The Sherline Miniature Machinist's Newsletter
Number 12,
Customer Projects
Upgrading a model diecast tractor to
include a real steam engine/Alvin Jeske
The first photo shows the Ertl tractor’s
original non-functional diecast engine in the foreground. The second photo
shows the finished engine in place with an air line to run it.
Retired minister and electrical
engineer Alvin Jeske of
This is actually an interesting
way to take on a project, starting with an existing kit and replacing one part
at a time with upgraded machined parts to turn it into a one-of-a-kind working
model with much more authentic detail than the original model. The diecast
parts and reference to original photos and plans can turn a mass produced model
into a unique showpiece.
See www.sherline.com/workshop.htm
for this and other projects by Sherline machinists.
Shop Tip of the month
Tailstock
quick change tool holder by Ross Heitt
Ross Heitt turned a #0 Morse taper on the
end of a steel billet to mount one of his most often-used tools, a #1 center
drill. Several holders like this for different drills, reamers, etc. can make
repetitive tailstock tool changes a quick and easy process.
At
work, Ross Heitt runs 30" manual and CNC machines for a Canadian gear
manufacturer, but at home he works on Sherline tools. One of his first projects
when he got his new Sherline lathe was to make a center drill holder to see how
well the lathe could turn a Morse taper. It worked fine, and he finds his
center drill holder a very convenient fixture. This one is sized to hold a #1
center drill. A link to a dimensioned drawing is provided below. For your own
information, a Morse taper is approximately 5/8" per foot. (Note that in
reality, each Morse taper is slightly different depending on size. A list of
the exact tapers for each size can be found in the Sherline Shop Accessories
Guide and Machinery's Handbook, but a #0
Morse taper is .6246 in/foot or .05205 in/inch.
To
view the dimensioned plan file for this project in PDF format click here: 0MTplan.pdf. If printing out the
file, remember to set your printer to "landscape" mode.
Note also that Ross offered this tip before
we introduced P/N 3051, which is a #0 Morse blank. You can save a lot of time by using
this accessory as you don’t have to turn the taper—the hardest part for most
people. See the New Products section below for more details.
This and other handy tips can be found on
the TIPS page at www.sherline.com/tips.htm.
Product Spotlight
NEW PRODUCT! P/N 3051, #0
Morse Blank
P/N
3051, $12.00
The #0 Morse blank makes it easy to create your
own tailstock tool holders for rapid tool changes. Simply hold the blank in a
3-jaw or 4-jaw chuck in the headstock, center drill and drill or bore a hole to
the size of your drill bit or reamer shank for a loose sliding fit. Cross-drill a threaded hole for one or two set screws.
Insert your drill bit and tighten the set screws. Changing drills or reamers in
the tailstock for repetitive jobs is now as easy as popping out one holder and
popping in another. No more chucking and un-chucking drill bits in the
tailstock drill chuck over and over again. The blank billet is ¾" diameter
and 1" long and is made from free machining 12L14 steel.
NEW PRODUCT! P/N 3561, Short
90° Angle Plate
P/N 3561, $60.00
Sherline has offered P/N 3559 for several years. It is a 10" long 90° angle plate. The 90° plate allows
you to mount a part to either the horizontal or vertical surface. Even if the
part itself isn’t perfectly square, you can machine parallel or perpendicular
to the mounted surface. The new P/N 3561 angle plate uses the same extrusion
with two T-slots on 1.5" centers, but is
only 3.5" in length. This allows it to be
mounted either parallel or perpendicular to the mill table, opening up new
clamping possibilities for smaller parts. It also includes four T-nuts and
10-32 x 3/8" socket head cap screws for
mounting it to the mill table. The surfaces are machined flat and square and
then the aluminum part is given a tough black anodized finish. Though designed
for Sherline mills, it can also be used on your drill press or on other tools
in your shop for holding parts.
Did you know?
• Exploded view drawings of all Sherline lathes and mills are posted on
our web site to make it easier for you to work on and order parts for your
machine. See http://www.sherline.com/Exploded.htm
for links to each drawing and part number list.
• You can find the Sherline dealer nearest you at www.sherline.com/dealers.htm.
The first section in the listing shows “stocking” dealers that have machines on
hand for you to look at and many offer in-person demonstrations. You can also
visit Sherline’s factory in
• You can save $145.00 on this month’s Internet Special. What is it? See www.sherline.com/special.htm to
find out.
Upcoming
Shows
• Cabin Fever Expo,
• NAMES (North American Model
Engineering Society) Expo,
Joe Martin
Craftsmanship Foundation News
• The newest addition to the on-line museum is Richard Carlstedt of
• Thanks to “steam punk” robot builder I-Wei (featured on our site at www.craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Iwei.htm)
a link to our museum video on YouTube.com was featured in the Make Magazine blog. This blog gets huge
traffic and many visitors learned about our museum thanks to I-Wei’s
submission. It got over 1500 looks the first weekend. You can see the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7zRJyK66I0,
and our thanks to I-Wei and Make
magazine. (Choose “watch in high quality” for best viewing.)
• The museum in
• A nice article in our local