Welcome to the Sherline Workshop

This section will feature some of the work done by modelers and machinists using Sherline miniature machine tools. It will serve two purposes. First, it will give us a chance to show off some of the fine work being done on tabletop-sized machine tools. Second, it allows us to give credit to those who are doing that work. We have also included some projects that were not necessarily built on Sherline tools but offer ways to make your Sherline workshop more efficient and fun.

If you have a project of your own you would like to see included here, please email digital photos and an explanation to marketing@sherline.com.

General Projects

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Features projects of general interest, from toy trains to stamping dies.

Compact Workshops

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It doesn’t take a lot of space to set up a very complete and productive shop with Sherline tools. Visit some shops that show what can be done in a compact area.

Gunsmithing Projects

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Making, repairing, and restoring guns is a highly demanding and specialized part of the world of machining, and many parts and operations are sized appropriately for Sherline tools. This page features only gun-related machining projects for you would-be home gunsmiths.

Extreme Machining Projects

Click on the above link to jump to the Extreme Projects section

A separate section has been added showing setups for projects that are really too big to be made on Sherline tools, but determined craftsmen did them anyway. Check it out.

General Workshop Projects

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A list of general project links:

  1. Steam Engine Projects—Alvin Warren
  2. Woodturning Project—Dave Hosom
  3. Child’s Toy Train Project—Keith Yundt
  4. Black Powder Cannon—Robert Shipley
  5. Clock Case Projects—Robert Shipley
  6. Miniature Stamping Die—Frank Warrick
  7. Texas Christian University Machine Shop
  8. Aluminum Corsair Model—Young Park
  9. Making Steering Wheels for Model Cars—Marvin Meit
  10. Machines as Works of Art—William Dubin
  11. Dime-Sized 14-Cylinder Radial Aircraft Engine Model—Augie Hiscano
  12. Miniature Grandfather Clock—Frank Brad
  13. Tiny Turbine Engine Project—Andy Paul
  14. Detailed RC Ship Models—Andrew Green
  15. Model Hotrod Shop and Car Models—DL
  16. Award-Winning Model Cars—Mark Jones
  17. A Lathe with Permanent Riser Blocks Set up for Threading—Jim Knighton
  18. Gold Plated Auto Presentation Models—Michael Dunlap
  19. Case Tractor Project—Alvin Jeske
  20. Jewelry: Titanium and Stone Rings—Mark Stone
  21. Award-Winning Model Cars—Dirk Joseph
  22. Monster RC Truck Axle—Michael Gegere
  23. Cab Forward Live Steam Locomotive—Dwight Ennis
  24. Watch Case and Crown—Marc-André Lemieux
  25. Animated Clocks and other Mechanical Works of Art—Thomas Kuntz
  26. Circuit Testing Machine—Stephen Nelson
  27. Fossilized Ivory Guitar Bridge Pins—Mike Fleck
  28. Music Box—Geoffrey Rhodes
  29. Sherline Table Saw Attachment—Carl Hammons
  30. Super-Detailing a Tamiya McLaren F1 Model—Tom Castermans
  31. Miniature Vintage Woodworking Tools—John Maki
  32. 1/2-Scale Running Briggs & Stratton “Y” Engine—George Baisz
  33. Elk Antler Watch Cases and Wooden Pens—Charles Grower
  34. Cutting a Tiny Watch Escape Wheel—Jerry Kieffer
  35. Sherline-Powered Scroll Saw—Jerry Glickstein
  36. Cutting Helical Gears on a Sherline Mill—Carlos Vicente
  37. Model Car Customizer—Alvis Barrington
  38. Steam Engine Miniatures—Chris Rueby
  39. Turning New Handwheel Dials—Paul Petrzelka
  40. 1/24 Scale Model V-2 Rocket—Tony Guyer
  41. Bantam Fuel Altered Model—Tim Hoagland
  42. 1:24 Scale Engine Modeled after the West Side Lumber Company’s Porter—Ede Biro
  43. Making a Crystal Wheel Skeleton Clock—Roger Adams
  44. Crankshaft Project—Dave Glemming
Compact Workshops

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When people think of the word “machine shop,” they often think of a dark, dirty, oily shop filled with huge, noisy machines. Tabletop machine tools like those offered by Sherline take machining and woodworking into new territories—like your basement, den, kitchen, or even a closet! You don’t need a lot of space, and you don’t need to make a big mess. Because miniature machining projects, for the most part, don’t use the larger tools you might use to work on your car or do other construction jobs, they don’t have to be located in the same area. You can bring your machine tools indoors to work in the evening in heated or air-conditioned comfort. If you have an apartment or condominium, you don’t have to be left out of the fun of making fine, small projects. These machines make little more noise than a sewing machine, and their mess can be cleaned up with a small vacuum cleaner or mini shop vac.

