Sherline Mill and Lathe Specifications

HISTORICAL NOTE
You might find it interesting to note that a problem similar to the one mentioned above is
probably why Morse tapers are not perfectly consistent to this day. A Morse taper is
listed as "about 5/8" per foot". Standard fixtures were probably made years ago and
machines and tools over the years were made to match these fixtures. Modern
measurement techniques were able to establish that these fixtures were not all perfectly
consistent in angle. Changing the angle, however, would make it impossible for new parts
to fit the old machines. Therefore, today we have Morse tapers that each vary slightly
from a taper of 5/8" (.6250") per foot. The actual tapers for each number Morse taper are
as follows:
MORSE
TAPER #
TAPER
PER FT.
TAPER
PER IN.
0
.62460 .05205
1
.59858 .04988
2
.59941 .04995
3
.60235 .05019
4
.62326 .05193
5
.63151 .05262
6
.62565 .05213
7
.62400 .05200
Sherline Lathe Dimensions
The drawing below shows the key dimensions on a Sherline Model 4000 lathe. It is
provided to help those who wish to make special equipment to fit to your lathe. If you
wish to download a higher quality version of the drawing, it is also available as a .pdf
file.