I have found is the lack of a graduated handwheel for the lead screw which really baffles me. I know these are supposed to be pretty popular with model engine makers, and I would think that would be a pretty big issue for them. I mean I guess you can count revolutions to get you close, but Sherline's resettable zero graduated handwheels alone would make me pick a Sherline over a Taig for the things I generally make.
I'm curious for those of you who use a Taig, how do you deal with the lack of a graduated handwheel on the lead screw or is this just not an issue for you. I am now at a stage with it, where I actually like the Taig lathe, but I'm trying to figure out what niche I will find for it. Where will I go to it vs the Sherline (or Enco or Powermatic, perhaps I have a problem
).Famous last words.
That is what I said too, then the Sherline's started inviting friends to come and live with us. I don't know how I found room, but I did.
I don't know what you intend to make, but if you are concerned the Sherline is too small, it probably is. You can use riser blocks to increase the swing, but I think that is more of an occasional bigger part thing, not an all the time solution.
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- Dec 20, 2012
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Actually, I was wrong. The distance from the cross slide to the centerline of the spindle is about 0.94" so as the Sherline specs say, you can turn a work piece of 1.75" over the cross slide. That is the max diameter you can turn end to end so if you have to go bigger then you need a bigger lathe or use risers.
As usual, your choice of lathe will come down to what you plan to do with it. If most of your work will be 2" or more in diameter then you should be looking at larger lathes. If most of your work will be on really small parts then don't overlook this class of lathe. They tend to be very precise and quite suitable for the average hobby guy.
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It is a neat little lathe, but for what I do, the Sherline was the right choice. I can see the appeal for certain types of work. Like somebody who is doing artistic work, working more by eye than trying to hit a measurement on the dot, I think I'd rather use the Taig. ...
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I'm curious for those of you who use a Taig, how do you deal with the lack of a graduated handwheel on the lead screw or is this just not an issue for you. I am now at a stage with it, where I actually like the Taig lathe, but I'm trying to figure out what niche I will find for it. Where will I go to it vs the Sherline (or Enco or Powermatic, perhaps I have a problem
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I find the Taig lathe to be capable of extreme precision. I can hit my measurements "on the dot" as long as it does not involve the handwheel. However, I have never tried a Sherline so I am unable to make any comparison.
On the other hand, as you have stated, due to the lack of a graduated hand wheel, it is more of a go very slowly until you hit the mark matter when face cutting or other cuts where the handwheel is important; but, this has not been an issue for me. Nevertheless, I have seen on the internet various modifications by just mounting a dial caliper or a dial indictor to the lathe. I will eventually get around to doing this
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I find the Taig lathe to be capable of extreme precision. I can hit my measurements "on the dot" as long as it does not involve the handwheel. However, I have never tried a Sherline so I am unable to make any comparison.
On the other hand, as you have stated, due to the lack of a graduated hand wheel, it is more of a go very slowly until you hit the mark matter when face cutting or other cuts where the handwheel is important; but, this has not been an issue for me. Nevertheless, I have seen on the internet various modifications by just mounting a dial caliper or a dial indictor to the lathe. I will eventually get around to doing this
Yeah, that is all I meant about hitting the mark, how do you know how far to go when the hand wheel and tailstock are not graduated, not that the lathe is too sloppy for accurate work.
I guess you just find other ways of knowing when you've got to where you need to be. That has really been the only real negative I've found with it, and quite likely it is just an issue of learning a different way of doing things. I found the workmanship to be similar to the Sherline, it is just a simpler machine which has both good and bad aspects associated with it.
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- Dec 31, 2010
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Interesting (Blog?) Neither of my 2 lathes have an indexer gage on the lead screw but each have indexed compound rests and I also use a carriage stop. IMHO threading is very important and I am glad I am able to do imperial threads, which usually show up in a good part of my work. Your discussion about size and weight has answered questions for me, thanks.
Have a good day
Ray
Have a good day
Ray
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2020
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If half my work is in the 2-3" diameter range, is the riser block a bad option? Are there any options, while staying in the 1-2k range, for something with 2" swing over the cross slide, that has reasonable quality, and is a benchtop unit. I looked at the Grizzly and Harbor freight models, but I don't get the same level of comfort that I get from the Sherline. As I am using this to learn, I don't want to be fighting both a lake of experience and subpar equipment at the same time.
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- Dec 20, 2012
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There are some Sherline owners who have their riser blocks set up permanently, making their lathes the equivalent of a 6" lathe. As far as I know, it works fine when set up this way.
I have only used the risers a few times and while it worked, the lathe was not designed to be used this way. It is surprisingly rigid for a tiny lathe when used without the risers; with the risers, not so much. If you plan to regularly exceed the capacity of the lathe in its normal configuration then a Sherline may not be the best choice for you. If you only plan to turn large pieces on occasion then it might work for you.
Let me put it this way. I have owned and used my Sherline lathe for over 35 years and it has taught me more about metal working than any other machine I have used. I stepped up to a larger lathe about 5 or 6 years ago because I was running into work capacity issues but up till then, that little lathe without risers did everything I asked of it and did it with great precision.
My point is that if you want to learn to use a lathe, the Sherline lathe is not a bad place to start. However, the work envelope is limited so be realistic in your expectations. If you plan to do half your work above 3" then maybe a 8" or larger lathe is where you should start. Keep in mind that as you go larger, costs for the machine and necessary tooling will also go up. And you won't be picking it up to store on a shelf.
Have a look at the PM machines. Their after sales support is outstanding.
I have only used the risers a few times and while it worked, the lathe was not designed to be used this way. It is surprisingly rigid for a tiny lathe when used without the risers; with the risers, not so much. If you plan to regularly exceed the capacity of the lathe in its normal configuration then a Sherline may not be the best choice for you. If you only plan to turn large pieces on occasion then it might work for you.
Let me put it this way. I have owned and used my Sherline lathe for over 35 years and it has taught me more about metal working than any other machine I have used. I stepped up to a larger lathe about 5 or 6 years ago because I was running into work capacity issues but up till then, that little lathe without risers did everything I asked of it and did it with great precision.
My point is that if you want to learn to use a lathe, the Sherline lathe is not a bad place to start. However, the work envelope is limited so be realistic in your expectations. If you plan to do half your work above 3" then maybe a 8" or larger lathe is where you should start. Keep in mind that as you go larger, costs for the machine and necessary tooling will also go up. And you won't be picking it up to store on a shelf.
Have a look at the PM machines. Their after sales support is outstanding.