Delta 46-460

[Jim Colombo]

Has anyone tried to turn a 6x12 bowl on a Delta 46-460? The second one i tried ended up making the lathe go out of round (they don't know if it's the spindle or bearing).
The repairman at the authorized Delta store said that was too much weight and the machine wasn't designed for it.
Any thoughts out there?

[brian platt]

Jim,
I just bought this lathe so I can't comment too much. Was the wood wet or dry? A wet blank that size might be a bit heavy. What type of speed were you turning it at? You might also post this in the turners section, quite a few users of the delta lathe there.
Brian

[Bill Blasic]

Jim,
I would have no qualms running a piece that size on my 46-460. As long as it was fairly balanced and the tail stock was positioned correctly I would envision no problems.
Bill

[Jim Colombo]

Brian,
Wet wood. Started off around 300 and finished the first one around 500. The second one wobbled so much I could hardly get up to 200.

Jim

[Jim Colombo]

Bill,
That's what I thought also. The piece was never turning without the tailstock in place.

Jim

[Jeff Nicol]

I have found that when you tell the repair guy what really happened they will always find a way to make it your fault! I have turned large pieces on my 46-460 without any trouble. But like everything being as diligent as you can to get the blank as round and balanced as you can before turning up the speed on the lathe will save you any heart ache. Also make sure it is on a good stable bench or stand that will transfer the vibrations to the ground or ballast box. It is sort of like putting a 300HP motor in a civic and trying to pull a horse trailer that weighs 15,000lbs. The power is there but the weight is not.

Hope they fixed it for you without incident,

Jeff

[Frank Drew]

Jim,

Do you mean that the lathe is now deformed, presumably from the weight of your bowl blank?? :eek:

If so, then that's a seriously underbuilt machine. I had an older Delta, Model 1460 (46-305), that I packed up to be able to turn almost 19" inboard. Truing up a wet, heavy, out-of-round blank could be an adventure until I'd evened it out a bit, but I never felt that I was stressing the machine itself. I did have the lathe weighted down with bags of concrete mix, and the legs sat on rubber machine pads.

If you're going to keep the machine, maybe try truing up your blanks on the band saw more nearly round, and fasten them securely to a face plate for starters.

[You might consider cross-posting this in the turning forum for more thoughts on the subject.]

[Jim Colombo]

I just got off the phone with Jerry from Delta Porter Cable and he said a 12x6 blank is within the design parameters of the machine.
He cautioned to keep the speed slow and support the piece with the tailstock especially in the beginning.