Sheldon Milling Machines

[Casting Timmy]

Anyone have experience with the Sheldon horizontal milling machines?

Thanks
Tim

[riorider]

If the mills are as good as the lathes are I would go for it if the price is right!

[deltaenterprizes]

Try "The Home Shop Machinist" site.

[bedwards]

I've got a Model O Horizontal. Its really beefy for the size and the space it uses. You will be amazed at the cuts it can take. The only draw back is the B&S #9 spindle but there is plenty of tooling out there for it even some new. http://www.tools4cheap.net/ has imported arbors.

be

[gzig5]

Anyone have experience with the Sheldon horizontal milling machines?

Thanks
Tim

I've got a Sheldon-Vernon #0 with back gear, table feed, and a Rusnok over arm mounted vertical head. Great little machine in my experience. What do you want to know? Some pretty good info here http://www.lathes.co.uk/sheldon/page6.html
and I think the manual is available online for free, and I have most of them. The native spindle is B&S 9 but arbors, collets and collet chucks are available new and used. You aren't going to mill a small block chevy head on one, but they are excellent for gun work. With the vertical head, I get the best of both worlds.

[Casting Timmy]

I've got a Sheldon-Vernon #0 with back gear, table feed, and a Rusnok over arm mounted vertical head. Great little machine in my experience. What do you want to know? Some pretty good info here http://www.lathes.co.uk/sheldon/page6.html
and I think the manual is available online for free, and I have most of them. The native spindle is B&S 9 but arbors, collets and collet chucks are available new and used. You aren't going to mill a small block chevy head on one, but they are excellent for gun work. With the vertical head, I get the best of both worlds.

How hard is the machine to move? Is the base cabinet movable by a dolley by a single person? How big are these machines? I'm hoping it's a small enough machine I can get down the stairs and into my basement. I don;t mind taking it apart and reassembling down in teh basement, I just want to make sure it will fit through a doorway with the door off.

[bedwards]

The machine weighs around 1300. I brought mine home in a 3/4 ton truck and took it off with a HF electric hoist. My son and I walked it side to side to its final desto on a concrete floor. Its 220 3phase with a powered table. You could split it from the cabinet to make it more manageble, but it would be a job to get down stairs. The cabinet floor space is 27x29. Mine has a powered coolant tank on the rear. It has a 1hp Westinghouse motor. I run it with a TECO VFD.
hope this helps
be

[uscra112]

Getting it down stairs will be interesting, but if it's a concrete outside stairway like mine, it's do-able. I made a sturdy ramp using treated 2x10s, (they're slipperier), with crosspieces that rested on the steps to prevent it from sliding. With my lathe solidly bolted to a skid, I slid the thing down using a chain to my Ford tractor.

Having some proper rigger's slings could be a big help. www.mcmaster.com

Fabricate a solid skid out of 4x4s (at least) so you have a broader base to keep it from tipping, and "runners" on the bottom to slide it on, and bolt the thing down solidly to it. This is essential. Without a skid you can get in deep trouble in a hurry.

If there is access to your stairwell, toting the thing home on a tilt-back car hauler would be a big plus. Back it up to your ramp, and let it down the stairs using the winch on the tilt-back.

I'm coming from a long stint in the used machine tool industry, where I learned a lot about rigging heavy stuff. The first rule is THINK EVERYTHING THROUGH before you move a finger.

I didn't see many (if any) Sheldon mills, but the lathes were considered pretty good.

Do you know how to make a three-phase converter from an old motor?

Phil

[gzig5]

How hard is the machine to move? Is the base cabinet movable by a dolley by a single person? How big are these machines? I'm hoping it's a small enough machine I can get down the stairs and into my basement. I don;t mind taking it apart and reassembling down in teh basement, I just want to make sure it will fit through a doorway with the door off.

What bedwards said pretty much covers it. Not sure on the total weight but he's not off by much if any. Mine will go down into the basement after I get my Index mill down and finish rebuilding the SB Heavy 10. Two or three people should be able to handle it in pieces. Take off what you can and make skids and slide them down with someone on the rope at the top of the stairs. If you want manuals, PM me your email address.

[Casting Timmy]

Thanks everyone for all the good feedback.

I'm reading how to make a 3 phase converter from an old motor, but also noticed I can buy the motor I need from Harbor Freight. Space is a big consideration for me and I'm on the fence between this and a Jet 6 by 26 mill. I kind of call the Jet a mini Bridgeport. I do raelly like the idea of having an old mill though, and the horizontal part too. If I get the horizontal I would probably keep it later if I was ever able to pick up a Bridgeport machine. Although the Jet could probably do anything I ever needed to get done.

I also thinking if I do the horizontal I will risk waiting til spring to see if they still have it as I don't want to get caught with snow and trying to move the machine.

I figure this weekend I'm going to rearrange and clean up my basement. Then maybe mark out on the floor the layout for the mill and see what I think.

At least it seems to me there's a huge difference between used lathes and used mills, it seems like the mills are a lot more expensive.

[gzig5]

I sent the manual and parts list. Not sure if it has the back gear in it, but should get you by. A rotary convertor is pretty straight forward to do, especially if you keep it simple with a rope start or pony motor. I made a 5hp self start for my shop. You just need a motor a little bigger that what you are trying to run and used 3 phase motors can be found pretty cheap on ebay and Craigslist. I probably have a 1hp I could give you if you were close to SE Wisconsin.
Greg

[Casting Timmy]

Thanks for the manuals, I couldn't find that anywhere on the internet. Thanks for the motor offer, but if I get the machine I might convert it over to single phase with a new motor.

I have cleaned up downstairs and made room for a machine, I'm going to lay out tape from teh dimensions above and see what it looks like.

Thanks again for all your help
Tim