Another Tiny IC Engine

[Flyboy Jim]

This is going great, Bill. Glad you got some time in the shop. Nice to see that Cowells in action.

Jim

[Kim]

Great to see you putting that Cowells through its paces!  And you seem to be bonding with it quite well
Nice work on the Tiny!
Kim

[b.lindsey]

Thanks guys, let's just say that as much as I love my Sherlines, I m definitely smitten with the Cowells now too 

Bill

[steamer]

Glad you like your new lathe Bill!


Dave

[b.lindsey]

Yeah, me too Dave, otherwise its a pretty expensive paperweight 

Bill

[Hugh Currin]

Thanks guys, let's just say that as much as I love my Sherlines, I m definitely smitten with the Cowells now too 

Bill:

I'm looking forward to a comparison of the Sherline and Cowells. What do you get for the dollars.

Thanks.

Hugh

[Flyboy Jim]

Thanks guys, let's just say that as much as I love my Sherlines, I m definitely smitten with the Cowells now too 

Bill:

I'm looking forward to a comparison of the Sherline and Cowells. What do you get for the dollars.

Thanks.

Hugh

I am also, Hugh. This is a great experiment..............especially since its Bill's dollars doing the experimenting! 

Jim

[crueby]

Thanks guys, let's just say that as much as I love my Sherlines, I m definitely smitten with the Cowells now too 

Bill:

I'm looking forward to a comparison of the Sherline and Cowells. What do you get for the dollars.

Thanks.

Hugh

I am also, Hugh. This is a great experiment..............especially since its Bill's dollars doing the experimenting! 

Jim

But Jim, we already spent the money on the Sherlines, what if we should have gotten he Cowells instead?? 

[b.lindsey]

OK guys, with all that we have done with the Sherlines over the years, there is no question that they are great little machines, well supported and with lots of useful accessories. If one of my Sherlines weny belly up today, I would not hesitate to replace it with the same, though I might opt for the longer bed lathe this time. I had said early on that I really couldn't justify the Cowells based on needs alone, but I wanted one and bought it and I don't regret that at all. Are there differences....yes!!!  The Cowells is all steel for one thing, and more rigid for its size. It has "real" gibs and they are adjusted as is done on larger lathes with set screws and lock nuts. The head gearing is down right beautiful as well as functional with longitudinal feed and threading (metric only via change gears) built in which is not the case with the Sherline.  It is also reversible, though as Marv correctly points out on occasion this can be an issue with a threaded chuck unless one is careful. Think of it as a Chevy vs. a Cadillac. Both will get you where you want to go, one might make the journey a bit smoother. As I have said already the "feel" of the Cowells is noticeably superior and it is more rigid overall in my opinion. That doesn't mean there aren't some downsides thought. The Cowells does not have headstock roller bearings and is therefore more critical as to regular and proper lubrication. Accessories while available are far more limited than with Sherline. And then there is the cost differential.

Would I buy the Cowells again now having played with it for a couple of weeks. Definitely!!  But as noted I will replace my Sherlines with new Sherlines too if and when that is needed. Honestly I wish there was something in the middle range between both brands, but those days are behind us I suspect. We simply don't have as many choices these days as we once did, the old Emco Maier smaller lathes for example, like the Compact 5.

As you guys show time and again, it has far less to do with the machine itself though than the machinist.

Bill

[Flyboy Jim]

