Sherline Tools, a USA manufacturer known for precision lathes, mills, micro-machining accessories, and more recently small CNC machines, has announced that they are “winding down manufacturing operations.”
Following are some highlights from Sherline’s recent message to their customers.
Sherline Products, Inc. has begun the process of winding down manufacturing operations
When we took over the company in 2017… we invested in new products and designs, modernized our computer systems and manufacturing processes
Unfortunately, the manufacturing environment has changed dramatically. The effects of COVID, increasing manufacturing and operating costs, and significant changes in consumer purchasing habits have made it increasingly difficult for a small American manufacturer such as Sherline to maintain the workforce and production levels necessary to remain competitive.
we have reached the very difficult conclusion that continuing manufacturing operations is no longer sustainable
We plan to continue building and selling machines, tooling, accessories, and replacement parts to the extent our remaining equipment, materials, staffing, and inventory allow through the end of October [2026].
Some manufacturing operations, particularly those requiring our larger production equipment, will necessarily end sooner
some products may become unavailable before others
We plan to maintain an online presence and make replacement parts available as inventory permits. We will also continue to address warranty issues in accordance with our warranty obligations.
Sherline emphasizes that they won’t simply disappear or leave customers without support. They also say they will maintain their archive of technical and educational information and resources.
They also mention saying goodbye to employees.
Production is coming to a halt. Equipment is being “removed from service,” which sounds a lot like a liquidation sale. It seems Sherline is effectively shutting everything down and is likely closing the doors.
Update: one of the owners posted to a Facebook group page, saying:
We are not sure of the actual final day, but it would suffice to say that by the end of the year at the latest, Sherline will no longer be in business.
Such sad news for a storied USA micro-machining brand.
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13 Comments
- Joe Martin will be rolling over in his grave:
https://www.sherline.com/joe-martin-in-memoriam/
- What a sad and surprising moment. I have long had one of their miniature lathes and a miniature mill. Beautiful little pieces of equipment.
If I had a to guess it is the newer generations of CNC desktop mills that wiped Sherline out; they had some CNC integration with their mills but it wasn’t very modern.
- According to the owner’s posting on Facebook, there simply wasn’t enough money being made. They targeted specific needs with new products, and each category saw small growth that together wasn’t bringing in enough money.
The market for their types of products has grown too small.
Reply 3. There’s a huge market for small machines. They failed to innovate.
- This is a huge bummer. I have much of their traditional catalog and use the lathe regularly. Agree on not innovating – their CNC tools were not competitive.
- It’s always sad to see an American manufacturer close their doors, but I can’t say that I am surprised.
Sherline is in a difficult spot: Asian imports undercut them on price and there are now the various different desktop CNCs like jack brown mentioned. I think that the average hobbyist would be more drawn to machines like that. I’m also sure that 3D printers and desktop lasers cut into the market share as well even though they are not exactly the same tools.
There is always a need for small but precise machine tools for certain industrial/professional applications, but Sherline never had that market: their tools are too lightly built and have minimal features, any machine shop that wanted to make tiny precision parts considered the Sherline a toy and instead had something like a Hardinge HLV, Emco, or a Monarch 10EE if they wanted a manual machine, or Citizen (yes, the watch company!), Brother (the printer/fax company!), or Tsugami if they needed CNC.
- In their Facebook post, the owner laments that Sherline fell behind in search rankings behind cheap import machines. But what did they do to change this? What did they do to spark conversations?
They failed to innovate, and failed to do much on the marketing or communications front. I know it’s difficult to do that when a company is bleeding cash. Maybe trying to innovate or adapt would have hastened the company’s drain and demise.
I wonder how Taig Tools is doing, and how this news will impact or steer them.
- I’m not really sure what they could have done. If they added features that professional users expect they have now priced themselves out of the hobby market.
They could have done a better job with their CNC versions, but there’s no way they’d be able to compete on price with Asian imports.
They could have diversified into other “maker” tools like 3D printers but then they’d still be facing competition from cheap imports.
One thing that could have worked is trying to focus on pushing the Education angle. Small machines like that are ideal for STEM education. They’re cheap enough that a school could buy many of them. The low power and lack of automatic feed makes them safer than full-size machines. It probably wouldn’t be hard to convince American schools to buy from an American company who can offer local support, spare parts, etc even if cheaper imports exist. But, let’s say they chose to invest in that several years ago–even if initially successful, COVID-related school closures could easily have wrecked that plan.
- There is a lot they could have done with respect to product explorations, but very little without considerable investment.
There is also much they could have done to spark interest and conversations, but it’s too late now.
- Aren’t the cooltools folks pushing the educational (and also toy) angle hard?
Reply 6. I am amazed that today, the Covid excuse is still being used. But having said that, I would think (but dont know for fact) the market for small scale machines and tooling is growing.
- The 2 year mark is usually the time allotted to a business as having made it. For every single business that makes it, I do not have statistics to what the exact amount is, but be it 20, 50, or over 100 businesses do not make it.
I do not want to get political, but a couple above mentioned being undercut but cheap Asian imports. With all the tariffs being levied about, wasn’t there one to help a business like Sherline from being undercut. They could have had time and money to adapt and adopt what others above say were their shortcomings.
In the end, I am always saddened by a company that goes under. I almost bought a Sherline mini milling machine, but in the end I went with something more regular sized.
- I was lucky enough to find a pair of Sherline (branded Craftsman) machines at a used tool dealer back in the mid-80’s. Not only did I get the lathe, but also a milling machine, lots of tooling and even a spare mill column for a great price. I’ve used them since with no problems. If I had a question I could call the factory and get support right away.
Their announcement makes me a bit sad.
I hope the Museum of Craftsmanship in Carlsbad remains open (it’s near the factory, and is associated with it, but I don’t know if the funding is separate) . I stop there if I’m in the area, and it’s a wonderful place for anyone interested in everything from dollhouses to Gerald Wingrove style hand made scale cars, models ships, airplanes, cars, guns -well, you get the picture.
https://craftsmanshipmuseum.com/
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