# Taig Tools or Sherline?



## noela (May 22, 2008)

Thank you for all your help.
Now I have to decide what I need, and more help is desired.
I have looked at the Taig Tools and Sherline Lathes, and they both look pretty good to me. There is a price difference, and I am asking those of you that use these machines, your opinion based on the machine, and if you know about them, the pros and cons. I am not going commercial, but I plan on doing quite a bit of work, from shaving axles and boring journals, to cutting the humongous flanges on wheels. Not sure which one I want to go with, but I don't believe that they are inter-changeable so I would need to pick out the machine with the best report. Price ios a factor, but, if price alone is the only separation, then I would go for the cheaper machine. If price does make a substantial difference, then I would go for the more costly machine. Also, how is service for these items?
So many questions, so little time.
Thank you.


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## livesteam5629 (Jan 2, 2008)

Having owned a Sherline Lathe and Mill for about six years, I cannot recommend anything better unless it is a larger setup such as Girzzly. Sherline gives great support and you can use many cutting bits and such from other sources such as Enco, McMaster-Car etc. Just how big are the journal bores you are planning to do and the humongus flanges? The only flange I have failed to cut down is a LGB. The metal they used is very tough. 
Noel


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## hcampbell (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm very happy with my Taig lathe and mill. I've not tried Sherline but don't see any reason to change. I did move up from a Unimat that's a bit small
for G1 and up.
For everything you'ld want to know about Taig visit Nick Carter's site. Carter Tools


Harvey C.


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

I have the Sherline lathe and mill and couldn't be happier. As Noel said, support is first rate and the number of accessories available contains just about anything you could wish for. One thing about Sherline is they are upgradable to CNC should you ever wish to go that route. I bought my machines CNC equipped from the get-go. Cutting flange profiles is duck soup with CNC. 90+% of my major parts for my #21 were done with CNC. Something to think about.


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## mtchaney (Jan 2, 2008)

I will second the motion to visit Carter tools to get an idea what can be done with a Taig. I cannot comment on Sherline's support, but between Nick's website and the taigtools forum on Yahoo groups, you will find unlimited resources for any problem you might find with a Taig. Sherline does seem to offer more in the way of tooling, but a good bit of that tooling can be used on Taigs as well. For example, I have a Sherline manual rotary table and a couple of Sherline vises. Also the chucks are interchangable as they use the same 3/4 x 16 threads. 

Mick C.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Mikey and I just took the factory tour at Sherline, they are located about 3 miles from my house. WOW! The bottom line is I am buying a Sherline. They have a museum there in the building that shows a history of model lathes, including all the unimats, Taig, etc. 

I hope I do not start a lot of controversy here, but there is no comparision between a Taig and a Sherline, I looked at both very closely. There are many parts in a Taig that are just as they come from the extruding machine, not machined at all, where the Sherline is machined surfaces. 

By the way, the Sherline people did not make the comparision, nor did they denigrate the Taig, I saw the Taig they had, and asked a bunch of questions on the various components, which were obvious if they were just raw cut from extrusions or had been machined. 

I read up on the Taig, and there are sites on all the things to do to make the Taig precision... unnecessary on the Sherline. 

They also have a great support department and make everything in the USA, the only component they buy is the motor. They had a retired expert machinist right there who took 1/2 hour to tell me all the different ways to set up to turn wheels, and which things I needed and which things I did not. Cannot have had a better experience. 

Regards, Greg


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

Do any of you guys have a link to Sherline?


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

google sherline: 2 seconds 

http://www.sherline.com/ 

Regards, Greg


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

I only have the taig lathe, but I'm extremely happy with it. And carter does offer the best prices. The nice thing about him is, you can buy the limited accessories and get a discount on those accessories for the rest of your life if you order your original lathe from carter. I use mine all the time, but I'm looking at a shearline milling machine for my next purchase, because I've been seeing them at a descent price.


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## Chucks_Trains (Jan 2, 2008)

Personally I'd purchase one of these as they come with accessories and the price is decent.

Tools Now/ Cummins Mini Lathe


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

Thanks, Chuck for the link. This looks like the best buy, as the accessories could really add up. 

Now I've got to save some money!


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## mtchaney (Jan 2, 2008)

Regarding the Cummins mini lathe:

This lathe looks suspiciously like the 7x14 mini lathe sold under many different names including Microlux as shown in the Micromark catalog. Be careful with this one as it has a dubious reputation. Also it is imported from China and for some that is important. Personally, I would stick with the Sherline or Taig as both are made in the USA.

Just another $0.02

Mick Chaney


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