Hawk's Babble-Log

Ever since I got my little Sherline mill, I knew that I was going to mount it to one of my spare shelf boards. The instruction manual even recommends it. The base is pretty narrow.

So… I got the screws, nuts, feet, and (recently) the drill and drill bits so that I could actually make the thing. In this picture, you can see that I’ve got all eight feet mounted, plus the holes for the screws & nuts which will bolt the mill to the board. I used eight feet because I wanted direct support for the weight of the machine, plus I wanted extra vibration absorption, just to help keep the machine quiet. Already it’s pretty quiet; it doesn’t make much more noise than a sewing machine.

Incidentally, my dad gave me the Ryobi drill pictured on the table because he managed to score himself a Hilti, the lucky dog. I’ll get a Hilti eventually. Thanks dad! Now I’m dangerous; I’ve got a cordless drill _and_ [drill bits](/images/sherline/drill_bits.jpg)!

In this pic, you can see that the original screws I had were too long. If you ever decide to get a Sherline mill and then mount it to a shelf board, use 1 1/4 ” screws, not 1 1/2 “.

Here you can see that the 1 1/4 ” screws fit almost perfectly. I didn’t plan it this way, but the way the feet are arranged allowed me to set the machine on the board, with the board partially off the edge of the workbench so that I could thread the nuts on. I did this on both sides. I think that worked out nicely.

And here’s the final product. The mill is secured to the baseboard, and I put the headstock and motor back on (it’s a bit lighter and easier to manage without those). Plus, I could re-square up the vertical z-axis column (it was a little off).

You can also see the little 3/8 ” end-mill set I got from Sherline on the back right-hand corner. I also had to get an end-mill holder for the spindle because double-ended end mills will not fit in a regular chuck.

I also got a step-block hold-down set. You can see it on the table of the mill, holding down a simple piece of aluminum. A spare step-block (non-coated) is sitting on top of that. It’s designed to be cut down to whatever I’d like it to be. Pretty sweet!