Suggested price on a Delta 46-700 lathe
 

Found someone who's got one for sale; sounds like he's taken good care of
his equipment. For one of these in good shape, what sort of price would be
fair? I don't want to low-ball him on a price, but I have a reasonably
limited budget for toys right now, and wasn't really planning on buying a
lathe right now, but not many used ones show up around here.

FWIW, I'm up in Canada. I checked some of the sites I'm aware of to see
what the current retail is on it, but it doesn't seem to still be for sale.

Clint

Suggested price on a Delta 46-700 lathe
 

On Sat, 12 Aug 2006 01:57:27 GMT, "Clint" wrote:

Found someone who's got one for sale; sounds like he's taken good care of
his equipment. For one of these in good shape, what sort of price would be
fair? I don't want to low-ball him on a price, but I have a reasonably
limited budget for toys right now, and wasn't really planning on buying a
lathe right now, but not many used ones show up around here.

FWIW, I'm up in Canada. I checked some of the sites I'm aware of to see
what the current retail is on it, but it doesn't seem to still be for sale.

It's been supplanted by, I believe, the 46-715. When it was still
available, I think it was around 600USD or so--make the appropriate
conversion for canuckistani dolers.

About a year ago I happened on one (with the stand, which makes it a
46-701) being sold used from the classroom at a nearby Woodcraft. They
had a price tag of $250 on it. I didn't argue.

An epilogue to that story is that it was missing a manual (easily
obtained from Delta), a live center (had one on my Jet Mini which
works nicely), tommy bar, and the face plate (similarly, the ones from
the Jet fit fine). Not three days after coming home, a wrecker posted
a for sale for some Delta lathe parts. He lives halfway to the
Woodcraft store. He wanted $15 for the lot. It was as if someone had
given him the exact parts that were missing from mine. And I made a
new friend (hi, Jim--long time no hear).

$250 seemed to me a real fair price then and still does (with the
aforementioned conversion). The lathe is perfect for my intended uses.
I will never be a turner that needs a Powermatic, One-Way, Stubby, or
the like. It's principal limitation (which is anecdotal--I haven't
experienced it yet) is that the Reeves drive doesn't transmit torque
well at low speed.

If you do get it, let me give you a hint for working protocol. You're
not supposed to change speeds without the motor on. Therefore, get in
the habit of turning the speed down every time before you turn it off.
I have twice already found that I had left the control up at sanding
speed, turned the lathe off, then chucked up a big 'ol, out of balance
slab of bowl stock, and reached for the switch. Thankfully, I thought
about it each time before I turned it on. Could be nasty.

That doesn't make the lathe unsatisfactory. It's a feature.

--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.

Suggested price on a Delta 46-700 lathe
 

It's principal limitation (which is anecdotal--I haven't
experienced it yet) is that the Reeves drive doesn't transmit torque
well at low speed.

You'll have to define what you mean by the above, it is a constant
horse power device.

If you do get it, let me give you a hint for working protocol. You're
not supposed to change speeds without the motor on. Therefore, get in
the habit of turning the speed down every time before you turn it off.

A "Reeves" type drive should be running when you change speeds to
minimize wear on the belt and the sheaves.

You also don't want to leave the drive in one position because you
will tend to wear a groove in the sheaves at one place which makes a
smooth change of speed very difficult.

Lew

Suggested price on a Delta 46-700 lathe
 

On Sat, 12 Aug 2006 03:55:50 GMT, Lew Hodgett
wrote:


It's principal limitation (which is anecdotal--I haven't
experienced it yet) is that the Reeves drive doesn't transmit torque
well at low speed.

You'll have to define what you mean by the above, it is a constant
horse power device.

Well, it happened on my drill press once when I first got it. I was
turning a good sized Forstner bit at a fairly low (what I thought was
conservative) speed and the bit would stop. The motor kept running,
but the shaft/chuck/bit assembly stopped. Constant horsepower it may
have, but the system depends on friction to work, and the low
speed/high torque demand seems to have exceeded the coefficient of
friction.

Anyway, the anecdotal evidence I had was not that, but what someone
posted either on the wreck or on r.c.w. as a limitation of the -700
around the time I first posted my gloat about it (as I recall).

If you do get it, let me give you a hint for working protocol. You're
not supposed to change speeds without the motor on. Therefore, get in
the habit of turning the speed down every time before you turn it off.

A "Reeves" type drive should be running when you change speeds to
minimize wear on the belt and the sheaves.

