If you already own a vertical milling column (P/N 3050/3053, 3480/3485 or 3580/3585) for use with your lathe but feel a sturdier base with a larger work area would be to your advantage, the base of any Sherline vertical mill is available separately as the XY Base. It is so named because it provides the "X" and "Y" axes of movement in addition to the vertical or "Z" axis provided by the vertical milling column. Sherline vertical milling columns have a large center hole in the base and a 3/8" set screw so they can be attached to the headstock pin on the lathe base. However, they also have the two standard mounting holes for use on a mill base. This means an XY base plus a vertical milling column plus the headstock/motor unit from your lathe equals a complete Sherline mill. If, at a later date you decide that switching headstocks (and the alignment procedure that is involved each time) is too time-consuming, you can purchase a second P/N 3306 headstock/motor unit and you would then have two complete, stand-alone machines--a lathe and a mill.
Note that the 5200, 5220 and 5401 bases are intended to be used with vertical milling columns that have the rectangular base, while the 5600 base must be used with the round multi-direction column. The mounting hole pattern is different on those two types of column.
A 5201 CNC-ready base includes handwheels for use on the rear shaft of a stepper motor. (Motors are not included.)
Any Sherline mill XY base can also be purchased in CNC-ready configuration. This means that instead of a handwheel attached directly to the leadscrew, a stepper motor mount is fitted ready to bolt on a DC stepper motor for used with computer control. The standard handwheel that would normally come with the mill base is included for use on the rear shaft of the stepper motor for manual control; however, the XY base cannot be used until a stepper motor is in place, as there is no way to attach a handwheel directly to the CNC leadscrew. It is designed to accept a coupler and motor shaft, not a handwheel.
NOTE: If you don't already own a Vertical Milling Column and want to have a complete Vertical Mill using the headstock and motor from your Lathe, it is more economical to purchase the XYZ Base (P/N 5201) rather than buying a separate vertical milling column and XY Base.
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