Delta 46-460 up to $699 at Woodcraft

[Brent Dorner]

I was waiting until after Christmas to buy a new lathe and was leaning towards the 46-460. Last month at Woodcraft it was $649 plus a $50 rebate... this month it is $699

I don't have endless amounts of money so price does matter. Because of the price hike I am now leaning towards the new Nova Midi

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/208...idi-Lathe.aspx

It it almost a duplicate of the 46-460... the only difference I see is the 1/4 HP in the motor. I'm not sure 1/4 extra horse is worth $200 extra for the lathe.... and I have heard people go back and forth about the 1 HP Delta only being peak and not constant and so on.

I do believe Nova had made some quality lathes in the past and I would have to believe the new Comet midi will be another excellent product from them.... so can anyone convince me to spend the extra $200 on the Delta? That extra $200 could buy me a chuck and a set of Benjamin's Best bowl gouges.

[Scott Hackler]

Brent, I wouldn't discount a pre owned lathe either. You can find turners that are upgrading their lathe for a bigger one quite often. You just have to be patient and check the classifieds here and the other sites and craigslist too. I definitely recommend getting as much lathe as you can afford first. There is a lot of things you can turn without a chuck (using a faceplate or between centers).

[Mike Cross]

Amazon has it for 599 with free shipping.

Mike

[Derek Gilmer]

I was waiting until after Christmas to buy a new lathe and was leaning towards the 46-460. Last month at Woodcraft it was $649 plus a $50 rebate... this month it is $699

I don't have endless amounts of money so price does matter. Because of the price hike I am now leaning towards the new Nova Midi

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/208...idi-Lathe.aspx

It it almost a duplicate of the 46-460... the only difference I see is the 1/4 HP in the motor. I'm not sure 1/4 extra horse is worth $200 extra for the lathe.... and I have heard people go back and forth about the 1 HP Delta only being peak and not constant and so on.

I do believe Nova had made some quality lathes in the past and I would have to believe the new Comet midi will be another excellent product from them.... so can anyone convince me to spend the extra $200 on the Delta? That extra $200 could buy me a chuck and a set of Benjamin's Best bowl gouges.

Amazon has them for 599 with free shipping if that helps. The delta has these features that were a plus in my shopping:
1. More power
2. Large user base for help with anything
3. Two tool rests in the box
4. Won FWW best midi lathe review
5. From the manual belt changes might be a little easier on the delta

[Jeff Fagen]

I got mine in march at Woodcraft for 500.00 and I wouldn't trade it for any underpowered Nova for any savings.They can raise the price because of the demand.They are just that good.Good luck.

[Brent Dorner]

I asked for a few giftcards to Woodcraft to make the purchase easier on my wallet. I also get 10% off at WC

I fully understand I don't "need" a chuck I was just pointing out what could be purchased with the extra $200.

I always hear... buy the biggest lathe you can afford... I get that but you also need to factor quality. I could go to HF and get a big lathe.... and will likely want to return it. I can always buy a bed extension.... I never used a bowl over 12 inches in diameter. My goal is smaller pieces and segmented pieces that may be 10-11 inches at the widest point. Sure I would love to buy a used Nova or Powermatic for $600 but have yet to see one online for $600 or under in the past 6 months in my state.

[Brent Dorner]

You would consider 3/4 HP underpowered for a midi? I've heard Delta is only peak not continuous?

[Brent Dorner]

Was it on a big sale or was it a couple of years ago?

[Brent Dorner]

I got mine in march at Woodcraft for 500.00 and I wouldn't trade it for any underpowered Nova for any savings.They can raise the price because of the demand.They are just that good.Good luck.

On a big sale... or a couple years ago?

[Brent Dorner]

On a big sale... or a couple years ago?

Sorry didn't see where you said in March... must have been a pretty big sale?

[Justin Stephen]

You would consider 3/4 HP underpowered for a midi? I've heard Delta is only peak not continuous?

I would, in theory anyway. Even with the Delta, if you are turning a wet bowl blank near the limits of the lathe's swing, you can often bring the lathe to a stop with more than light cuts. 1/4hp less motor and that issue would theoretically be worse. Of course, how true is the "1hp" on the Delta and would there really me much difference in actual practice? Who knows?

I do think this new midi is going to sell pretty well though.

[Derek Gilmer]

I asked for a few giftcards to Woodcraft to make the purchase easier on my wallet. I also get 10% off at WC

I fully understand I don't "need" a chuck I was just pointing out what could be purchased with the extra $200.

I always hear... buy the biggest lathe you can afford... I get that but you also need to factor quality. I could go to HF and get a big lathe.... and will likely want to return it. I can always buy a bed extension.... I never used a bowl over 12 inches in diameter. My goal is smaller pieces and segmented pieces that may be 10-11 inches at the widest point. Sure I would love to buy a used Nova or Powermatic for $600 but have yet to see one online for $600 or under in the past 6 months in my state.

Biggest usually refers to best/biggest. A huge piece of crap is useless.

One other consideration is vacuum chucking. Is there an adapter out there for the Nova? It looks like a nice lathe, just not much info out there yet.

And you can always use the gift cards for turning tools. THe price of the lathe is around half or much much less than you'll end up spending in the long/short run.

Grinders, tools, chucks, jaws, wood, traveling to meet turners, more tools, tail stock threaded spindle, drill spindle, tools, more tools.. sigh..... it is an expensive party.

[Derek Gilmer]

You would consider 3/4 HP underpowered for a midi? I've heard Delta is only peak not continuous?

There was a pretty good test of power in the FWW article. The 1hp delta out muscled the 1hp penn state lathe by a little and had a wide margin of power over the 3/4hp lathes in the test. And like Justin said you can stop a delta on large wet blank.

[Robert Culver]

owning the delta myself now for a little over half a year.... i woulds save and buy it if i were you you wont regret it the delta is a really nice lathe . i would trade mine unless it was a full size machine..... just my two pennys

[John Keeton]

For a friend, I recently got a delivered price from ToolNut that was less than the $599. That was about 3 weeks ago. Get the Delta!! As a previous owner, it is an awesome lathe!