The Sherline Miniature Machinist's Newsletter
Number 30,
Sherline Workshop Project of
the Month
Compact
Workshops/Marvin Meit, Steve Peirce and Ronald Melvin
It doesn’t take a lot of space to put together a very complete workshop for small projects.
A small project is not necessarily a little project—it may still be a very complicated and time-consuming effort—but the space needed to complete it need not be huge. Above are two shops that show some ways to include a lot of work space and tools in a small area.
Marvin Meit’s closet shop—Yes, this shop is built inside a 6-foot closet. Two sets of shelves support a worktop that hosts the machines including a lathe, mill and table saw. The back wall has pegboard to support shelves and more tools. It doesn’t get much simpler. Marvin and his partner Jorge make parts to super-detail high-end diecast models by Pocher, making parts like custom wooden steering wheels. Anyone who works out of a small home or apartment will appreciate how much utility Marvin has packed into a small space. (For some fine model cars, see www.modelmotorcars.com for Marvin’s model site and check out the Gallery section.)
Steve Peirce’s kitchen shop—One corner of a kitchen is all it takes to set up shop for Steve. His projects have been winners and high finishers in past Sherline Machinist’s Challenge contests at the NAMES show, so some real quality work has come out of this small space. (Having a refrigerator handy is great on those late-night sessions too.) We will admit this works much better for bachelors...
Ronald Melvin’s shop takes up just one small corner
Ronald Melvin’s corner shop—Working indoors is essential in the long, cold Canadian winters, so this five-foot work surface provides most of the area Ronald needs for his small steam engine projects. He has also proved good lighting, which is essential. An additional 3 feet of space is available on another surface inside a small furnace room off to the side, and his bench grinder is kept in the garage to keep the grinding dust off the precision machines. Each drawer in the cabinet is efficiently laid out to hold accessories for the lathe and mill. A lot of space is not needed if you store things efficiently and keep you work space clean and organized.
See more compact shops at www.sherline.com/shops.htm and
also enjoy projects made by Sherline machinists at www.sherline.com/workshop.htm.
Shop
Tip of the month
Making a tap
holder to keep from breaking tiny taps/Bob Shores
The late
"I have read many tips on tapping holes—some good, some not. Five years ago I dreamed up a tapping method for small holes. I tap a lot of holes with 0-80 and 2-56 threads, and since I have been using this method, I have not broken a tap in five years.
After drilling the hole in your part to the
proper size for tapping, the drill bit is removed from the chuck without
disturbing the work. A 2" aluminum disk, knurled on the outside and
drilled and tapped for a 4-40 hex bolt grips the tap just above the flutes. The
end of the tap is gripped in the drill chuck and lowered until it just touches
the work. The chuck is then loosened to allow the tap to turn freely. The disk
holding the tap is turned with your thumb and forefinger. The drill chuck acts
as a guide to keep the tap running true, and your fingers are very sensitive to
the amount of torque being applied. To break a tap you would have to apply a
lot of force." —
Bob’s
wife Margaret still offers plans for the Little
Angel, Silver Angel, Hercules, Silver Bullet and other engines designed by
Bob. You can find out more at www.bobshores.com.
This and more than 50 other helpful tips for Sherline machinists can be found at www.sherline.com/tips.htm.
Product
Spotlight
Using a Compound Slide, P/N
1270 (metric P/N 1280)
The compound slide offers a way to turn tapers and cut angles on a lathe without rotating the headstock. Four mounting holes are provided in the base for solid positioning on the crosslide. The fixed base has a red anodized finish with laser engraved angle scales to make setting an angle easy. It utilizes a highly efficient locking ring design to lock the rotating portion in position without having to over-tighten the locking screws. A 1/4" cutting tool can be mounted across the front or on either side of the head.
Compound
Slide P/N 1270 (1280 metric):
$125.00
How it works…
Unlike compounds used on full-size, conventional lathes, this one was designed to be used from the "back" side of the table. This allows it to be designed in a more compact size and used without interference from the crosslide handwheel. The lathe tool is inserted in the holder "upside down" so the cutting tip faces downward. Because of the small size of the miniature lathe, operating the crosslide handwheel in this position causes no inconvenience. (Chip removal is also aided by this upside-down tool position.)
Travel of the slide block is up to 1.75" when square to the base or angled slightly. When angled to 45° the handwheel will hit the corner of the base, shortening travel to about 1.25".
The compound slide in use. Note that it cuts from the back side of the part.
The Sherline compound slide is available in both inch and metric versions. On the inch version, the handwheel is calibrated in .001" increments driving a 20 TPI leadscrew. On the metric version, the handwheel is calibrated in .01 mm increments driving a 1 mm pitch leadscrew.
To read the complete
instructions for using a Sherline compound slide CLICK HERE.
NOTE:
A riser block is available for the compound slide as P/N 1272 ($30.00) when
using it with the P/N 1291
Riser Block kit. When the riser block is in place, the compound slide is used
on the front side of the part.
Did you know?
•
Sherline’s owner, Joe Martin first went into business making connectors for the
radio control industry and has been an avid R/C airplane builder and flyer all
his life. He was one of the founders and an early champion in the sport of R/C
Formula 1 pylon racing. He started a new business in the early 1970’s as an
importer bringing in Sherline tools from
• When Joe bought the company, the entire machine and accessory line price list fit on one side of one sheet of paper. Now it takes 4 double-sided price lists (manual machines, CNC machines, lathe accessories and mill accessories) plus a single-sided sheet on chucks and collets to describe all the tools and accessories available to Sherline customers. It has been described as the most complete machine tool line (of any size) in the world made by one manufacturer.
•
You can see how Sherline tools are made by taking a photo factory tour at www.sherline.com/factour.htm. If
you visit the factory in
Upcoming Model Engineering Shows
•
Sherline will be attending the Western
Engine Model Exhibition (WEME) in
•
• Estevan Model Engineering
Show—
Joe Martin Craftsmanship Foundation News
•
One new craftsman has been added to the on-line museum. Michael Paul Smith
has recently received a tremendous amount of attention via a viral e-mail on
the Internet back in January featuring his work. A New York Times article in March further spread the word. He makes
models in 1/24 scale and photographs them in conjunction with 1/24 diecast cars
and trucks to create an entire imaginary
• Our thanks to Phillip Henderson for the donation of one of his father’s detailed wooden models of heavy construction equipment. Perry Henderson built many fairly large models since his retirement as a purchasing agent for a heavy construction company. We now have on display a 1/15 scale LeTourneau L-1100 front end loader that is one of two he built. Thanks also to Joshua Vest for contributing four interesting model airplane engines from his father’s collection: A Fitzpatrick .61abc, an OS Wankle, a VECO .35 RC and a Cox Tee Dee .020.
•
The foundation has received its business license from the City of