NEW 5C Small Lathe Headstock - Perfect For Sherline, Taig & Other Small Lathes

The GlockCNC 5C is perfect for the guy who wants the precision collet chuck capacity from tiny 1/32" to over 1" and...or even more with the 1.30" through hole when using a jaw chuck. For many, just the upgrade to bigger chucks will be a dream come true...to use a 5" or 6" jaw chuck on their small lathe. Plus, at those chuck sizes, more super precision chucks are available.

5C Collets - Imagine being able to use a collet to hold round, square or hex stock with great precision and stock size. Here are the range of collets (taken from Maritool and Hardinge):

Round - 1/32" to 1-5/32 (.016" to 1.1563") Metric - .5MM to 27MM

Hex - 1/8" to 7/8" (.0625" to .875") Metric 1.5MM to 23MM

Square - 1/8" to 9/16" (.125" to 9/16") Metric 2MM to 19MM

There's also rectangle collets, Brown & Sharp and Mores Taper versions, stepped, external expanding arbor type and dead length and more. Plus, there are even more adapters and specialty options on the market...almost too many to mention. It really opens up a whole new world of metal working for the small lathe guy.

Made From Solid 6061 Aluminum Billet - Of course, the images and video show the 3D printed version. You'll be getting a nice chuck of precision milled 6061 aluminum anodized in black. There's enough "meat" on this headstock to dampen vibration and if you need to do some custom drilling and tapping into the headstock, you can do that too.

Jaw Chucks - Until now, this has really been a sorely lacking area for small lathes. Sherline and Taig have very limited chuck options...and their chuck precision and holding ability isn't real great. Many have complained that when cutting harder metals, the material comes lose too easily. The biggest complant though, is the accuracy. Simply put, unless you've found some rare Swiss or German tiny chuck to adapt to the Sherline or Taig, you're stuck with .003" or worse runout in most cases. Commercially available high precision chucks generally start at the 5" or 6" chuck size. At this size, you can even get set-tru type chucks with .0005" repeatability! Unfortunately, the Sherline and Taig lathes won't handle those chucks and their weight. Their bearings are just too small. It really requires a twin bearing front end setup to handle the load...and that's exactly what we did. You'll be getting dual 80MM OD bearings to hand all the load you can through at a smaller lathe. Jaw chuck adapter plates will be available shortly after the headstocks are delivered. (The headstock is 52.5MM from base to the center of the spindle, risers should also come shortly after the headstocks ship)

Large Through Hole - Another big complaint with small lathe owners is the spindle through hole size. Sherlines simply doesn't offer any large through hole models. Taig does have a headstock with a good through hole size, but it won't accept a backplate for chucks. With the GlockCNC 5C headstock, you now have the best of all worlds. A large 1.30" through hole and the ability to use a bigger commercial grade chuck. This greatly enhances what your lathe can now do.

High Precision Workholding - One of the wonderful things about 5C work-holders, is that, it's virtually everywhere. It's a standard in the world of lathes. Plus, you can get inexpensive collets with .0006" runout or high precision collets with just .0002" runout. Your total TIR will depend upon your bearing choice. The ABEC-5 bearings will get you .0005" or better spindle TIR.

Simple Draw Tube - Your new headstock will come with a draw tube to pull the collet tight. A lever closer will be available in the future, but we don't have an estimated date on that yet.

Dual Bearing Front End - Larger stock and larger jaw chucks require a more robust bearing setup. This means you won't have to worry about what kind of weight or pressure you're putting on your headstock system. The bearings are 80mm OD x 50MM ID. Available in ABEC-5 and ABEC-7 precision grades.

Fits About Everything - The headstocks are a direct fit for Sherline products and we offer an adapter for Taig lathes. Because of the flanged sides, you can also easily adapt this to other lathes.

In A Nutshell..... Imagine turning your lathe into a commercial grade cutting machine...that in a nutshell is it. Your new headstock will solve many of those major limitations of your small lathe.

The 5C Small Lathe Headstock Everybody Has Been Waiting For!

Finally, a 5C jaw chuck ready headstock for all smaller lathes! Imagine upgrading your lathe to 5C and the capacity you'll now have. The GlockCNC 5C headstock has some impressive features you won't normally find on a small lathe headstock. It's build is far more robust than the Taig 5C and is threaded for jaw chucks. This is a commercial grade headstock and will be made from a solid chuck of 6061 Aluminum...no hobby grade parts or design here. Keep reading and watch the video for the full scoop.

GlockCNC 5C Headstock Options

Wide Bearing Variety - So here's the breakdown of choices:

ABEC-5 Sealed Deep Groove Come Standard, 8,000RPM

ABEC-5 Sealed Angular Contact Bearings, 15,000RPM

ABEC-7 Sealed Deep Groove For High Precision, Twice As Accurate As ABEC-5, 8,000RPM

ABEC-7 Sealed Angular Contact Bearing for High Precision & Speed, 15,000RPM

Ribbed Pulley - Currently, we only offer the ribbed pulley option. For Sherline users, we do recomend upgrading from the Sherline OEM motor. It's just a weak motor and you'll likely burn it out. For Taig lathe users, you may be able to use the OEM motor with the Sherline type 2 step pulley....however, keep in mind, that the Taig motor will be weak for this grade of headstock. We highly recommend the ribbed belt option and a motor upgrade if it's in your budget.

Taig Lathe Adapters - Currently, we offer an adapter for the gang tool and micro-lathe.

Chuck Plates & Risers - Chuck backplate and riser info and price will be made available closer to the headstock deliver date