Delta 46-700 lathe for bowl turning?
 

What is the general opinion on this lathe? Always dismissed it as to
light and not suitable for moderately serious bowl turning. But I found
a used one for $200. Maybe I should consider this? I have been holding
off hoping to find an old Rockwell/ Delta (commonly used in school
shops) model with plans of adding rises blocks.

Does the head pivot on these so it could be used for outboard turnings?

I owned a 46-700 and would not consider it for anything but miniture bowl turning and would not pay $200 for a new or used one. You would be better off with a jet mini.

Craig

www.arizonavintagetrailers.com


"Kudzu" wrote in message ...
What is the general opinion on this lathe? Always dismissed it as to
light and not suitable for moderately serious bowl turning. But I found
a used one for $200. Maybe I should consider this? I have been holding
off hoping to find an old Rockwell/ Delta (commonly used in school
shops) model with plans of adding rises blocks.

Does the head pivot on these so it could be used for outboard turnings?

If you remove the "plastic" headstock cover you will see the pathetic amount
of cast iron Delta used around the spindle bearings. One good catch and you
could crack the cast iron around the bearings. Delta should be embarrassed
for producing this lathe. The lathe is so light duty it makes the pivoting
headstock useless for outboard turning. The pivoting headstock is only good
for easier access to miniature turnings.This is just my opinion formed from
my personal experiences.


Craig

www.arizonavintagetrailers.com



"Kudzu" wrote in message
...
What is the general opinion on this lathe? Always dismissed it as to
light and not suitable for moderately serious bowl But I found a used one
for $200. Maybe I should consider this? I have been holding off hoping to
find an old Rockwell/ Delta (commonly used in school shops) model with
plans of adding rises blocks.

Does the head pivot on these so it could be used for outboard turnings?

Kudzu wrote:
What is the general opinion on this lathe? Always dismissed it as to
light and not suitable for moderately serious bowl turning. But I found
a used one for $200. Maybe I should consider this? I have been holding
off hoping to find an old Rockwell/ Delta (commonly used in school
shops) model with plans of adding rises blocks.

Does the head pivot on these so it could be used for outboard turnings?


I used one for my first 4 years in business. I did turn some fairly
sizeable bowls on it, but i think you would be doing yourself a favor by
limiting yourself to about 8 or 10 inch bowls, by maybe 4 deep. YMMV,
but the bearings and headstock spindle really aren't up to much beyond that.

The problem I had with the lathe was the reeves drive. The bronze
bushing that the pulley half slid on kept breaking.

For bowl turning, i found it best to remove the tailstock and slide the
toolrest and headstock up to the end of the bed.

--
Derek Andrews, woodturner

http://www.seafoamwoodturning.com
http://chipshop.blogspot.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/toolrest/

Your opinion is what I was asking for. :-) Humble or not.

Thinking about it last night I had about decided it was not what I was
looking for anyway. I REALLY want a Delta/Rockwell or Powermatic 90 of
something along those lines.

I owned a Delta 14/42, which I think is the next model up in the Delta
line. It was pretty bad, points did not lineup, lot of noise and vibration.

Buy a Jet

LB

Thanks guys! That is all I needed to know. I will keep looking!

I agree with what everyone else said about the 46-700. It's fine for
small projects - weed pots, spindles, boxes, etc. - but it really is kind
of just a big mini-lathe. I made a lot of bowls on mine, but beyond 8"
was not fun.

For "moderately serious" bowl turning you need beef and power. "Beef"
meaning a lot of cast iron, and "power" meaning 1.5 hp minimum, 2 hp is
better. You will often be frustrated with a 1 hp motor. Get a heavy
lathe and make it heavier yet with sandbags. Any lathe I have ever owned
has performed better when I got the total weight of lathe+bench+sand up to
around 1,000 pounds. It really does make a difference.

-mike paulson, fort collins, co


In article ,
Kudzu wrote:
What is the general opinion on this lathe? Always dismissed it as to
light and not suitable for moderately serious bowl turning. But I found
a used one for $200. Maybe I should consider this? I have been holding
off hoping to find an old Rockwell/ Delta (commonly used in school
shops) model with plans of adding rises blocks.

Does the head pivot on these so it could be used for outboard turnings?

I can't speak for the Delta 46-700, but a Jet Mini would be a very decent
starter lathe. You can be turning while you search for a larger lathe. I
bought one, although my wife tried to talk me up to the Jet 1242, which is
roughly a counterpart of the Delta, I believe. I think the Jet Mini is a
better lathe than either of the 1242's.

Barry


"Kudzu" wrote in message
...
What is the general opinion on this lathe? Always dismissed it as to
light and not suitable for moderately serious bowl turning. But I found
a used one for $200. Maybe I should consider this? I have been holding
off hoping to find an old Rockwell/ Delta (commonly used in school
shops) model with plans of adding rises blocks.

Does the head pivot on these so it could be used for outboard turnings?