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.

Sherline - Digital Display

Both of my hand cranked machines are located next each other. When I added the digital readouts I decided that I would save the money and use a single readout.

So I just leave the wires clearly marked nearby and plug in whichever I'm using at the time. Mainly it keeps valuable bench top space in order.

Of course the Zm (Z position mill) display never has to come out and remains plugged in all the time. I find backlash to be a constant challenge on the Sherline machines and so just resign myself to constant fiddling and compensating.

Sherline Lathe - Tool Caddy

There are the few set up pieces I need to cover 90% of the jobs on the lathe and the mill.
My two hand cranked machines are located right next to each other.

I drilled holes into a plastic block for the:

1. 3 jaw chuck bars
2. A drill chuck key
3. Large allen wrench
4. Small allen wrench
5. Edge finder

With these six pieces at my fingertips I can really fly!

This is truly a huge improvement with my left hand I can pick up both of the 3 jaw chuck bars at once and before the head stops spinning I am ready to release the work piece.

The T handle Allen wrench is a must for swapping out the three different tool bit holders quickly, I leave the tall T nut in the cross slide and the bolt in each of the tool holders and spin the T handle to run the bolt up and down.

Sherline CNC Mill - Biscuit Jointer Hold-down Groove

Its all about getting the workpiece onto the cross slide ASAP.

I often find that I simply want to mount the blank directly to the cross slide and instead of using the tall clamps and stepped riser blocks (which are a pain) I prefer to use the little clamps. Cutting a groove in the ends of the workpiece can be time consuming but not with this method.

The standard method is to epoxy the blank to a piece of plywood but that takes time and money. 

I set up my biscuit joiner to the proper depth (3/8ths) and in two seconds I have a groove into my blank.

In this case it went thru nylon with no effort.

 

This an example of "cross-pollination" from my woodworking experience. The biscuit joiner is a little portable End Mill that has excellent accuracy, repeatability and adjustment.

Sherline Mill - Quick Set - Up Machine Vice

The machine vice is of course the number one tool for my hand crank mill.

 I made a set of plates that can mount onto any of three sides and hang down below the level of the cross-slide. The result is that I can hold the vise up against the side of the cross-slide and tighten the clamps in seconds.

Is this cheating? I think not; it is accurate enough for most work, possibly as accurate as these little machines can be. 



Sherline Mill - Y Axis Extension

To start working larger pieces on my CNC Sherline I bought an 18" cross slide and lead screw. During installation I realized that the Y axis lead screw was a lot longer than it needed to be and thought of this modification.

The Z axis block is bolted to the bed plate with two screws, I decided to move the Z axis block back and use the rear fastener as the front. I then made this extension out of 3/8 aluminum angle. When I bolted it down for the final time I added 5 minute epoxy to the surfaces for added stiffness. I've been running like this for about two years. I use paper to shim the vertical axis ways into perpendicularity.

Because the Y axis lead screw nut is at the front cross slide saddle the rest of the lead screw is unused. Best of all this is a one morning project and you get about 2.0" extra Y travel for free!

As you can see the lead screw is plenty long enough to stay comfortably in the anti backlash assembly. 


This guy is on to something Laser Alignment for the Sherline Mill  *I*