What about these two lathes?

[Jack Gaskins]

Either a the new Delta 46-460 VS OR a Nova 1624-44? I have the cash to get the new Delta but would a next step up in size give me more options? I have read really great things about both lathes. The Delta would probably do all I need it to do but then again the Nova gives me that option to go a little large if needed and the headstock swings out :confused::confused::confused:.

[Brian Novotny]

unless space or frequent moving is an issue I would go with the nova.....only downside about outboard turning is buying the outboard rigger, but you're still coming out ahead with the inboard capacity of the nova.....I've only seen it advertised in the UK, but teknatools website says that some dealers carry the 1642 with vs.....I'm not sure if that's just abroad though.

[Michael Mills]

I have had no experience with the Delta so on that I will be mute. I have had a Nova 16-24 for about a year and love it. I did buy the outboard rigger but have not used it. I would suggest putting the outrigger off unless you have an immediate need (16" is pretty darn big). However, I do use the swivel on almost every bowl. I only turn it out 22.5 but that gives a lot more room to work from. Please consider I am a rookie, my old lathe was an 80’s Jet tube lathe.
I guess the Delta VS is variable speed. My nova has the 8 speed belt but I don’t think I have ever changed it more than 3 speeds for any turning. The Nova is offered in variable speed but for a grand $…not. Takes me about 2 minutes to change the belt speed, I guess I must be slow. . they say 20 seconds.
Mike

[Scott Conners]

Personally, I'm looking at the 1624-44 very hard. It's definitely the best value in f"ull size" (16"+) lathes out there right now in my opinion. I can afford to buy it now and turn with belt changes until I can afford to add a new 3 phase motor (I can upgrade to a bigger motor if I feel the need) and VFD, which will give me full EVS for <$500 more.
I hear the delta is a very nice lathe, but I definitely think a full size lathe is a more versatile tool, especially since the Nova can do 29" outboard with the head swiveled.

[alex carey]

OOPS, you said the new delta, my bad, haven't used it.

[Steve Kubien]

I have the Nova you speak of and that is where I would go looking at the two lathes. I have never used a VS lathe but I have used light lathes and heavy lathes. I have used low power and higher power lathes. I like heavy and more power. You will enjoy turning a 6" bowl on the larger lathe more than you will on the smaller one. Go with the Nova.

[Steve Harder]

While I'm new to my Nova 1624 it certainly is a great performer so far. I hung a ballast box with 300# of weight about 6" below the bed and it's rocksolid. I have it up on 4x4 feet (I'm tall so needed the increase) that shim it up off casters. So it can be moved to the side in my small shop when I need to. And several folks have converted to VS for $300 with 3rd party motor and VFD.

The only downside is you just missed a sale with 1624, bed extension and SuperNova chuck for $999.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Jack I have the Nova DVR but have turned on both the Nova 1624 and the Delta 46-460 VS. Both are fine lathes. If you could afford just one lathe I would go for the Nova and skip the outboard rigger. The bed extension would be nice if you can swing it especially when using HF hollowing tools. I bought the bed extension and the outboard rigger when I bought mine. I have used the rigger once in 2 yrs. Both pieces are still sitting as I have found anything bigger than 16" around here just doesn't sell. I have tried to sell the outrigger twice now with no takers. So it sits and collects dust.

[Christopher Fletcher]

Food for thought:
Amazon has the Laguna 16/43 on sale for right now with a sliding / swiveling Headstock, 1.5 HP motor, and runs on 110V.

[Jack Gaskins]

Food for thought:
Amazon has the Laguna 16/43 on sale for right now with a sliding / swiveling Headstock, 1.5 HP motor, and runs on 110V.

Well I would consider Laguna but everything I have read about their lathes has all been negative and i have been through 2 bad Jet 1220 lathes and all I need is another possible lemon. I dont think I will try Laguna until I see more positive comments about their lathes.

[Christopher Fletcher]

Good to know. I hadn't read anything on their lathes either way but thought the specs for the price were comparable to the Jet and Nova's.

[Mark Hochstein]

Jack, I've been looking at the same two lathes. I got my first hands on with the new Delta 46-460 today and realized that even though it has electronic variable speed, it's not completely electronic like the Nova DVR, you still have to swap the belt over. There are three pully's. So the motor has electronic variable speed but only within a small range so they make you switch pully's to get the full range of speeds. For me, that was a deal breaker. If I've got to switch pully's then I'm going with the Nova 1624-44. I played with it too and it seems like a really nice machine. FWIW, the Delta was beautiful, but the increased capacity, horsepower and swiveling headstock are too much to give up for 5 less pully's. The Nova is on Sale right now at WC. The Nova with bed extension & handwheel is $1148. The Delta with stand, bed ext & stand ext is $980 - $172 difference.

Cheers,
Mark

[David Walser]

J...I got my first hands on with the new Delta 46-460 today and realized that even though it has electronic variable speed, it's not completely electronic like the Nova DVR, you still have to swap the belt over. There are three pully's. So the motor has electronic variable speed but only within a small range so they make you switch pully's to get the full range of speeds. ...

Allow me to offer a different perspective. Yes, the Delta has three pulleys. However, each pulley allows you to turn from very low rpms to the upper end of the pulley's speed range. As a practical matter, most turners will leave the pulley alone once starting a project. Turning a small spindle? Set the pulley on high and leave it there. Turning a large bowl? Use the low end pulley and leave it there. Etc.

Why have more than one pulley? Consider it like having a low range and a high range on a 4x4. You don't switch from low to high on such a 4x4 every time the truck goes above 30 mph. Instead, for most of the time the truck's left in it's high range. Yet, for somethings, that low range can come in quite handy. It allows the engine to send a lot of torque to the wheels at a very slow speed, which can be useful off-road.

So, too, with different pulley ranges in combination with a VFD. The "big boy" Powermatic 3520b has two pulley ranges. It's not because the high end pulley won't allow you to spin a blank at 50 rpm. It's because the low end pulley allows you to turn a blank at low rpms more efficiently than the high speed pulley allows.

[Gary Max]

Buy the new Delta-----look at the warranty-----they have parts and service.
I have one on my Christmas list-------hope Santa reads it.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Good to know. I hadn't read anything on their lathes either way but thought the specs for the price were comparable to the Jet and Nova's.

Christopher, the Laguna's lowest speed is 600 RPM vs. the Nova's is 215 RPM. That alone makes the two lathes worlds apart in their capabilities. I don't know why Laguna even makes a lathe with a 16" swing when they have such a high minimum RPM.

[Dick Strauss]

The Nova 1624 looks to be the best in class in its price range!

The only nit to pick for the Nova 1624 is that the speed steps are 214, 360, 690, 1030, 1450, 2180, 2900, 3630 rpms on the 60hz models. I think they need to sacrifice one of the top two speeds and add one in the 500 rpms range to fill in the gap between the 360 and 690 speeds. Almost doubling the speed with a large piece mounted is a big jump and it makes no sense to me. 500 rpms is the coring speed many recommend as well IIRC.

Nova owners,
Do you find this speed jump causes any issues when you are turning???:confused:

[Gordon Seto]

Good to know. I hadn't read anything on their lathes either way but thought the specs for the price were comparable to the Jet and Nova's.
Do a Google search on "Laguna lathe reviews". After you pass the first few sponsored threads, you will find a lot of comments, including SawMillCreek. Some are very long.
I won't buy any lathe based on specs. They won't tell the fit and finish, how steady it runs, what kind of service, resale value I can expect.
The Nova 1624 is not a perfect lathe, but IMO it is the best value in the sub $1K entry level full size lathe.