Sherline lathe oh boy!

[Cbashooter]

I have used an old unimat for making simple punches and general " case manipulation " I didn't desire to have a machine shop because I don't want to take time away from my bullet casting and reloading hobby.And I liked the small machine sitting on my loading bench as i used it quite often.
Well I decided to upgrade to a 17" Sheline lathe with DRO and the milling column.
DANG IT ,ALL I WANT TO DO US MAKE STUFF NOW..It's so much more versatile than my old Austrian lathe

I bought a rifle that needed the bullet to have a very large base band and this little machine (despite my rudimentary skills )
did wonderful.I am now of the mindset you can't operate a reloading room without one.

 

[jackieschmidt]

Pretty neat.

what is the washer between the chuck jaw and the base of the die? I think I know, but see if we are on the same page.

 

[338 dude]

Pretty neat.

what is the washer between the chuck jaw and the base of the die? I think I know, but see if we are on the same page.

Mold is split right under the jaw

 

[RickKr]

What was that area like before? Photo?

And, DROs on machine tools are no longer a luxury for me, have it on my vertical mill and Monarch 10EE lathe. I can work fine without them, but definitely do not want to. But, I am not at all interested in CNC.

Rick

 

[AlNyhus]

Cbashooter: Nicely done, sir. There's a well tuned-up 'generic' 7X14 mini lathe in my gun room at home. I'm not a machinist by any stretch of the imagination but I'd be lost without it!

Good shootin'. -Al

 

[Cbashooter]

What was that area like before? Photo?

And, DROs on machine tools are no longer a luxury for me, have it on my vertical mill and Monarch 10EE lathe. I can work fine without them, but definitely do not want to. But, I am not at all interested in CNC.

Rick

The mold was a gas check design.the check "step" was .277 and the mold driving bands. 309

 

[tobnpr]

DROs on machine tools are no longer a luxury for me,

Yep- two lathes, two mills- all 4 with DRO's.
For those of us running old iron, it's not even a close call. On anything other than a new (or nearly so) machine, it's not just taking out backlash- it's the uneven wear on the screws. You can dial, say 20 thou- but actual movement of the cross can be "off" by thousandths.
The DRO makes worn screws and nuts irrelevant. I could have 30 thou of backlash and it doesn't matter with the DRO.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Yep- two lathes, two mills- all 4 with DRO's.
For those of us running old iron, it's not even a close call. On anything other than a new (or nearly so) machine, it's not just taking out backlash- it's the uneven wear on the screws. You can dial, say 20 thou- but actual movement of the cross can be "off" by thousandths.
The DRO makes worn screws and nuts irrelevant. I could have 30 thou of backlash and it doesn't matter with the DRO.

Mine is so bad i dont even want to say. If i need to reverse directions i use my poor mans DRO- a dial indicator

 

[Clark]

Some beautiful clock making machine work and cinema with a Sherline lathe by clickspring:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCworsKCR-Sx6R6-BnIjS2MA/videos

 

[Cbashooter]

Some beautiful clock making machine work and cinema with a Sherline lathe by clickspring:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCworsKCR-Sx6R6-BnIjS2MA/videos

Thats waaay more talent and patients than I'll ever have!

 

[Intheshop]

OMGoodness CBA,you think dinkin with cast is a rabbit hole....... sheesh,start investing time/study/$$ into equipment will make chasing X's with lead just plain ordinary.

You may not have a mill yet but hey,never too early for tooling? Look for a Hardinge 5c HV(horizontal vertical) indexer. Used in the vertical,makes one heckuva bullet sizer with UNLIMITED sizes available to you. A drill press will suffice as the drive mechanism until the new Bridgeport shows up. You can also "crimp" GC's independent of any "sizing".

Is it as good as a custom turned H&I die? Tough to call,but it is a whole lot faster trying different sizes before making a dedicated die. Although I use gang(5 at a time) fixtures to mill bases square and shorten certain bullets..... the HV will do them one at a time with the proper internal stop.

Look at HV pics on evilbay,most will show them in the horizontal.... but look,and try to understand how it functions in the vert axis. They're around 250$ used of course.

Good luck with your project.

 

[Cbashooter]

OMGoodness CBA,you think dinkin with cast is a rabbit hole....... sheesh,start investing time/study/$$ into equipment will make chasing X's with lead just plain ordinary.

You may not have a mill yet but hey,never too early for tooling? Look for a Hardinge 5c HV(horizontal vertical) indexer. Used in the vertical,makes one heckuva bullet sizer with UNLIMITED sizes available to you. A drill press will suffice as the drive mechanism until the new Bridgeport shows up. You can also "crimp" GC's independent of any "sizing".

Is it as good as a custom turned H&I die? Tough to call,but it is a whole lot faster trying different sizes before making a dedicated die. Although I use gang(5 at a time) fixtures to mill bases square and shorten certain bullets..... the HV will do them one at a time with the proper internal stop.

Look at HV pics on evilbay,most will show them in the horizontal.... but look,and try to understand how it functions in the vert axis. They're around 250$ used of course.

Good luck with your project.

I have over 300 bullet molds from 35 years casting and it's my main hobby.i think last count I have 20 dedicated cast bullet Schuetzen rifles.
I don't want to become too wrapped up in machine work. I just wanted the ability to support my cast bullet hobby.making sizing dies, breach seaters etc. is all I want to do.
My buddy Erik used to do my mold modifications but he's busy making profitable things so I don't like to bug him.

It is addictive though I will admit.i caught myself turning on the lathe rather than the lead pot!

 

[epc308]

Conversations with @Ramblerman have had us constantly wonder how anyone that messes with anything mechanical, especially guns and/or cars, can possibly do so without a lathe and mill at their immediate disposal.