Here's a post from the owners
Sherline User Group and Customers,
I check your Facebook page often. Mostly to see what you are making with our machines. I also check it for feedback about our machines. I do not reply to any of the posts for various reasons, but primarily because I already spend a lot of time doing customer support via phone and email. I am replying to this post to relay accurate information about Sherline Products, from Sherline Products. The information that I will relay to you should cover any questions or concerns that you have. I will not be replying to any questions on this post. If you still have questions or concerns that are not answered, call (760-727-5857) or email us at Sherline@
sherline.com.
In 2017 after Joe Martin died, Charla Papp and I bought Sherline Products. Charla and I have both been working here for almost 50 years. Charla takes care of finance and assembly, and I take care of manufacturing and product design. Two of the major reasons for our purchase were 1. The continued support to 40+ years of customers at that time. 2. The continued support and employment of our employees (several of whom have been working at Sherline for 30+ years)
Since 2017, we have made many improvements to our machines and increased our accessory line. With the exception of our Accu-Pro line of machines with the MASSO Touch control, all of the machine upgrades have always been designed to be reverse compatible with all of our older machines (with very few exceptions).
We have made and marketed our machines and accessories to cater to many different groups, trades, and fields. First and foremost, hobbyists. Later, clock and watch makers, pen makers, body piercing, laser engraving, pool cue makers, the education field, robotics, industrial machines, custom machines, and most recently the gem and jeweler field.
We have designed accessories and custom machines to convert our machines into cam grinders, 3D printers, and laser engraving. We designed a pneumatic bar feeder system for our CNC Chucker Lathe.
Individually, none of these markets or accessories have produced enough income to sustain our company. All of them combined, still not enough.
Our custom machines are used by medical and engineering customers to make catheters, for dual-head laser welding and cnc wrapping and winding machines, second operation machines, Individual components in their machines, etc..
We sell individual components to customers to use as parts of their machines such as our motor and speed control, our cnc rotary table (as a 4th axis), our ball screw column, custom WW collets, and our one- and two-axis slides.
The custom machine and individual components market are two that we had great hopes for. These markets are growing, but not fast enough to save us.
There are entire companies whose business is, or was, making accessories for our machines. Glock CNC headstocks (shows sold out of every headstock), A2Z (out of business), Taig uses our rotary table, and Tryally Tech (who you all know, and we respect the quality of his products).
There were business decisions that were made before 2017 and since 2017 that have had positive and negative effects on our business. One of the pre 2017 decisions was to remain in California, which is not a manufacturing-friendly state. However, the time and ability to move out of state were prior to 2017.
We bought Sherline when it was in the red, hoping that we could turn it around.
We invested a lot of money into marketing over the last two years, which probably would have shown better results if our economy (and the world economy) were in a better place than they are. To add to this, the price of everything is increasing, and there are no signs of it getting better any time soon.
Then there is the competition, both direct and indirect. The largest indirect competition is 3D printers. You can print almost anything. You don’t have to learn a trade, just the software. The direct competition comes from other manual and cnc machines like ours. When we started, Unimate was the only real competition. Now there are many competing machines on the market. The biggest competition is the Chinese imports. These Chinese machines also show up more in web searches and any search similar to “best tabletop lathe or mill”. Sherline doesn’t show up in any of these comparative searches, only Chinese machines.
Next is the direction that world manufacturers have taken, and the world's consumers have accepted. This is the “disposable world”. Whether it is parts in your car or an entire machine. You throw away the bad part or machine, and buy a new one. You can’t fix a bad water pump in your car. The housing is plastic and warped, and internal parts are not available. You buy a new plastic housing water pump. A part on your coffee grinder breaks. If the part is even available, it costs almost as much as a new coffee grinder. Throw it out, and buy a new one. The manufacturers make parts and machines for as little as possible, sell them for a good profit, then sell you another new one when it breaks. Our machines are not disposable; they are built to last. But in a disposable world, a lower price has a higher value to the average consumer than longevity and quality.
Our biggest seller since January 2026 has been our original 8” manual lathes.
Regardless of everything stated above, we are not generating enough sales.
We have endured several hard economic times over the years. The Great Recession of 2007 – 2009, COVID in 2020, and the recent 2022-2024 global supply chain crunch are major ones. Because of this, we never give up, and until now we have prevailed and stayed in business. But the world is changing fast, and we are now admitting for the first time in over fifty years that we will not prevail this time. Therefore, at this time we are letting you know that we are going out of business.
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.
We completely understand our customers' concerns, particularly if you have recently purchased a Sherline machine or are considering purchasing one.
While Sherline is winding down manufacturing operations, we are not simply closing the doors and walking away from the products and customers we have supported for more than 52 years.
One of the things we are most proud of is the longevity of Sherline equipment. Our machines were designed to be maintained, repaired, and used for decades—not replaced every few years. We regularly hear from customers who are still using Sherline machines purchased many years ago, and in some cases, machines that have been passed from one generation to another.
We plan to continue making replacement parts available as inventory permits, and we will continue to address our warranty obligations. Our website also contains an extensive library of technical information, instructions, troubleshooting resources, and how-to videos that will remain an important resource for Sherline owners.
We are also actively exploring opportunities for the future of Sherline's intellectual property, designs, product knowledge, and related assets. Our hope is that there will be an opportunity for Sherline products, parts, tooling, or support to continue in some form well into the future. Because those discussions and possibilities are still developing, however, we don't want to make promises today that are beyond our control.
For those asking, “Why should I purchase a Sherline machine now?” we can only answer that the same way we would have before this announcement:
Because it is still a Sherline!
The quality of the machine has not changed because our circumstances have changed. The people building it today are the same skilled people who built Sherline's reputation, and we are not lowering our standards as we wind down production. We intend to continue building and shipping the best products we can for as long as our equipment, materials, staffing, and inventory allow.
We understand that some customers may decide they are uncomfortable purchasing during this transition, and we respect that decision. But we also don't want our announcement to create the impression that a Sherline machine suddenly has a limited useful life. Quite the opposite—longevity and serviceability have always been among the greatest strengths of our products.
After more than 52 years, we are enormously grateful for the trust our customers have placed in the Sherline name. We intend to handle these final months, and our responsibilities to our customers afterward, with the same integrity with which we have tried to operate the company all along.
Thank you for your understanding and for your support of Sherline.
Sincerely,
Charla Papp and Karl Rohlin (Owners)
www.sherline.com
