Is a Grizzly 698 or 733 Lathe smoother than a Delta 46-460?

[Brian Kent]

I love smooth. I love a machine that is quiet and kind. I love to listen to tool-on-wood noises uninterrupted by motor screams.

And so I really enjoy working on my Delta 46-460. As long as I don't need spare parts, all is good, within the size and power limits of the machine.

My future will probably either be a Grizzly lathe in a couple of years or a Powermatic in many years. Or an American made giant if the pot of gold comes in.

But the key question, since I love smooth and quiet - are the Grizzly G0698 and G0733 lathes as smooth and quiet as my Delta 46-460?

Ready, go.

[daryl moses]

Brian I've never turned or even seen a 46-460 lathe in action so I don't know how smooth and quiet it is.
I do have and use a Grizzly 733 though and it amazes me everytime I use it how smooth, quiet and powerful it is.
I was accustomed to using a lathe with a reeves drive and I know for a fact the 733's are worlds apart.
I'm thinking that because my lathe probably is a couple of hundred pounds heavier than the 46-460 that it would be smoother.
Best way to find out is to try one, I think you would be amazed as well.

[Fred Belknap]

Brian I upgraded from a Griz 0698 to a PM 3520B and the difference in quiet and smooth was like night and day. Before the PM arrived I was well pleased with the grizzly performance. Had both in the shop for several months and used the Griz for buffing mostly. You need to find someone who has these machines and try them out. We have the 46-460 in our club and it sure is a sweet running machine, we have had zero problems with in the last three years. Knock on wood.

[Roger Chandler]

Brian, I had the G0698 and have the G0766 on order. I had that lathe for over 5 years, and since joining two local chapters of the AAW, I have had opportunities to turn on 9 different 3520b machines as well.......some at the clubs and some at individual members shops.

Of those 3520b's there were a couple that had issues........two I turned on were more noisy than the others. In one of the members shop, I did a demo on finials, and his surprised me as it was way noticeable on the noise level. Now he had a set up mounted on it to hold a vega duplicator, but that did not bother me as the finials were small I was demonstrating, and he asked if he really needed to take those off for the demo, as he was turning a series of table legs or something......I told him I could manage with them attached.......don't see how those would cause the extra noise........it sounded as if it was coming from the headstock to me.

On Dr. Glicks 3520b, it was particularly quiet......of course he is now in his 80"s and does not turn as much, but his machine was whisper quiet........perhaps amount of usage played a role, as his was very lightly used.....other 3520b units fell somewhere in between the two.

The G0698 I had was a D/C brushless motor, and it was quiet, but not whisper quiet as Dr. Glick's 3520, but as quiet as the others for the most part. The brushless motor is more efficient and runs cooler generally speaking, than an A/C motor, but they are making more high efficiency motors now in the A/C configuration now in wood working machines.

The G0733 replaced the G0698, and has a better inverter on it than did the G0698, and an A/C motor. I have a Delta 46-460 like yours as well...........while I do use it, I always preferred the G0698 to turn on ........more power, more room to make cuts, and not take off the tailstock [I have no bed extension] and the heavier weight makes it no comparison, at least to me.

When Grizzly came out with the new G0766.......I had no hesitation in ordering it, because of the good experience I had with my G0698 and the good reports from owners of the G0733........which the new G0766 is just a beefier and more powerful version of that lathe.

I don't think you could go wrong with the G0733......it has 47" between centers and has 2 hp, reversing. rpm readout, but you will need to get adapters in the 1.25" x8 tpi for your chucks or use a spindle adapter as the spindle is bigger on it than your Delta midi.

I could have bought a new 3520b if I wanted to.........if I really wanted it all that bad, I could have managed to get a Robust American Beauty for that matter, but have other things I need more than that, and felt like the G0766 would serve me just as well as the 3520b.......and I wanted a longer bed length without having to buy an extensions which would be several hundred extra for the 3520b..............I feel since I have had numerous opportunities to turn on 3520b units, some multiple times that I have a good basis for true comparison, and of course, I trust my judgment on these things! ;) While I do like the 5 year warranty that PM gives, from what I have experienced, the Grizz will do the same things and with plenty of style!