I said that: "you're not supposed to change speeds without the motor
on." My point was that if you turned the motor off when the speed was
set high and then chucked up something that needs to be turned slow,
you'll have to unchuck, turn the lathe on, reset the speed, and then
rechuck the blank. Do not turn the thing on with big ugly,
out-of-balance work and the speed set on high.

You also don't want to leave the drive in one position because you
will tend to wear a groove in the sheaves at one place which makes a
smooth change of speed very difficult.

Are you saying always turn it off at a different speed than before?

--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.

Suggested price on a Delta 46-700 lathe
 

LRod wrote:

Are you saying always turn it off at a different speed than before?

What I'm really trying to convey is that you don't want to "set it and
forget it" for extended periods of time.

I had a customer once who used a Reeves drive on a mixer.

Tended to operate at the same speed for weeks at a time.

Eventually he would wear a groove in the sheave faces.

It was time for a rebuild.

By varying the speed setting, even a little bit, you spread the wear
and tear over a larger area, thus no sudden speed change surprises.

Lew

Suggested price on a Delta 46-700 lathe
 

Clint wrote:

FWIW, I'm up in Canada

Me too!

Where are you? I have one, mint, never used, well I did turn it on a few
times, on the stand. I think it is a 701c.

After I got it Delta came out with the big steel one and I bought it!

Delta in Guelph was selling one for 600 or 650 at the time. I asked a
few people for 450 and only got shamefully lowballed so I said no.
But I could let it go a bit lower.

John

Suggested price on a Delta 46-700 lathe
 

I'm out west, in Alberta. I appreciate the input, though.

Clint

"Eddie Munster" wrote in message
...


Clint wrote:

FWIW, I'm up in Canada

Me too!

Where are you? I have one, mint, never used, well I did turn it on a few
times, on the stand. I think it is a 701c.

After I got it Delta came out with the big steel one and I bought it!

Delta in Guelph was selling one for 600 or 650 at the time. I asked a few
people for 450 and only got shamefully lowballed so I said no.
But I could let it go a bit lower.

John

Suggested price on a Delta 46-700 lathe
 

By "real fair", do you mean widder-woman fair, or fair for both parties? I
don't want to insult the guy by low-balling him on the price; he's getting
out of the hobby for reasons I'm grateful I don't have to deal with.

Clint

"LRod" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 12 Aug 2006 01:57:27 GMT, "Clint" wrote:

Found someone who's got one for sale; sounds like he's taken good care of
his equipment. For one of these in good shape, what sort of price would
be
fair? I don't want to low-ball him on a price, but I have a reasonably
limited budget for toys right now, and wasn't really planning on buying a
lathe right now, but not many used ones show up around here.

FWIW, I'm up in Canada. I checked some of the sites I'm aware of to see
what the current retail is on it, but it doesn't seem to still be for
sale.

It's been supplanted by, I believe, the 46-715. When it was still
available, I think it was around 600USD or so--make the appropriate
conversion for canuckistani dolers.

About a year ago I happened on one (with the stand, which makes it a
46-701) being sold used from the classroom at a nearby Woodcraft. They
had a price tag of $250 on it. I didn't argue.

An epilogue to that story is that it was missing a manual (easily
obtained from Delta), a live center (had one on my Jet Mini which
works nicely), tommy bar, and the face plate (similarly, the ones from
the Jet fit fine). Not three days after coming home, a wrecker posted
a for sale for some Delta lathe parts. He lives halfway to the
Woodcraft store. He wanted $15 for the lot. It was as if someone had
given him the exact parts that were missing from mine. And I made a
new friend (hi, Jim--long time no hear).

$250 seemed to me a real fair price then and still does (with the
aforementioned conversion). The lathe is perfect for my intended uses.
I will never be a turner that needs a Powermatic, One-Way, Stubby, or
the like. It's principal limitation (which is anecdotal--I haven't
experienced it yet) is that the Reeves drive doesn't transmit torque
well at low speed.

If you do get it, let me give you a hint for working protocol. You're
not supposed to change speeds without the motor on. Therefore, get in
the habit of turning the speed down every time before you turn it off.
I have twice already found that I had left the control up at sanding
speed, turned the lathe off, then chucked up a big 'ol, out of balance
slab of bowl stock, and reached for the switch. Thankfully, I thought
about it each time before I turned it on. Could be nasty.

That doesn't make the lathe unsatisfactory. It's a feature.

--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.

Suggested price on a Delta 46-700 lathe
 

Thanks for your input, both of you.

Clint

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
nk.net...
LRod wrote:

Are you saying always turn it off at a different speed than before?

What I'm really trying to convey is that you don't want to "set it and
forget it" for extended periods of time.

