Delta 46-460 vs Jet 1642

[Chris Fontana]

I am new to this group but have been an amateur woodworker for years. My first turning experience was 50 years ago when my Dad taught me to turn things on his Shopsmith. Now that I'm retired I have more time for woodworking and decided to try turning again. I bought a used HF lathe on Craigslist and turned a few bowls. I decided I really enjoyed turning and sold the HF lathe for what I paid for it. Most of the turning I will do will be for fun and "therapy" and I want to experiment with the woods I have access to here in northern Calif. I had been planning on buying the Delta 46-460. However, after reading the threads here I have been thinking I could probably scrape the extra money together to get a 1642-EVS-2 or the new Grizzly G0698, although my experience with Grizzly is the same as the comments here...variable... Would appreciate comments....if as a recreational turner would I get that much more from the 1642. My concern is...as has been commented in some of these threads... turning can be addictive and I may find out I want to do more than the 46-460 will do. Appreciate any comments.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Didn't you already answer your own question? If you can scrape the money for the Jet 1642, I'd definetly get it. Bigger is always better. All I have is the Jet mini, someday this year I hope to upgrade. I'm not saying the Delta is not an option, if it were available when I got my mini, I would have gotten that instead.

Just my $0.02.

[Roger Chandler]

Chris,

I almost purchased the Jet 16/42 in December 2009, a good machine for sure. After examining all the features and what I thought might be in my turning future I decided to go with the Grizzly G0698 and I am so pleased with it.

It has features that match up with the Jet [VFD, 2 hp., reversing, etc.], but does not have a hand wheel accessory, but I don't think that matters as far as function, and having put mine through its paces a number of times since I got it the last week in January, it has performed flawlessly. The specs on the inverter programming from Grizzly allow it to hunt a little below 100 rpm , but I have been told by an electrical engineer that they do this to keep motors from overheating when run for long periods at low rpm, such as sanding and finishing.

Not trying to sell you on anything, but all 3 lathes you have mentioned would be quite nice, and the larger Grizz and Jet will give you much greater capacity.

I am glad I got the Grizzly. I don't think there is more lathe on the market or a better value for the hard earned dollars. Just my humble but informed decision. Good luck on whatever you decide to buy, and good turning! :)

[Bob Hampton]

Hi Chris
I'll give u one more to think about..the nova..either the dvr or the 1624-44 the 1624 runs about $1100 and is a very nice well built lathe..the draw back is that it is not variable speed u have to change the belt ..takes all of about a min to do. low speed is about 300rpm ..seems to work well for me for sanding and roughing out of balance stuff.
I have no experience with the grizzly so cant say anything about it ..the 1642 is also a good lathe i have several friends that use one and like it alot.
I also started out on an HF lathe and turned on it for 10yrs until i just flat wore it out.
I upgraded finally and picked the nove 1624 mainly because it was in my price range and to this day dont ever regret doing it ...it does all i ask and then some ..very good quality lathe for the $.
As has been said already the mini's are nice ive had 2 but they are limited to what u can do ..as they say ..u can do little things on a big lathe but u cant do big on a little lathe ...or something to that effect..lol.
If it were me i would stick with a full size..but that is just my own 2 cents ...
good luck with whatever u get and remember this innocent little hobby will suck u in so fast it will make your head spin...so wear your "non skid" shoes to avoid going down the slippery slop to fast...lol
good luck and welcome to the creek!
Bob
dang! i gotta go get some oxygen that was a long winded post! wew!!

[Richard Madison]

Welcome to the forum Chris. Glad to have you here.

As Kyle said, you probably already know the answer. Just a matter of priorities. If you expect to be turning for more than a year or two and can reasonably afford it, the 1642 might be the right answer.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Welcome to SMC Chris. Like was said you already answered your question. I looked at the Jet 1642 and the Nova DVR XP. I went with the DVR because of footprint in my small shop but the Jet was one fine machine. I turned on it several times. I do like the DVR also.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Chris - Welcome to the Creek!

