See below

On Fri, 21 May 2004 20:43:24 -0400, "Wayne" makowicki wrote:

I will be taking a look at a Sheldon 11" lathe in the morning, and had a few
questions. The seller knows little if any thing about a lathe.
What is the taper?/what collets?

I'm sure Sheldon made several models of 11" inch lathe. That said, I
have an 11" and 13" and they both have a modified #5 Morse taper.
That is, if you put a regular #5 MT tool in the spindle, it would fit,
but stick out quite a long way.

The #5 MT Sheldon's will accomodate a 5C collet with the appropriate
adapter. I machined my own.

How would this compare to my SB 10K?

Sheldons are good lathes. I've never been around a 10K so cannot
answer.

What is the market like for these?

It depends upon your area. If you are from the industrial areas of
the east and Midwest, you probably have a fair supply of used machine
tools. In our sparsely populated areas of the west, they are few and
far between. I paid $1450 for my 13" and more than that for the 11"
which was in very good condition.

I know these are general questions but someone always provides excellent
help in this group.
thank you

The Fwd/Rev gears, the ones that mesh with the spindle gear and drive
the power feed train, tend to wear out. The forward gear on both my
Sheldons have teeth that have worn down to knife edges. It's just
something to be aware of. They didn't come that way from the factory!

Sheldon offered lathes with plain bearing spindles as well as roller
bearing spindles. It's hard to generalize when talking about them.

Both my Sheldons' bearings lose their oil when unused. It seems to be
caused by porous cast iron. At any rate, it's awfully easy to forget
to check the oil level before starting up the lathe. The bearings in
my 11" were not the best when I got it. Be prepared to spend about
$450 if you ever need to replace the bearings. First, however, you
need to find a bearing dealer who knows what a precision bearing is.

Enjoy that Sheldon!

Orrin