Things That Drive Me Crazy

The end mill holder on the mill will not unscrew. I have had this problem before; I actually sold a manual Sherline mill last year because I could not remove the end mill holder. I have used as much force on the rods as my hands can supply; I have put some oil down the interior of the spindle; I have tapped the bottom of the holder with a brass hammer (end mill removed of course); I have used a hammer on one of the rods to try and break it free. One of the reasons I have bought non-Sherline end mill holders in the past is that they have a hex fitting allowing use of a wrench.

I have now removed the headstock from the mill, held it in a vise, and tried to tap the rods used for removing the mill holder.  No luck.  Tried it both CW and CCW.

ViseGrips are your friend.  Headstock in vise.  ViseGrip on mill holder.  Turn CCW as seen from bottom.  Problem solved; discarding all Sherline mill holders.  I wish that I had tried this with the manual mill I sold last year. 

Listed it on eBay.  Someone may want it.