Older Delta Lathe - ? buy it ?

[Kurt Keeler]

Ebay has a older Delta lathe 46-522 and I was wondering if it was worth buying and how much $$ would be considered a good deal and/or acceptable.

http://i.ebayimg.com/22/!B8,djWQ!Wk~$(KGrHqV,!g0Eyrp,eQp4BM2+yIhCKg~~_12.J PG

The listing said "Nice wood lathe that was working ten years ago. Current condition unknown". There is a seven day money back guarantee and the seller said I could plug it in and try the motor when I come up to pick it up.

It just seems that with the unknown condition, it's a little risky. I can't find any infomation on-line about this model.

[Dennis Ford]

These lathes used to be in a lot of school shops, it was a good heavy duty machine. The reeves drive requires some maintenance. I would expect to do some repairs if it has been setting up that long.
The new Delta midi has the same swing and hp and takes up less space, of course it does not have the mass that this one does.
If you have the space and are willing to do some repairs, it could last a lifetime. At a minimum; cleaning & lubing the reeves drive, probably a new belt, possibly bearings.
My wild guess on the value; $300 - $400.

[Kurt Keeler]

Thanks for the input. Yes, it did come out of a school.

I have the space as my 40' x 60' building was recently completed. The north portion of that will be for a "shop" to putter around in.

I'll probably bid on it but am not going to go much higher than what it is at now. I'll look around to see what new bearings cost before I get too carried away on bidding.

[Mike Cruz]

As someone who just bought an "out of a school" lathe, I got mine at auction (not online) for $300. Not sure just how directly you can compare them, mine is a PM90. But this one looks like it has similar mass. Mine weighs about 700 lbs. Mine has a lot of body rust, so it needs repainting. Mine has a 3 phase motor, so it needed a converter. I have $600 into it now, without the repainting part, but as far as needed, I really only needed to add the converter...I also added a potentiometer (manual dial knob to control the VFD phase converter) and a digital tack. So, if I hadn't put those two extras on it, I would be closer to $450 in. My guess is to get it repainted, by doing it all myself, I'll be up to another $100 in.

My point, is that the one you are looking at doesn't look like it needs repainting. If everything is in working order, and this Delta is even close to my PM (I really have no idea) I would say that the bidding is still way low right now. And maybe use my experience to help you in your top bid.

That said, if the seller is close enough to you, will he allow you to come inspect it before the auction is up? I know it ends soon, but maybe you could swing by there tonight or early in the morning to give it a once over to check the motor and bearings...
Good luck!

[Michael James]

No help on the lathe, but welcome to the Creek! I hope you get involved.
Michael

[Jim Burr]

Welcome Kurt!! Reeves drives can be challenging...so can a dog that pees on the floor;)...if he hunts and doesn't eat the couch...keep the mutt:rolleyes:. Those are good machines...worth the effort:D

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Kurt, have you tried the web site owwm.com http://www.owwm.com/ ? It has a lot of good info on older lathes as well as other machines.:) By the way, welcometo the Vortex.:eek:

[Baxter Smith]

Welcome to the Creek Kurt. I have a 46-525 that looks and probably is, very similar. I would agree with Dennis that if it is running well, for 3-400 you would have a very good lathe. It was not the heaviest lathe Delta made and is not that close to Mikes Powermatic 90 in terms of mass but still a very solid lathe. Electronic VS is nicer than the Reeves drives but you would have to spend at least twice that for a lathe of similar quality.

[Mike Cruz]

Kurt, with a little over an hour and a half left, the price is still quite resonable...

[Mike Cruz]

Hey, it went for $325...not bad. Was that you, Kurt?