x2 or Sherline *edited*

[mhackney]

I hear you Fred. I bought a used Sherline lathe a few years ago and it has been a workhorse. I struggled with the Sherline mill vs X2 mill also but I really needed a bit more capacity and I wanted to build my CNC conversion myself, so I went X2. Seems there is maybe a market for X2/C2 class mills/lathes but with Sherline fit and finish.

cheers,
Michael

[escott76]

Seems there is maybe a market for X2/C2 class mills/lathes but with Sherline fit and finish.

When I bought my Sherline I went through a lot of the same things described here. The Chinese mills were attractive on one hand, but I chose the shortcomings of the Sherline over them. I was not disappointed then, and several years later having experienced the fit and finish of Chinese tooling myself I'm reminded why I did what I did. A decent machinist will be able to make either one suitable for most purposes, but with any machine it's always important to keep in mind what it's limits are and to take them into account when planning and running jobs.
That all being said, when I built my CNC your comment was almost exactly what I had in mind. I wanted something a little more beefy than the sherline ways and screws, but was unwilling to deal with a Chinese conversion. The limiting factor will be what people are willing to pay for. It's a tough sell to get people to pay what the fit and finish would cost. I kept costs "low"* by doing the work myself, and had the tools available to me. What I would have to charge someone to do the same would be quite a bit. At that point it becomes attractive to get one of the bigger mills (cost wise) if you have the space. I don't, so it was a pretty perfect fit

*Having a ready supply of free frame/base stock was also helpful, as were several great surplus finds. Cost for the motion components were above what I would have paid for an X2 as well.

[vlmarshall]

I'm really surprised that the popular opinion of Sherline seems to be that they're tools that only newbies are tricked into buying. I've had my Sherline mill for a few years now, and I'm happy with the thing.

[slashmaster]

I just don't see where the value is in a sherline other than finish. What kind of leadscrews and nuts do they have? What kind of resolution can you get with a Sherline? What kind of resolution can you get with an X2? That Sherline column looks thin and flimsy. Maybe the finish on a Sherline is prettier but if you use them don't they both become scratched up and grimey anyway?

[Crevice Reamer]

The Sherline is a light weight mill that will literally fit and operate on a table top. There are many who have no room for a shop, and yet want to machine small parts. the Sherline fits that bill. If you are very patient, it will do almost anything that fits within its envelope.

The lead screws are tiny and use brass nuts that wear. The column IS flimsy and will flex if pushed too hard. It DOES have very good resolution though, but not much rigidity.

CR.

[pete from TN]

I have a friend who has both a Sherline lathe and a sherline milling machine. They do look very nicely made, they are VERY tiny..... I mean real small.... I am quite sure that if you are real patient and need to make some parts for a watch or something very small it could produce some very nice parts due to it's tidy design and what seems to be an accurate build quality.He uses them to make tiny parts for Remote controlled cars and helicopters. I do not however understand the reason for buying them other than that. I have now owned five different milling machines from a shoptask 3 in 1, to a round column RF31 mill, then a Lathemster dovetail mill, and then a knee mill. I used to think the shoptask machine was really great, until I bought the dovetail mill and the knee mill and started to see what a rigid machine that has some decent travels can do. The thing is this, you can always do good accurate small pieces on a larger mill, you cannot do large accurate pieces on a small or tiny mill. The mindset I used to have was that I would never want or need to do large pieces, that is until you want to or have to do them. Then your little machine is out of luck and you wind up wishing you got the bigger machine. I see lots of guys that have sherline cnc machines and they seem to enjoy them. I am sure they are useful for some specific types of things but in the end I am always wishing my table travels were even bigger than they are and that I could take just a little more metal off in one pass than I currently can. Everyone has their needs and wants and I respect that but I guess I just do not see the attraction with these tiny machines. I think the smallest machine I would bother with let alone do a cnc conversion on is the X2/x3 style. They are at least reasonably capable of machining aluminum and some steel and have some reasonable travels and due to their cast iron content have some kind of rigidity. There are also way too many guys making some interesting things with them on here let alone the cool mods that are popping up for them. Again this is not to trash on the sherline machines but I guess they have a specific purpose albeit limited scope. Peace

[Crevice Reamer]

Well said Pete!

CR.

[vlmarshall]

Yes, nicely argued, Pete. Lots of good points here.

I guess I get away with using a tiny mill at home, because if I need to do any BIG stuff, I'll just do it at work... the same reason I've got along so far without a lathe.

[vlmarshall]

Something I've noticed... many of the benchtop mills are purchased my people with no machining experience. It seems common to try to cut everything on one pass, and then blame the machine when things don't come out within +- .0001".

[mhackney]

I know the Sherline lathes are very popular with bamboo fly rod makers - that is why I bought mine originally. Turning the stations for nickel-silver ferrules requires .001" tolerances and the small size fits nicely in a rod building shop and can be moved out of the way when not needed. I started using mine to make the actual ferrules and even the reel seat hardware too. It really introduced me to metal working and whetted my appetite for a larger CNC mill - which I am building now on a Micro Mark X2. All of the turned parts - bushings, Oldham couplers - that I have fabricated for the mill conversion were turned on the Sherline.

After the X2 mill, I plan to CNC a 7x14 lathe next. I just started making fly fishing reels and the Sherline is a little (no pun intended ) too small for that work. I've made a couple on the lathe but it goes a lot quicker with a rotary table on a mill. I will keep the Sherline lathe to work on delicate bamboo fly rods.

cheers,
Michael

[Teyber12]

cr how many machines do you have? :

i like the x2 a lot even though i have never used one. The fact that its g540 compatible really makes it affordable.

heres a great link
http://www.hossmachine.info/cnc_conversion_cost.html

If you can squeeze out ANY extra $ go with the g540 but of course only get 3 motors for start.

I think you will find if you get a x2 you can manually mill 90% of your projects then once you get the hang of manual machining convert it to cnc. Also helps to not buy the mill, electronics, ballscrews, software, and tooling at once

cheers!

edit:

just to clarify i am not trying to be a poser i have no x2 experience. just want to clarify

[sansbury]

Seems there is maybe a market for X2/C2 class mills/lathes but with Sherline fit and finish.

Have you ever looked at a Wabeco? It's a German-made mill that looks like what the Chinese copied and starts around $4000 new, which seems like about the same $/pound as a Sherline. Turnkey CNC versions sell for the same or more than a Tormach. Draw your own conclusions as to why you don't see too many of them around here.