Hp

[Deane Allinson]

I have a 10" dia. x 4" thick bowl blank. I noticed that my lathe seemed to be bogging down with a 9" x 2" blank at 600rpm. My lathe is real old and has a 1/4hp motor. Should I look at more HP or is the 1/4hp Ok for general turning. Most of my turning has been with dry woods.
Deane

[Bernie Weishapl]

Deane I think I would upgrade the HP. My brother has a old delta lathe that had a 1/4 hp on it. He went to a 3/4 hp motor and he said you couldn't believe the difference. He is now thinking of getting a VFD and a 1 hp motor so he can have variable speed instead of pullies. He has made some awful nice stuff on that lathe.

[John Keeton]

Deane, for a little over a year, I used the Delta 46-460 - a 1 HP lathe. It is a great lathe, but since turning on the Jet 1642, I realize now what a difference an increase in HP can do. You need more horsepower!

[Jim Burr]

Although a bigger lathe would be my first suggestion...not always an option for everyone...more HP never hurt anyone. 3/4 or 1hp if it'll fit. Those usually pop up on Craigslist frequently. You'll really will enjoy turning a lot more without bogging.

[Steve Vaughan]

Yup, more hp. I'd checkout craigslist and yardsales. And, you might have a friend that's sitting on a motor somewhere in their garage/shop/barn. Be sure to check fitment on the base as well as where the motor sits to be sure a new one fits there. Worst case, if you can do so, you might just go ahead and buy one. Just upgraded my bandsaw from 1/2 to 1 1/2 horses and had to 're-adjust' things a bit to make the motor fit without interfering with other stuff.

[Keith E Byrd]

I agree - more horsepower - I had an old sears tube style tht bit the dust - upgrade to Nova and man what a difference!

[John Hart]

The one thing that low horsepower will teach you is how to have a "light touch". But now that you have that....time for more horsies. :)

[Brian Libby]

You will be amazed at what a difference HP will make!!
I had a jet 1236 3/4 Hp now have a PM 2HP - just like going fro an Escort to a Mustang GT!!!!!!

[Curt Fuller]

Deane, I'll go along with what everyone else has said about more HP. But I sometimes question the wisdom of beefing up the motor on a small lathe. I think I'd invest my time and money into a bigger lathe with more horse power. There just aren't enough advantages to offset the cost, time, and trouble of adding a bigger motor to a small lathe.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

+1 on upgrading the lathe to a newer unit vice changing out the motor. The new Delta is a joy to turn on. Or you can go all in and get a Nova or Jet 1642 or PM 3520 and probaly not need to do future upgrades.
I do have to agree with all the others, since I have a Jet mini, which is severely underpowered at 1/2 horse......

[Deane Allinson]

Thanks for the info. I'll see if I can come up with a half horse. I hate to over power the old machine. Money is scarce with kids still in college, so there will be no new toys for me for a long while.
Deane

[Baxter Smith]

Deane, my old VS delta had a 1/3 hp motor and turned a lot of nice things(not by me) in its 40 years. I upgraded it to a new 1 hp motor last year and it was much better but it cost me almost 200. Found a used 1 hp for 60 a few weeks after that so put it on one of my bandsaws that only had a 1/2 hp. If you can find used, the cost between 1, 3/4, and 1/2 is probably not going to be much.