Pete J.

Yea, me too. Of course when you do that, don't ever, under any circumstances, go back and total up what you have spent! It will leave you gasping for air for a month!? PS I have a real problem. I live about 15 minutes from the Sherline factory and can zip over any time I need something. Far to much zipping!?

Ok, so I stepped out the front door yesterday and got hit like a ton of bricks. Coughing, sneezing, itchy eyes, runny nose! Got it all! People can't tell I am "coviding" or not. They don't know wether to bless me or run!

? So true! Unless you inherited tools, not many of us could afford to have a Snap-on truck roll of a huge tool box load of tools. Most of us started with a pair of pliers, an adjustable wrench(spanner on your side of the pond) and a few screwdrivers. It seems like every time I have needed to do a job, I have added a tool or two. After 50+ years you wind up with a shop full of tools, half of which are old and outdated. When was the last time you saw a dwell tachometer? Got one! (For you young whippersnappers, you set the points in the distributor with it.? ) I am lucky. I have a very understanding wife. She knows if I buy a tool, I am going to use it, often on a project in the house, which makes her happy. Tools just accumulate!

The Bugatti engines are 1:24 scale. That makes some parts very small.

If I were to guesstimate, I would say you are pretty much spot on, but I would think that with end mills and other bits and pieces, I'm pretty close to double the original purchase in accesories, but then that is well over 10 years of working with the machines.

Justin, it is hard to categorize the Sherline as a hobbyist tool. You may like this story that I got straight from the master machinist there. The ball end tool(for making concave and convex parts) was originally created in response to and ophthalmic surgeon so he could make his own artificial eyes for his patients. In the plant they ship literally hundreds of machines monthly to commercial customers who need machining capability on a small scale. They are also very popular at engineering schools to teach the basics of machine work. Although these machines may not be for everyone, there are plenty of companies out there that don't need full sized machining capability either. This is very much a niche tool. Hobbyists are far from the majority of people who purchase these machines.

That has been a main theme in the topic. It is certainly not for everyone. For years I used a variable speed Dremel and some files. It made the Sherline all the sweeter when I finally was able to spring for one. Just one thought, since I bought them, I have found many uses far beyond just modeling. I don't know how many things I have repaired around the house, Heck I even turned a few Christmas ornaments.

Ok, now that is some old tech meets the fertile imagination. A suck and blow gooney bird. For those who may take offence at the name that is derived from the affectionate name given the Cessna O-2A given by the pilots who flew them as FAC's in Vietnam. I really like the treatment you gave the rear wheel.

Happy birthday! This is a stunner now but when done will be a killer model. Keep after it Mark!

Yes Sherline is available in metric. As long as I have know metric machines have been available. It is just a matter of fitting both the mill or lathe with a differant lead screw and saddle nut. No need to change anything else. The hand wheels are the same for both metric and english measurements. This brings up and interesting point. I always work in tenths, hundredths and thousandths, so factors of 10 just like metric so the metric system has no advantage with this kind of work. Now if we were working in fractions rather than decimals, that is where the english system is complex and if you get into feet, yards and miles then it becomes much like the old currency issues. Just stay with inches and decimals of inches and it works fine. Since you are a Bugatti fan I thought I would close on something that is currently on the bench.

Personally I like clear coat over black. You can polish out the black base coat but you have to generally get a relatively thick coat on to give yourself enough paint to sand out. I feel like you can loose a lot of detail that way. I also found out something many years ago about automotive lacquers(Yes, I use to go down to my local Dupont paint store and buy the stuff by the quart). Since we are dealing with plastic that can expand and contract in strange ways, I always had them add a flex agent to the paint. Also since I know I am going to clearcoat it, the adjusted the paint so it had a flat surface to "key" the clear coat. Having said all that, I learned that it takes a deft hand to polish this out without sanding through the clear coat, however with lacquers, you could always just respray over the oops with thinned clear and it would fix the problem.

I didn't know that Paul Fisher had done one of these. I always loved that little aircraft. The S2 was extremely rugged and handled very well I understand. I never had a chance to fly one, but always wished I could. Very nice representation of the Type!

Thanks for the follow up. I had not heard of Cowells before. My guess is that is rather rare on this side of the pond. I was intrigued by the mill. That is the first time that i have seen a mill that size with a moving table and fixed head. It took me a little time to wrap my head around that, but I see the advantage. I am certain that there are people who need the advantages of those machines. However at twice the cost of my Sherline, I would have to think long and hard to justify that. Not doubting the quality is worth the money, just not sure what I do needs that. Thanks again. While on the subject of companies, I doubt that a lot of people here did not know that Joe Martin(founder of Sherline in America) bought the original patents and rights to the name Sherline from and Australians named Clispy and Sher. It is a longer story than that but an interesting tidbit.