Joe Martin notes that one of the keys to working efficiently in a small shop is to clean up after yourself often. Containing chips and vacuuming often will also help keep from tracking them into other parts of the house. Working small tends to force organization on you because you can only set so many tools down on your bench before you run out of space. Keeping your work surface free from clutter means having a designated place for everything and putting each tool or accessory in its place when you’re not using it. The good part about this is when you are done, almost everything is already put away!

Below are some shops put together by people with limited space but the desire to make things. Without much effort, you can probably imagine a shop like one of these in your house, no matter how pressed for space you are. If that is what has been holding you back from making the projects of your dreams, these shops might give you some ideas on how you can finally build the things you’ve wanted to do in spaces you may not have considered.

A list of compact workshop links:

  1. Shop in a Closet—Marvin Meit
  2. Traveling Workshop—Jerry Kieffer
  3. Compact Home Workshop—Ronald Melvin
  4. Portable Workshop in a Tool Box—R.W. Markgraf
  5. Kitchen Workshop—Steve Peirce
  6. Woodworking Shop—Chris Rueby
  7. A Traveling Shop in a 5th-Wheel Tow Vehicle—Lloyd Leech
  8. Garage Workshop—Joe Martin
  9. World’s “Messiest” Shop—Paul White
  10. Closet Shop with Big Capabilities—Phil Bee
  11. Boxed Lathe and Mill—C.B.
  12. Flying Sherline Workshop—Jason Chastain
  13. Lathe Stand—Nelson Giesecke
  14. Moveable CNC Benchtop Lathe Station—Robert Lawson
Gunsmithing Projects

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Read and understand all appropriate federal, state, and local firearms regulations and guidelines before making or modifying a firearm.

Restoring vintage firearms, adding better sights to existing weapons, building miniature replicas or working firearms, or scratch-building projects of your own are all possible on Sherline tools if the parts are sized appropriately. All projects shown here conform to federal firearms regulations. We have added this page because we get many inquiries from people considering small gunsmithing projects of their own. Shown below are some projects or modifications people have made using Sherline tools.

A list of gunsmithing project links:

  1. Rifle Scope Mount—Jerry Kieffer
  2. Gatling Gun on Carriage—Michael Gegere
  3. .25 Cal Gatling Gun—Michael Gegere
  4. .177 Cal Gatling Gun on Tripod—Michael Gegere
  5. 1/2-Size Model of 1896 6.5 mm Bergmann Pistol—Roger Ronnie
  6. 1/2-Size Model of a Rare 1910 10-Gauge Lefever Shotgun—Roger Ronnie
  7. A Fixture for Checking .22LR Match Rounds for Concentricity—Bill Young
Extreme Machining

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By popular demand, we are including photos of projects that are really too big to be made on Sherline tools. If a potential customer were to ask if this operation could be done, we would say, “No, you need a bigger machine.” But modelers are among the most resourceful craftsmen in the world, and many find it a challenge to make things that everyone else said couldn’t be done. The people setting up these operations are experts with their tools and know-how to get more out of them than was ever intended and still get good results. This page is in no way intended as a recommendation for setups like this, but if you use small tools and occasionally run into a part that is a bit too large but needs to be done anyway, perhaps some of these setups will give you some ideas of how to accomplish the impossible.

For those who want to see a good movie that represents the attitude involved here, we recommend Flight of the Phoenix, starring James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, and Peter Finch. If ever a movie represents what can be done by a good modeler, that one is the best. The movie is about a cargo plane that crash lands in the Sahara desert. The only way out is to rebuild the wreck into a smaller plane that can fly them out using the one remaining good engine and the parts and tools at hand. The “engineer” who directs the process turns out to have only built model airplanes before, but his modifications work. To him, this is no different than a model airplane project using full-size parts. Even if you’ve already seen it, it’s worth watching again for inspiration.

Charlie Lear recently ran a little experiment to see how large a part he could turn using a mill instead of a lathe. Check out his very comprehensive web page at http://steammachine.com/millturn for the results.

A list of extreme machining project links:

  1. An Oak, Model Display Case—Jerry Kieffer
  2. Machining Large Steam Engine Castings—Pam Weiss
  3. Cutting 7″ and 14″ Diameter Gears on a Sherline Mill—Mark Jones
  4. A Portable Metal Door Jamb Router from a Sherline Mill—Gregg Roos