Sherline Mill - Laser Center Finder #1

So I took the nearest laser pointer lying around and retro-fit it onto the mill.

As you can see it is not aligned to the axis of the bearing shaft. I think that the circle it makes is a little large but with a good eye it should work fine.

Finding a right laser and aligning it perfectly may be quite a challenge but it is something worth working on. I will try again.

There are two alignments that are critical:

1. The angle relative to the axis
2. The distance from the axis

Solving both of these is the problem.

Sherline - Tools Wish List

A couple of things are off on the machines that I have and would be great advancements:

1. Top on my wish list is the diameter of the hole on the main shaft; instead of 13/32 it should be 33/64. this would allow up to a 1/2 in pass thru. The trick of course would be to keep all of the machine dimensions the same.
   This would be a great after market up grade: a main shaft retro-fit.
2.  The Z axis ways are obviously deficient in Y axis stiffness. Not an easy upgrade I'll admit but for the CNC machine could be combined with a larger diameter lead screw and nut. 
3. Sell and support Mach3 or the like on the CNC package; lets face it that Linux driver is pretty crappy. I have made the upgrade and love it.

Don't get me wrong, I would not go for any other desk top machine. Sherline has my respect because they are a complete system, these are just what I have found after years of use.