Far and away one of my favorite toys. No wonder people my age are mechanically inclined!

I know what it looks similar to, but as far as I can tell, that is a red herring(figure of speech, not a red car manufactured by herring)

Oh wow! that does look like a very nice tool. I see a lot of similarities with the Sherline. First off they are both professional tools, that is apparent from the finish and construction. Are you able to get parts for them is something wears out? This is certainly not the plastic ones I have seen. They most certainly don't build them like that anymore. A grand or so for this is definitely not out of line. Over the years, I have certainly spent that on additional tooling to do specialty jobs and that doesn't come cheap. I would guess that between the mill and the lathe I have several grand invested, but I do enjoy making the chips fly. Thanks for posting this.

You are spot on. If you are going to invest in a tool like this then you need to be ready to develop some new skills. Machining is not just something that you start out making complex shapes. My pile of failures is far bigger than my pile of successes, but every time I sit at the bench, the probability of success increases.

Those are exactly what I was hoping to see with this thread. Great fun and imagination!

Bill, that is true, but using rod means I can design any size I need. I generally start with drilling out the center with a twist bit to rough shape and then go from there. This is the plan for the rims I am working on. They started a 3/4" rod. You may notice that the dimensions are in feet. This is a idiocincy of the CAD program i am using. In inch dimensions the arcs and circles are too rough for small work. Since I have it set up for 3 decimal points the drawing gives me angles and number that I can use.

I've heard of the Unimat tools for a long time. Never seen one, but in looking at it, I have a lot of question. Noel, do you own one? My main issue is that it looks like it has a lot of plastic parts and aluminum extrusions. The primary reason I ask is that if it is very light weight, it will flex a lot and that precludes any real accuracy and the ability to replicate several parts. Perhaps you don't need that but it does limit what you can do. I have an example that I am working on. I am making some hot rod rims and the dimensions on all 4 are all within .002". Since they are three piece rims, it means that they all fit together well. However, you make a good point. Not everyone wants to drop that much money on a hobby. It is a very personal decision. If the Unimat does the job then it may be a good choice. Personally, I learned from my Dad that if you plan on using a tool for along time, spend the money. The bitterness of a bad tool lasts long after that the sweetness of a cheap price has passed.

Not from tubing. I generally start with 7075 shaft up to an inch in diameter and make three piece rims. The attached photo shows rims that were made this way with black Delrin centers.

I was sorting through my photos trying to make some sense of it and realized that I had done some weird stuff over the years. I thought some of you might enjoy seeing was the mind can do when left to it's own devices. This first one is a cross between an Alfa 155 and a Volvo wagon done as a panel delivery. I was really feeling weird when I created this 6 wheel Honda NSX This was a club theme night moon buggy done in Gulf colors. This kit was a japanese kit that had a pull back mechanism. I had some spare jagermeister decals hanging around so it seemed a natural. I had just finished a 1:12 935 and had this just to brake up the stress of that build. Yes, it is a Surfite, but with leftover decals and some extra Ferrari wheels. I added the fender flares and used the surfboards for a spoiler. This was a work of love! I crossed an AMT Dodge Ram pickup with a Tamiya Ferrari Testa Rossa kit. There is quite a history with this one! Another club theme. Junkyard parts. I had the bits of a P-47 and the Honda F1 car so I mated them and painted it in AAR colors. This one just stands on it's own! My dad was a founding member of the "Black Cats" Squadron in WWII and this was a tribute to him. Another strange one. I chopped the top and made it into a Red Bull Promotional car. The rims are turned from aluminum and Delron. Yes, I like Red Bull(but have never even tasted it!) for the sports stuff they do. There actually is a polished metal P-38 in the collection. Ok, not many Air Force Ospreys out their so why not? Perhaps some of the rest of you will show some of your strange stuff.

Sherline https://www.sherline.com/product/45004530-lathe/ They start at about $655 but you can easily spend that again on special tools. Don't let that stop you though. You don't need to do that when you first buy the machine. They have three packages the top one, has a lot of stuff to get you going. I bought it and have parts I have never used, so my choice would be the middle one. Sherline has some of the best customer service on the planet. You can call them with a problem and they will be able to tell you how to do it. These guys are all master machinist and not sale people. They don't get anything extra for selling something. Not only that, they have actually designed and build special parts for me to overcome particular problems. Now I have to say, I have an advantage/disadvantage. I live less than 15 minutes from the factory and I say an advantage because I can buzz over there and get what I need. Disadvantage because I can buzz over there and get what I need.?