Product Description
The compound slide offers a way to turn tapers and cut angles on a lathe without rotating the headstock. Four mounting holes are in the base for solid positioning on the crosslide. The base has a red anodized finish with laser engraved angle scales to make setting an angle easy. It utilizes a highly efficient locking ring design to lock it in position without having to overtighten the locking screws. A 1/4″ cutting tool can be mounted across the front or on either side of the head.
NOTE: Our 3/8″ shank, insert tool holders will not work with the compound slide.
Unlike compounds used on full-size, conventional lathes, this one was designed to be used from the “back” side of the table. This setup allows it to be designed in a more compact size and used without interference from the crosslide handwheel. The lathe tool is inserted in the holder “upside-down,” so the cutting tip faces downward. Because of the miniature lathe’s small size, operating the crosslide handwheel in this position is just as convenient.
A Compound Riser Block is available for use with this item (see below).
Travel of the slide block is up to 1.75″ when square to the base or angled slightly. When angled 45°, the handwheel will hit the corner of the base, shortening travel to about 1.25″. At angles between about 20° and 45°, travel is restricted between the two dimensions depending on the angle.
The Sherline compound slide is available in both inch and metric versions. On the inch version, the handwheel is calibrated in .001″ increments driving a 20 TPI leadscrew. On the metric version, the handwheel is calibrated in .01 mm increments driving a 1 mm pitch leadscrew. The inch handwheels have 50 marks (one revolution = 0.050″). The metric handwheels have 100 marks (one revolution = 1.0 mm).
The compound slide offers another way to cut tapers. The slide is used on the “back” side of the table with the tool upside down.
Thread, Gear, and Angle Calculators Available
Pete Johnson created a taper offset calculator to determine the angle for the P/N 1270 Compound Slide. It is an Excel spreadsheet in .zip file format for downloading purposes. CLICK HERE to download Pete’s taper calculator file.
You can also visit our Calculators web page to download or link to a selection of other calculators developed to help you with gear and thread calculations. They are in the form of Excel or Google spreadsheets. (Microsoft® Excel or Google® account required to open and use.)
Adding a Tool Post to the Compound Slide
In 2017, we modified the design of the compound slide to accommodate our Quick-Change Tool Post (P/N 2250) using a 10-32 x 2″ SHC Screw* (P/N 40730, sold separately).
*NOTE: You must use the Headstock Riser Block (P/N 1297) to use the Quick-Change Tool Post, or any other tool post, when mounting the post on the compound slide. Other tool posts may need to be modified to get your cutter on centerline. Click the Instructions tab above for further details on using the compound slide and quick-change tool post.
