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Owning two sets of machinery isn't really a problem. I've seen Sherlines in very large tool rooms simply because it can be the right machine for a job. Those riser blocks might work for you but in all honestly I would not have suggested their purchase. Sherlines by their nature are light...

Great to hear that you are on your way soldering / brazing. It is a very handy skill to have in the home shop.

You mentioned books and in that regard I have a couple of suggestions that are not directly Arduino related. One would be to look for a good C++ text, but be aware that the Arduino environment is not a complete C++ installation. While it is dated at this point in time Accelerated C++ by...

A tooling plate may come in handy. I use one at work, just a scrap piece of aluminum with a bunch of 1/4-28 holes in it. Aluminum works out nice if you consider the plate expendable. To go with the plate a bunch or toe clamps and so forth where made up. Comes in very handy for working...

You have a few choices. Build a iron casting foundry of your own. I don't actually recommend this. Iron casting is a step well beyond aluminum and zinc common with DIY foundries. Fabricate a set of patterns and have somebody cast the parts for you. This might be a fellow model builder or...

That Sterling 60 sounds interesting. I've been working on trying to get a machine shop up to the point where I can actually make something! Unfortunately seems like something is always turning up to take funds form shop building. Thus right now I have a lot of interest in "Easier" lathe...

Fit can mean different things to different people. You can put some 6" tables on a Mini Mill but how useful that arrangement will be is up to how you expect to use it. A bigger table has obvious setup advantages but you can easily put a tooling plate on a 4" table to enlarge your working...

Most likely they are heat shrunk on. The shafts are awfully small to get the press fit required with cold parts. With the right fit those gears will not go anywhere. In fact I've found many of them extremely difficult to remove without damaging any thing . In the end a heat shrunk gear...

The way to avoid resharpening is to build up a set of "Brass Drills". Generally i like a slightly wider break, maybe as much as a half mm. "Brass" Drills are also useful in other grabby materials, in fact I first learned of this mod when working in Lexan and other plastics. A set of well...

err! Auto correct madness, that Smith is suppose to be "SMOOTH". This is why I mentioned using a mechanical clutch someplace in the past in this thread, if you want manual use and the smoothness of a mechanical only system you need to disconnect the stepper. Of course with a simple belt...

Yep that is the one. Probably OK for a special purpose late but for a genral purpose tool room lathe it would seemingly be in the way more than actually being useful. This is the type of solution where you buy a second compound and swap compounds when you really need controlled feed.

This it is is pretty much true of any set of machine tools. That is there is more than one way to do something. Honestly I get more satisfaction from learning how to machine than I do with the completed project. Of course my completed projects are simple tools at the moment. Which...

Often getting the word out is a big factor. In some cases it represents a significant cost per device. So in my case this is a relatively new device. Actually I have no idea what 240 would be in US dollars. Here in the USA Centroid has a DIY solution that starts at $299 right now...

Well for painting visit a real paint store, not a big box hardware store. Inquire about the machine tool suitable paints they can get for you. One part paints are likely at the low end followed by two part Urathane and epoxies. I would certainly go for a two part solution if you can merge...

Those “Servo ” type drives that are used on a Bridgeport mill are way to big for most lathe compounds. Even some of the pictures posted earlier had me shaking my head. Given that the only way I see to do this up right is to design your own clutch mechanism. Then use a compact motor to...

Actually steppers May suffer from cogging and may not feel Smith when turned. Even worse the drive may short the windings effectively locking the shaft. Depending upon the feel you want to achieve yo may need to disconnect the stepper from the drive. There are a number of factors here but...

Not knowing more specifics I can’t say much however one thing does pop into mind. I would design it such that thebufket slips into the time assembly easil and then is fastened in place somehow. Possibly a chain binder to lock it to the bucket. The idea here is just to keep it from falling...

This is a little different than most I’ve seen. Is the 3/8 bolt there to push the pressure plate forward? This is a-bit of beautiful workmanship, so how do you walk up to a grinder with it? That would just be asking for an apprentice mark or two in my case.

I made it to CF this year and more importantly made it back in one piece. The one thing that sucks about these January dates is the snow. The nasty weather reports had me leaving early Saturday which wasn’t planned. As always there was something new or more likely something I missed in...

That is one nice little shop there, someday maybe I will be so lucky! We have a joke int he shop at work that the perfect retirement home would be 500 square feet with a 50,000 square foot shop attached. One can dream. Here though it looks like a dream come true. As for the second story...