Delta 46-700 on CL near me.

[Paul McGaha]

Hi guys,

There is a Delta 46-700 lathe on CL near me. Looks to be fairly priced ($450), one owner, and in excellent condition.

Anyone have any advice on this lathe.

It would be my first.

PHM

[James Combs]

I just did a Google search for it. Found a used one at Amazon for over $500 (568 I think)
It's pretty small, only 135 lbs about the same weight as my midi. If it were me I go for a new midi, they are in the same price range. If you are looking for something larger a lot of guys here on the creek swear by the Delta 46-460.

[Bernie Weishapl]

The other thing about that lathe is it has a reeves drive which is high maintenance. I had one with a reeves drive and never would own one again. I agree with James that I think the Delta 46-460 would be a good one to look into for about the same price. Great starter lathe and will serve you well.

[Peter Lamb]

I would go with 46-460. Had mine for a year and love it! Does everything I have asked of it.
Peter

[Bob Hamilton]

I started out on a 46-700 and used it for about 12 years. It had several features I liked but the Reeves drive was definitely not one of them. I had to completely rebuild the motor end of the Reeves drive system 3 times in 12 years and it was shot again when I finally upgraded, so that averages about 3 years per rebuild. The cost for the rebuild parts went from ~$30 the first time to over $80 the third time, and the parts were back ordered for several weeks that last time as well. That was about 10 years ago so the parts may not even be available any more.

I bought mine new for ~$600 Canadian. To the best of my knowledge that model has been out of production for about 15 years. I think that $450 is pretty steep for a lathe that old that you may not be able to get repair parts for.

Good Luck!
Bob