[Brian Kent]

Thank you for these great responses.

[Mike Goetzke]

Brian - I had a 46-460 for a short time learning to turn and got hooked turning and was fortunate enough to sell it and replace it with a 3520B. I had no issues with the 46-460 except a 12" bowl blank had to be run at quite slow speeds until it was in balance. The PM is MUCH smoother and very quiet when running. When I look at the Grizzly lathes (including the new 766) they don't seem to have the mass or stiffness that the PM has. Also, this may be important a year after I had the 3520B there was a motor bearing noise. Couple calls to PM and I had a new motor and was up and running in a couple of days. (Tore the old motor apart - they must have forgotten to clean flashing of the internal cooling fins and debris got into the bearings. For about $15 in bearings I have a spare.)

Mike

[Roger Chandler]

Just a point of reference....the bed casting in the 3520b is 10 inches across......I measureed the one at our club. The stats sheet on the new G0766 also lists the bed on it as having a 10 inch width....if that is not a misprint, then the mass is there for the G0766.

Personally, whatever Brian decides is fine by me.....I think the 3520b is a fine lathe.....I think if he tries our one of the G0733 units or the new G0766 when it gets here, then he will find a machine built by the same folks as the 3520, with most of the same features and a lot less $$$ for the cost.

[Jeffrey J Smith]

Don't intend to hi-jack the threads, but...for those who are Grizzley fans - their annual scratch and dent tent sale happens this Saturday at the Bellingham headquarters. Lace up your running shoes, it's always a scramble when they open the doors. One of the photos they sent along the other day showed about 10 or 15 lathes lined up looking for a new home...
I've been a couple of times - good way to get a decent price on a piece of equipment as long as you know exactly what you're buying before you go.

[Mike Goetzke]

Just a point of reference....the bed casting in the 3520b is 10 inches across......I measureed the one at our club. The stats sheet on the new G0766 also lists the bed on it as having a 10 inch width....if that is not a misprint, then the mass is there for the G0766.

Personally, whatever Brian decides is fine by me.....I think the 3520b is a fine lathe.....I think if he tries our one of the G0733 units or the new G0766 when it gets here, then he will find a machine built by the same folks as the 3520, with most of the same features and a lot less $$$ for the cost.

Roger - I'm not talking width of the bed but height. If you look at photos of the PM and Griz side-by-side there is a significant difference in bending and torsional stiffness. But could just be the PM is over designed.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger - I'm not talking width of the bed but height. If you look at photos of the PM and Griz side-by-side there is a significant difference in bending and torsional stiffness. But could just be the PM is over designed.

No bed sagging with the Grizzly lathe.........

Basically, the bed casting on the Grizz lathes are pretty much like the Jet 1642 evs castings. I do not think it is an issue, as many Jet owners are completely satisfied with their machines. I have turned on a few Jets, and my G0698 never had a problem.........all these lathes, the PM, Jet and Grizzly are made by the same folks.......a little different design on the PM bed, yes, but I had 47" between centers on my G0698, and never had a problem with bed sagging. My centers lined up all the length of the ways with the headstock and tailstock in any position I ever put them in.

[carl mesaros]

Just a point of reference....the bed casting in the 3520b is 10 inches across......I measureed the one at our club. The stats sheet on the new G0766 also lists the bed on it as having a 10 inch width....if that is not a misprint, then the mass is there for the G0766.

Personally, whatever Brian decides is fine by me.....I think the 3520b is a fine lathe.....I think if he tries our one of the G0733 units or the new G0766 when it gets here, then he will find a machine built by the same folks as the 3520, with most of the same features and a lot less $$$ for the cost.