You will find that everyone has their favorite lathe - usually what they are using at the moment. If there is even a possibility that you may want to turn larger things - then go with a larger lathe - you can still turn small items on a big lathe!

I have a Jet 1642 EVS2 and I really like it cause it has done everything I have asked it to do! Looking forward to seeing which lathe you choose!

[Tim Rinehart]

What I've found is that it's difficult to beat the stability and range offered with a larger lathe. As has been said, you can "turn small things on a big lathe..." and so forth...it's true.

I have a 46-460 and I love it. It's a wonderful midi sized lathe, gobs of power you'll hopefully never need, well engineered, and low variable speed that makes sanding or hand-chasing threads easier. I got it to help encourage my wife to play around on...as my larger lathe somewhat intimidates her.
Only drawback...I wish it were about 20 lbs lighter, so it would be easier to haul around to club events and so forth. If you're able to pickup and move 100 lbs pretty easily...not an issue.

I had a used 1642 EVS (1 1/2 HP) I bought and loved it. I only recently sold it and upgraded to a PM3520 which I wanted in order to have extra capability...because as you have heard...turning can be very addictive...and it has for me too...and I want to do big things and little things.

Perhaps the most important piece of advice in all this...is try to find someone who has a lathe you're interested in, and actually turn on one of theirs. See how it fits 'you'. Most turners in your area would likely welcome this, and you'll find you can copy a whole host of useful jigs and other lessons learned for those machines from sites like this and your local clubs and members.

[Thom Sturgill]

I see that you are asking about the 1hp mini vs 2 2hp full size lathes.
I just upgraded from a jet 1220VS - 3/4hp (would have bought the Delta if it had been available) to the Jet 1642EVS (110v 1 1/2hp) and already know that eventually I will upgrade to a 220v machine for the same reason I upgraded in the first place - the machine is not handling the load I'm putting on it trying to rough out a bowl. And its not even that big a piece :eek: - 12" x 2 1/2" bowl very dry burled maple. Even a moderately aggressive cut can stop the motor. Unfortunately, 220v was not currently an option for me.

[Chris Fontana]

Thank You for the responses....Kyle is probably right I have been leaning toward a bigger lathe. Probably leaning toward the 2hp Jet or Grizzly. However, I am going to try and find out more about the Nova. Most of the turners I know in this area have been using the same lathe for years.

Thanks again

Chris

[Jake Helmboldt]

I see that you are asking about the 1hp mini vs 2 2hp full size lathes.
I just upgraded from a jet 1220VS - 3/4hp (would have bought the Delta if it had been available) to the Jet 1642EVS (110v 1 1/2hp) and already know that eventually I will upgrade to a 220v machine for the same reason I upgraded in the first place - the machine is not handling the load I'm putting on it trying to rough out a bowl. And its not even that big a piece :eek: - 12" x 2 1/2" bowl very dry burled maple. Even a moderately aggressive cut can stop the motor. Unfortunately, 220v was not currently an option for me.

Thom, have you checked your lathe out to see if something is amiss? I haven't had the chance to put much time on my 2HP 1642, but I can't imagine stalling it (or coming close) with what you are talking about. I can't believe the extra 1/2 HP makes that big a difference. Folks have said they can core without a problem on their 1.5/110 model, so I'm wondering if something isn't right with yours? I had to take big cuts to bog down my 1236, but even then I wasn't stopping it.

[kenneth walker]

Chris
I just ordered a new nova 1624-44 with the outrigger for the money it is hard to beat. go to the Teknatool.com site and you can read all about there lathes and see videos also. good luck with you pick they are all good lathes.

[Thom Sturgill]

Thom, have you checked your lathe out to see if something is amiss?
Turns out that the belt was a little loose and I was in the high speed range. I changed both last night and it made quite a difference, though the motor sound change sounded like the motor was slowing not speeding up as it slipped. Maybe the programming on the VS has something to do with that.

1 1/2hp *should* be more than adequate for my turnings. Since I'm trying to purchase all of my shop tools before I retire in about 3 years, I probably will stay with this machine. Now to talk to Jeff Nicols about a steady...