OK guys, with all that we have done with the Sherlines over the years, there is no question that they are great little machines, well supported and with lots of useful accessories. If one of my Sherlines weny belly up today, I would not hesitate to replace it with the same, though I might opt for the longer bed lathe this time. I had said early on that I really couldn't justify the Cowells based on needs alone, but I wanted one and bought it and I don't regret that at all. Are there differences....yes!!!  The Cowells is all steel for one thing, and more rigid for its size. It has "real" gibs and they are adjusted as is done on larger lathes with set screws and lock nuts. The head gearing is down right beautiful as well as functional with longitudinal feed and threading (metric only via change gears) built in which is not the case with the Sherline.  It is also reversible, though as Marv correctly points out on occasion this can be an issue with a threaded chuck unless one is careful. Think of it as a Chevy vs. a Cadillac. Both will get you where you want to go, one might make the journey a bit smoother. As I have said already the "feel" of the Cowells is noticeably superior and it is more rigid overall in my opinion. That doesn't mean there aren't some downsides thought. The Cowells does not have headstock roller bearings and is therefore more critical as to regular and proper lubrication. Accessories while available are far more limited than with Sherline. And then there is the cost differential.

Would I buy the Cowells again now having played with it for a couple of weeks. Definitely!!  But as noted I will replace my Sherlines with new Sherlines too if and when that is needed. Honestly I wish there was something in the middle range between both brands, but those days are behind us I suspect. We simply don't have as many choices these days as we once did, the old Emco Maier smaller lathes for example, like the Compact 5.

As you guys show time and again, it has far less to do with the machine itself though than the machinist.

Bill

Great review, Bill.  It not only looks great, but performs great as well! I definitely understand the concept of wanting to own a Cadillac once in a while. In fact, after your writeup, I better be careful or I'll be experimenting with" my dollars" as well! 

Jim

[Hugh Currin]

As you guys show time and again, it has far less to do with the machine itself though than the machinist.

Bill:

Thanks for the review. I am curious why you didn't get a larger lathe? The Cowells seems to fit a similar need that the Sherline fills. I know you've run into "size difficulties" with the Sherline. I now have a Taiwanese Goodway 14x33 lathe and a CNC Sherline. One a little big and one a little small. I'm going to fight to keep both though.

I solved the threading and feed issues with my Sherline by converting to CNC. Need a lot more shop time to become comfortable with a CNC lathe though.

It is real nice to use a "highest quality" tool which the Cowells seems to be. In your hands both the Sherline and the Cowells are making excellent parts.

The Tiny is coming along well, nice build. I haven't had much engine building time lately, and my list of engines to build is long. However, are the plans for the Tiny available?

Thanks.

Hugh

[steamer]

Hey Bill, what material for the Oring?

Dave

[Jo]

It is real nice to use a "highest quality" tool which the Cowells seems to be. In your hands both the Sherline and the Cowells are making excellent parts.

My Cowells is nice but I would not go as far as to claim "the highest quality", I reserve that for the likes of Mr Silky and Sexy The Cowells is a good quality lathe, still available at a time when sadly price matters more than quality to most people  .

I looked at a Schaublin 70 as a possible upgrade to my Cowells but turned it down due to the flexibility of the Cowells and the size/weight of the Schaublin.

Jo

[steamer]

Well....as an owner of a "made by trolls of the black forest" brand of machines  ( Aciera F1) I love the machine...it's dead accurate, and a joy to use.

It's also terrifying to use!

If you're wondering why, remember that you can't get parts or accessories for it other than on the used market...type in Aciera F1 on Ebay...I dare ya.

Getting even simple parts, like bearings, can be impossible.   Some of the older F1's had custom roller bearings for the spindle bearings.    Completely Unobtainium!  Others had ABEC 9 Angular contact bearings   I don't know which ones I have....and I'm not looking either!    I just keep pushing spindle oil through it, and it's still silky smooth..and I hope it stays that way.

This particular machine sold for $17000 brand new in 1974 with English arbors and collets and a bunch of accessories...think about what an average American car went for back then!...........  No I didn't pay a tenth of that!!!!!....and I love having it.......but

There  is something to be said for having a good "non-movie star" machine....that you can get a full set of bearings for on a Holiday Monday morning for instance......   Just sayin.



.....Now I think I heard someone was building a Tiny?.......?

[b.lindsey]

Dave, do you mean for the piston? Likely a cast iron ring or two if I can make them that small. I ordered the cutters for the gears today BTW.

Bill