Gloat

[Jerry Marcantel]

Last Friday, I was doing daily ritual of surfing Craigslist in the tools section hoping to find someone that just discovered they had some lathe parts that might fit my Delta lathe. Speficically, I've been looking for a pulley cover and a lathe specific tailstock, as the one I have is a piece of junk that I modified to fit the lathe I'm using. I noticed someone was selling a Rockwell lathe. I looked at the pics, and didn't say anything to my wife, and then Sunday we planned to bug bomb the house on Monday, and couldn't be there while the fumes were present. She asked where in the desert could we go for about 4 hours, so I mentioned that this lathe was near where I like to go looking for rock and wood. Without blinking and the usual, "You don't need another lathe", she said, "Why don't you call him and see if he still has it". I did the right thing and gave this guy a call, and set up a time to be there.
The lathe he was selling is a Rockwell 46-450, and is in perfect condition. We talked awhile, and I gave him the 400 bucks he was asking, loaded it and brought it home. The first thing I did was remove the tailstock and put it on my existing lathe. It lined up perfectly. As far as I was concerned, I just recovered my money by now having a tailstock that fit properly..... I then removed my chuck and threaded it onto the new lathe and it went on solid. Chuck plated a piece of mesquite, and did a little turning. With only a 3/4 hp motor, it performed really well, even though the Reeves drive kept losing the speed I set it for. I discovered the screw was loose on the handle, tightened it, and now its ok.
So now, I have 2 good lathes that are the same swing and length with one good tailstock, and one crappy tailstock..... . What is a guy to do?.......... Jerry (in Tucson)
Ps, as you can see in one picture, there is another headstock housing and spindle that came with the lathe




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[Alan Trout]

Jerry, that is a nice old lathe and congratulations on the find. Look forward to hearing more about it when you get to SA.

Alan

[Terry Beadle]

Wow! Great deal. You get a gloat award !

[charlie knighton]

congratulations, great find Jerry

[David DeCristoforo]

Nice! That's the exact same machine I have except that my controller is inside the base. You're gonna love it. I don't understand why everyone is so down on the Revees drive. Mine works perfectly and there are no electronics to burn out!

[Jerry Marcantel]

. . I don't understand why everyone is so down on the Revees drive. Mine works perfectly and there are no electronics to burn out!
David, how often do you lubricate the shafts?...... This one looks like it has old grease, and should be cleaned and relubed..... ...... Jerry (in Tucson)

[Thomas Canfield]

So now, I have 2 good lathes that are the same swing and length with one good tailstock, and one crappy tailstock..... . What is a guy to do?.......... Jerry (in Tucson)

Turn between centers with the good tailstock, and use a face plate or chuck on the one without the tailstock. I often do a lot of roughing out between centers before going to a chuck since I only have one lathe. Now you have decisions to make.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Nice gloat Jerry.

[Jerry Marcantel]

So now, I have 2 good lathes that are the same swing and length with one good tailstock, and one crappy tailstock..... . What is a guy to do?.......... Jerry (in Tucson)

Turn between centers with the good tailstock, and use a face plate or chuck on the one without the tailstock. I often do a lot of roughing out between centers before going to a chuck since I only have one lathe. Now you have decisions to make.
Thomas, thanks for the info. The way my mind works, I probably would never have concieved that idea. I'm pretty good at figuring my way out of a predicament, but since I developed that Chuck plate, my spur centers don't get used, plus I don't like them at all. Now, it looks like I'm going to make a chuckless plate that screws onto my spindle. Yeah, that's it, a spindle plate. hehehe...... ............ Jerry (in Tucson)

[Baxter Smith]

Great looking lathe! You could build a platform and make a disc sander and or buffing station out of the one without the tailstock.

[Seth Poorman]

Vary Nice Jerry, I love those Old Lathes, it was probly made in the USA too !

[Kathy Marshall]

Nice gloat Jerry! It looks nearly identical to mine, but mine is a Delta 46-612 with a 1hp. I'd say you got a steal! I have the original invoice for mine, my dad bought it new in 2001 for $3200 (I have a feeling he didn't shop around much for pricing).

[Bob Bergstrom]

I turned on a 450 for 15 years. Never had to do a thing to the Reeves. That one is bullet proof. Shame you're missing the index wheel on the extra head stock. In good shape they go for $125 and up on Ebay. That lathe was also made to do metal spinning on. I did notice from the photos that the panel on the motor compartment is upside down. The louvers opening should be pointing down so no chips will fall in. Enjoy you've go a good one.

[Hilel Salomon]

Hey Jerry,

Congratulations. The Delta-Rockwell machines that I've had and seen were built to last. I don't see anything wrong with having two lathes. Heck, if I had the space, I'd have four/
Regards,

Hilel

[Josh Bowman]

Great find.

[Jerry Marcantel]

Nice gloat Jerry! It looks nearly identical to mine, but mine is a Delta 46-612 with a 1hp. I'd say you got a steal! I have the original invoice for mine, my dad bought it new in 2001 for $3200 (I have a feeling he didn't shop around much for pricing).
Kathy, my other lathe, a Delta Milwaukee by Rockwell Manufacturing, looks like yours. At least the cover does, and I'm jealous because I don't have a pulley cover for it. It's been converted to infinate variable speed, 2 hp 3ph and I'm using a Hitachi VFD. I love it, but the tailstock sucked. I paid 60 dollars for that one last year.
Now that I have this 450, I still have infinate variable speed, and a good tailstock, which interchanges with the other one. ..........


Bob Bergstrom ["I did notice from the photos that the panel on the motor compartment is upside down. The louvers opening should be pointing down so no chips will fall in."] I put the panel back in place according to the keyholes that are in the panel to allow for easier panel installation. Heck, I even figured that since the motor was so low that the louvers were to be open for heat dissapation...... Oh well, I'll turn it over..... Thanks.....and thanks everyone who commented on my adventure through the vortex..... Jerry (in Tucson)