I'm sure the GO733 and GO766 are and are going to be a tremendous value for the $$ spent but I question the "mass" being there. The 3520b a 20" swing 35" between center lathe weighs 630Lbs. net the new GO766 22"swing 42" between center lathe 496Lbs. That is quite a difference and I think it will be noticed if compared side by side.
I recently sold my Jet 1642 (410Lbs) a fine lathe that I have turned 100's of projects with. I replaced it with a Laguna 2436 3hp 770 lbs. net. I have turned several medium sized bowls with it so far and I am amazed at the difference in solidity and smoothness. Once again no doubt the Grizzly machines offer value to the extreme but I also feel there's no substitute for the additional weight.

[Roger Chandler]

I'm sure the GO733 and GO766 are and are going to be a tremendous value for the $$ spent but I question the "mass" being there. The 3520b a 20" swing 35" between center lathe weighs 630Lbs. net the new GO766 22"swing 42" between center lathe 496Lbs. That is quite a difference and I think it will be noticed if compared side by side.
I recently sold my Jet 1642 (410Lbs) a fine lathe that I have turned 100's of projects with. I replaced it with a Laguna 2436 3hp 770 lbs. net. I have turned several medium sized bowls with it so far and I am amazed at the difference in solidity and smoothness. Once again no doubt the Grizzly machines offer value to the extreme but I also feel there's no substitute for the additional weight.

Carl..........I agree about the benefits of mass. I am not saying that the new Grizzly will weigh as much as the 3520b.....I am saying the bed casting will, if the spec sheet is correct, will have a casting of 10 inches, which is the same as the 3520b.....just a casting more in the form of what one finds on the Jet lineup of lathes. The leg castings on the PM are likely heavier, and the headstock also. I think with the ability to add ballast, that one can pretty much get the G0766 to where it will serve most turners very well, and the value is the big plus on this.

Just based on my experience with the G0698 18x47, when ballast was added, I could do most anything I wanted with it, and see the added power of the G0766 as a plus for coring and roughing large pieces. With the savings of the G0766 one has to expect that somewhere there is a trade off with something...........also that as you mentioned it will be a super value for a fine lathe that will serve most turners very well.

[Thom Sturgill]

I've been to the Burt Group site several times. While I agree they probably make the Griz, and possible the Laguna and other clones, I DO NOT see any models that match the Jet/Powermatic line. The new 1221 and 1015 are quite distinct castings.

As to the OPs question, I have the Jet 1220VS and 1642EVS. I have turned on a Powermatic 3520A & B, and spent many hours on the clubs Deltas. I can only reference comparisons of the 1642 to the Griz as I have not turned on them.

The Jets are both heavier and smoother than the Deltas under load. The Powermatics are smoother than the Jets. I attribute both to the weight (The Deltas are the lightest) and the quality and number of bearings and machining primarily.

[Roger Chandler]

I was just taking another look at the pics on the Grizzly website of the G0766. Something I noticed related to the bed width. It always made me wonder that in the pics the bed looks like the same one on the G0733, just 5 inches shorter. While looking, it occurred to me that they may be measuring from the tang that is cast on the bed where it bolts onto the legs. That is the widest part.

the G0733 has 8.5 inches across the bottom of the bed casting, and if you add 3/4" to each side for the tang, it would add 1.5" and bring the total to 10" for the bed.

Basically, it looks like they have taken the legs and bed from the G0733, and shortened it about 5" to make 42 inches between centers, then added the extra swing on the headstock and tailstock to make it a 22x42 lathe. Nothing wrong with this, but I was just thinking it might have extra mass on the bed.........that remains to be seen when they come in, but I had hopes it would be even bigger than the G0733.

I don't think it matters as far as function goes, as the bed on the G0733 is plenty rigid and I never got any sag whatsoever with its predecessor, the G0698 I had for over 5 years. I am not sure how they actually measure the bed width, and this may be incorrect on my part, but it would explain the pics I see and the spec sheet, and bring them into congruence.

If this proves to be the case, then my apologies go out in advance for the earlier speculation..........but we all seem to have done our share! :o;)