I had a customer once who used a Reeves drive on a mixer.

Tended to operate at the same speed for weeks at a time.

Eventually he would wear a groove in the sheave faces.

It was time for a rebuild.

By varying the speed setting, even a little bit, you spread the wear and
tear over a larger area, thus no sudden speed change surprises.

Lew

Suggested price on a Delta 46-700 lathe
 

I had a 46-700 once. I believe they were retailing for about $600 US
before being disontinued. Since it is an obsolete model now and the new
version is considerably improved, I wouldn't pay more than $200 - $250 US
for one even if it was new in the box.

-mike paulson, fort collins, co

Suggested price on a Delta 46-700 lathe
 

Mike Paulson wrote:
I suspect the wear you mention was caused by grit from the mixer
getting
on the belt. That's just a guess, but I have owned a couple reeves
drive
lathes, know others who have them as well, and have been a part of
this
newsgroup since day one, and I have never heard of the wear you
mention on
a reeves drive on a wood lathe. That doesn't mean it couldn't
happen, I
suppose, but I think it would be an extremely rare occurrence.

The wear is inherit to the drive; however, doubt the members of this
list are using them in a production application, 8-10 hours per day,
5-6 days per week.

Makes a big difference.

Lew

Suggested price on a Delta 46-700 lathe
 

On Sat, 12 Aug 2006 16:12:42 GMT, "Clint" wrote:

I went back and rechecked my original data. The market price was a
little less than $600, but with the stand and tools, certainly $500.
By generally accepted standards, the price I got it for being less
than 50%, it was certainly fair to me. I also don't believe you're
into widder-woman territory until that particular transaction gets
into double figures.

I am by no means a good one to ask, as I, too, don't want to insult
someone by making a lowball offer. On the other hand, given the
givens, if the guy did feel insulted by a $250 offer then he's
probably too personally invested in the machinery and situation to be
able to judge rationally. That, then, isn't your fault.

By the same token, the lathe is another year out of production and
away from new, so even though it's "indestructible" cast iron (as
opposed to Detroit tin), you still might go lower with a clear
conscience. Only you can judge the circumstances.

So, the short answer is, I feel $250 was fair all around.

By "real fair", do you mean widder-woman fair, or fair for both parties? I
don't want to insult the guy by low-balling him on the price; he's getting
out of the hobby for reasons I'm grateful I don't have to deal with.

[self-snippage]

$250 seemed to me a real fair price then and still does (with the
aforementioned conversion).


--
LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

http://www.woodbutcher.net

Proud participant of rec.woodworking since February, 1997

email addy de-spam-ified due to 1,000 spams per month.
If you can't figure out how to use it, I probably wouldn't
care to correspond with you anyway.

Suggested price on a Delta 46-700 lathe
 

You shouldn't have any problems with it. Yes, it would be a rare occurrence.
Lots of industrial milling machines have this type drive and don't have any
problems. It would be the rare hobbyist (pretty well non existent) that
would ever run their machine that hard or that long.

"Mike Paulson" wrote in message
...
I suspect the wear you mention was caused by grit from the mixer getting
on the belt. That's just a guess, but I have owned a couple reeves drive
lathes, know others who have them as well, and have been a part of this
newsgroup since day one, and I have never heard of the wear you mention on
a reeves drive on a wood lathe. That doesn't mean it couldn't happen, I
suppose, but I think it would be an extremely rare occurrence.

-mike paulson, fort collins, co

Suggested price on a Delta 46-700 lathe
 

On Sat, 12 Aug 2006 01:57:27 GMT, "Clint" wrote:

Found someone who's got one for sale; sounds like he's taken good care of
his equipment. For one of these in good shape, what sort of price would be
fair? I don't want to low-ball him on a price, but I have a reasonably
limited budget for toys right now, and wasn't really planning on buying a
lathe right now, but not many used ones show up around here.

FWIW, I'm up in Canada. I checked some of the sites I'm aware of to see
what the current retail is on it, but it doesn't seem to still be for sale.

That the 12" gap bed type with enclosed cabinet? I paid $675 for one
used with a new link belt, and it seems like a fair price. I had a
kind of limited budget as well, but the guy I bought it from was good
enough to hold it for me for a few weeks while I finished a contract.

Suggested price on a Delta 46-700 lathe
 

On Sat, 12 Aug 2006 04:40:17 +0100, LRod
wrote:

Whoops- I thought the model # sounded familar, but I looked it up, and
you can disregard my previous post.

I don't think I'd go over $200-250 for that, myself.