The basic Sherline lathe, the Model 4000 (or 4100 with metric graduations) is supplied as standard with a motor and speed controller, faceplate, drive dog for between-centres work, two centres (No. 0 Morse for the tailstock) a single cutting tool for the tool post and a simple cross slide - although a swivelling top slide (compound) is now available as an accessory. A ring-scroll three jaw chuck would be first on anyone's options list and, at around £80, this unit has found favour with owners of older miniature machine tools, where the  non-availability of reasonably-priced self-centring chucks has been a problem for many years.
A pleasing feature of the lathe is the provision of crisply engraved micrometer dials, with inch or metric graduations and with the option of an adjustable "zeroing type" which can be locked and unlocked by a screw on the face of the handwheel. These dials are not of the quick-setting friction-held type (which can, in practice, unless well engineered, be difficult to set up properly) but positive-locking ones which require a deliberate action on the part of the operator to use correctly. If fitted with these dials from new the Models become the 4500 (inch) and 4530 (metric).
A long-bed version of the lathe admitting 17" between centres is also produced, and fitted as standard with some of the the more desirable extras - zeroing micrometer dials on the feedscrew and cross slide and a rocker type ("American" to British readers) adjustable-height toolpost in place of the standard unit.
One useful extra not included in the long-bed specification is the power feed attachment - a simple, constant-speed motor which drives the carriage under power from right to left at a steady 0.9" per minute. The unit is positioned to the left hand-side of the lathe and can be switched on and off electrically - or disengaged at any point in its travel by a mechanism included with the drive.
The newest Sherline lathes and millers incorporate two modifications:
       - the tailstock on the lathe is now locked to the bed by a screw, tightening vertically against an adjustable brass gib; this eliminates the tendency, caused by the split-base assembly used previously, for the tailstock spindle to be pulled out of alignment. The whole assembly is adjustable for wear - and the tailstock can also be removed for the fitting of a raiser block without having to remove the handwheel first.
       - the miller now features a simple rotating-locking lever that secures the Z-axis in a positive fashion without the need to find a wrench - it replaces a friction lock that previously tightened against the dovetail.
There are numerous third-party suppliers of CNC kits for Sherline lathes and millers, and the factory have recently introduced "CNC-ready" stepper-motor mounts to simplify installation of these fascinating toys.
Other computer controlled accessories are also in production - a self-contained CNC rotary indexer (P/N 8700) which can be used on millers of all sizes - with a linear version available to convert any of the lathe or miller feeds to a power drive.

Sectional view of the small but robust Sherline headstock and spindle assembly.

One of the more unusual accessories for the Sherline in the Screwcutting Attachment. The lowest speed on the lathe being too fast for generating threads, this simple but effective substitute has been designed to overcome the problem. In order to use it the motor is removed and replaced by a large handwheel and, whilst it would be difficult to manufacture a thread of any length in hard steel, for occasional use on brass or aluminium it appears to be a very satisfactory arrangement.
With the changewheels supplied 31 unified threads from 10 to 80 t.p.i and 28 metric threads from .25 to 2.0 mm can be generated in both left and right-hand forms.
The unit consists of fifteen changewheels, a mounting bracket, a dog-clutch arrangement to engage and disengage the drive (the operating handle for which can be seen on the front face of the unit, immediately below the headstock badge) and a handwheel. Fitted with this device both the inch and metric lathes can cut threads of the opposite persuasion.
Being able to drive the spindle by hand has certain advantages in other machining operations as well - and the use of the handwheel is not, therefore, confined to just screwcutting use.
The idea of a hand-powered spindle is not, of course, new and another lathe fitted with a similar mechanism was the little known Jason  - which was made in Norwich, England until the early 1970s.