Delta 46-700 Lathe

Rich the one I have seen had lots of problems with the reeves drive. A friend of mine had one, sold it after a year and bought a Jet 1642 1.5 hp. He had nothing but problems with it from about the first month. He fixed it more than he turned on it. Like I say that is the only one I have seen. I would look at the new Delta 46-460 VS. Nice lathe and solid.
 
Hello Rich,

I have one of these. It works well for me. I use it mostly as a utility tool turning pieces for repair and replacement (handles, knobs, spindles, cups).

I ended up with it after some equipment horsetrading. I took the legs off, mounted it on a piece of ply and clamp it on my bench as needed. It weighs about 100 pounds without the legs and it lives underneath my bench when not in use.

I have never had any problems with it. It has MT2 tapers at both ends and a 1"x8 spindle, so very easy to get accessories and migrate them to a new lathe.

If I hadn't gotten it as part of another deal I would take caution of its inherent shortcomings.
1. lightweight stand
2. not a low enough slow speed for large diameter pieces
3. a little underpowered for heavy pieces​

If you can buy it in great condition for less than $200 and take care of it. I am sure you will get your money back if you decide to sell it and upgrade at a later time.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
 
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Thanks for the input. I found one for about $400 with tools, but I haven't been able to find reviews of it. There was info about the weight and that had me concerned.

Roger, I considered doing that conversion. An ABB inverter drive through our supplier is about $175 for up to a 2 hp motor and put on a three phase motor. Glad to hear from someone who has sucessfuly done this type of conversion. Did you keep the Reeves drive or did you put on a different set of sheaves and belt?

If I found a Jet 1442 used, I would definitely do this conversion. I am still considering the Delta.
 
I don't think this is the machine to juice up. I forgot to mention in my previous post that the headstock is a pretty light casting concealed in plastic.

It would be a good value for less than $200 just as is. But not really a great machine.
 
If I found a Jet 1442 used, I would definitely do this conversion. I am still considering the Delta.

I have a Jet 1442... have wondered if it could be converted... don't know that I will but good to know it can be. Right now I think my Reeves is out of alignment... the 450 rpm bottom speed seems faster than the 500 rpm bottom speed on my Jet 1014. Also, I just bought new belts to change the original belt... it's getting pretty frayed and I expect it to part anytime, so as soon as it warms up a little, I'll change it out before it does break.
 
I have a Jet 1442... have wondered if it could be converted... don't know that I will but good to know it can be. .

Being a mechanical engineer and having looked at these lathes, I think it can be done. It wont be real cheap, but if it is a good lathe to start with, it would probably be worth the money. I really think it could be done for less than $400 with a new belt and sheaves. I would have to look at it in detail.
 
I got rid of the reeves drive. You may want to look at "Automationdirect.com" for competitive pricing on the inverter. I noticed their prices have dropped since I purchased mine. Good luck and happy holidays.
 
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