The Sherline Miniature Machinist's Newsletter
Number 13,
Customer Projects
Making Titanium Rings/Mark Stone
Shown above are two titanium rings by
machinist and lapidary specialist Mark Stone. The simple titanium band in the
third photo was turned from bar stock by Sherline’s Craig Libuse.
Rings #1 and #2: Mark Stone is a tool and die maker, machinist and machine designer. He also does his own lapidary work. He uses Sherline tools to make his jewelry, which combine both his metalworking and lapidary skills. In the letter accompanying his photos he said, “When I purchased the milling machine I was afraid that it might be too light and fragile to machine the titanium I planned to use. Enclosed please find pictures of jewelry which I have machined from solid titanium bars and sheet. The faceted stones are primarily cubic zirconia. The blue stone in the man's ring is lapis lazuli. I do my own lapidary work and the Sherline mill is very useful in making special tools.”
Ring #3: The simple grooved titanium ring in the third photo was turned from 1" round stock purchased on eBay. A 3" long piece of stock costing less than $20 will make 3 or 4 rings. If you price titanium rings in a jewelry store you will find they sell for several hundred dollars each, but you can easily make one yourself on your Sherline lathe in an hour or two. Craig Libuse used a 1/2" TiN coated drill bit (3/8 shank), a P/N 2259 boring bar with 80° carbide insert and a P/N 2258 set of LH and RH carbide insert holders with 55° inserts. It has been worn every day for several years with little sign of wear.
NOTE: Take proper precautions when machining titanium. Like magnesium,
small chips can be ignited with a spark and should not be allowed to build up
in the work area.
See www.sherline.com/workshop.htm
for these and other projects by Sherline machinists.
Shop Tip of the month
Using
the 7600 tool post as an indicator holder/Dan Pines
The tip of the dial indicator
extends through the3/8" round hole on the P/N 7600 tool post to contact
the material in the chuck right on the part centerline.
Dan
Pines, Sherline’s dealer in
“The P/N 7600 3/8" tool holder is very versatile, and I have found several uses for it—from holding an end mill to boring work to assembling a dividing head on it. Another convenient use is for holding an indicator. The shaft diameter of my particular indicator is 8 mm. I made a sleeve, slit lengthwise to fit over its shaft and into the 3/8" bore of the tool holder. It is especially convenient for indicating along the length of the work.”—Dan Pines
This and other handy tips can be found on
the TIPS page at www.sherline.com/tips.htm.
Product Spotlight
NEW PRODUCTS! Sherline CNC
Lathe and Mill Videos on DVD
P/N
5340 (Lathe) 
and P/N 5345 (Mill) Videos on DVD, $27.95
each (Click on either underlined part
number for more information on each video.)
MakeCNC.com has just completed two introductory videos showing the
setup and use of the Sherline CNC lathe and mill. Each is directed to the first-time
CNC user and includes safety tips, machine assembly and alignment instructions plus
the cutting of a simple project using g-code. The lathe video runs 44 minutes
and the mill video runs 53 minutes. If you have been worried about the learning
curve involved in getting into CNC, these videos will help ease you into the
process with simple, straightforward instructions and examples. These are the
first of a series of videos now in production by MakeCNC.com that will bring a
complete range of instructions to those who prefer visual to written tutorials.
You can go to www.YouTube.com and do a
search for “MakeCNC” to see sample scenes from these videos.
Here are some other instructional videos that
are already available from Sherline:
P/N 5328–Building a Steam Engine by Rudy
Kouhoupt. Includes
plans and material list to build your own engine as you follow along with an
expert. (3 Hr., DVD $72.95, VHS tape $69.95)
P/N 5329–Shop Secrets,
Measuring Tools by Mike Rehmus (2 Hr., DVD $39.95)
P/N 5335–Sherline Lathe Basics—How to Set Up and
Operate a Sherline Lathe by Mike Rehmus. Details use of the Sherline manual lathe
and several popular accessories. (3.6 Hr., DVD $49.95,)
Did you know?
• On
• PowerPoint® slide shows on the various Sherline machines are available on the home page at www.sherline.com/slideshow.htm.
• You can save 20% on up to four new products on this month’s Internet Special. What are they? See www.sherline.com/special.htm to find out.
• Sherline makes a variety of industrial slides and spindles based on our standard components. See www.SherlineIPD.com for our Industrial Products Division.
Upcoming
Shows
• NAMES (North American Model
Engineering Society) Expo,
Joe Martin Craftsmanship Foundation News
• Richard Carlstedt of
• The newest addition to the on-line museum is Jerry Brown. Jerry built a fully operational 1/6 scale steam powered crane. His page features photos and an article by Jerry recently published in Australian Model Engineer magazine describing the project.
• Thanks to a front page article December 11th in our local free paper, The Community Paper, the museum has experienced a recent jump in attendance. You can view the archived article at http://www.thecommunitypaper.com/archive/2008/12_11/index.php. Our thanks to editor Lyle Davis for doing such a fine job.