Hacks on a Sherline Lathe

I have been a happy user of an 8-inch Sherline lathe for many years. I used the lathe mostly as it was when it arrived from Sherline. The only thing I added to the lathe itself was a digital read out system (DRO).

When I got the new lathe, I decided to add a number of features including a 2 axis DRO, X-axis power feed, tachometer, and a stepper motor drive for the spindle. In addition to the hacks involving electricity, I came up with a depth stop for the crosslide, explored ways to use ER collets, created improved tommy bars, and created a spindle wrench.

Electronic hacks

The following hacks involve the use of electricity. These additions involved adding two stepper motors with associated pulleys and belts, a control panel with two switches and 3 display modules, a box full of electronics, DRO sensors and displays, a power supply, a hall effect sensor, and a hollow base. See the following separate articles on each of the additions. Read the infrastructure article first.

Infrastructure for Sherline lathe hacks.

2-Axis Digital Read Out (DRO) for a Sherline Lathe.

Power Feed for a Sherline Lathe.

Tachometer for a Sherline Lathe.

Stepper Motor Drive for a Sherine Lathe.

Toolpost Grinder for a Sherline Lathe

Tailstock DRO for a Sherline Lathe

Mechanical Hacks

The following hacks do not use electricity.

Spindle Wrench for a Sherline Lathe

Stronger Tommy Bars for a Sherline Lathe

Crosslide depth stop for a Sherline Lathe

ER Collets on a Sherline Lathe

Boring Bar Holder for a Sherline Lathe

2024-09-05