Variable speed problem on the Delta 46-460 lathe

[Jim Colombo]

My motor speed varies even with the potentiometer set at a single speed. If I rotate the pot (either to increase or decrease) the speed the motor speed varies for a while (goes faster and slower) and then seems to settle down.

I'm hoping it's just a bad potentiometer but it could be the mother board as well.

Has anyone seen this problem? What was the fix?

Thanks,
Jim

[Roger Chandler]

try blowing out the pot with compressed air. seems to help at times.

[Paul Williams]

The two switches and the potentiometer appear to be trouble spots on the 46-460. Most of us keep them running by periodically blowing out the switches. I keep my shop vac handy and suck up all the dust around the control box every time I stop to sharpen or change operations. The few times I have actually had problems they were fixed by opening up the box and blowing air around the switches and the pot. When mine finally "bites the dust" I plan to replace those components with high quality sealed units, even if it means building a new control box.

[Paul Williams]

You know it is a shame that Delta wasn't reading the creek and took notice of all of the threads about this issue starting soon after they introduced the 46-460. Without the dust issue it is a great midi lathe. You would think they would have a fix out by now. Instead you can't even get a factory part anymore.

[Bill Blasic]

I have 6 46-460s in my shop right now and at least 6 other members of my club have these lathes. The club lathes (4 of those in my shop) are lent out on a monthly basis and used for demos many times a year. There has not been one problem with any of these lathes and we have had them since they came out. There are probably thousands of them sold and because a few people have had problems it is believed that all these things are bad, not so. We have had tons of problems with the clubs demo lathe a 1224 Oneway and some of the guys would rather bring in their 46-460 to demo rather than use the Oneway - me included. I do not think the problem is as prolific as it is made out to be on this forum.

[Andrew Raymond]

My problem...same as most started 4 years ago and it took Delta 8 months to finally respond with new replacement box....have had no problem since luckily.

[Roger Chandler]

There is info in the following thread about two types of switches for the Delta, and some links to other parts that might work. Mine is still doing fine, and I hope it stays that way! Anyway, this thread might contain some helpful info for 46-460 owners.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...witch-Problems

[Jim Colombo]

My motor speed varies even with the potentiometer set at a single speed. If I rotate the pot (either to increase or decrease) the speed the motor speed varies for a while (goes faster and slower) and then seems to settle down.

I'm hoping it's just a bad potentiometer but it could be the mother board as well.

Has anyone seen this problem? What was the fix?

Thanks,
Jim

I took it in for repair and the problem was indeed the "ON-OFF" switch. I had that switch replaced a few months ago and it was the replaced switch that was bad. The clip that holds the thing together had broken and the case was open so it was full of wood chips and dust. The people who did the repair (Timber Woodworking) didn't charge me. They installed a totally different type of switch and it's supposedly sealed better.

Jim

[Max Monts]

I had the exact same situation with mine 3 mos. ago. After MANY phone calls to Delta and their local (Indy, to me) warranty guy, it's now fixed (swapped-out the speed controller). It was a royal pain-in-the-arse, as I could've bought a SC through Delta's internet parts store; but Delta told their warranty guy (repeatedly) they had no SC in stock to send him. Either the right hand didn't know, etc. OR Delta has little honor to their loyal customers OR I dunno...
BTW - I tried to continue to use mine while it was dying, not a wise thought, as it just kept getting faster and faster. Spindles were not a problem; faceplate, tho, very dangerous!

[David Neighbors]

Well, my lathe developed a similar speed control problem after 13 months of use.

At the lowest setting the motor would speed up and slow down on a rhythmic cycle. The lowest RPM when the lathe was acting properly was around 260 rpm. After the onset of this problem, the lowest speed was around 450 rpm and would cycle up to around 725 on the 1 setting. The strange thing was that if I applied a load, either by grabbing the hand wheel or a chucked item, the lathe speed would increase to around 1000 rpm and the speed would remain steady!

I contacted Delta, they sent me a board free of charge, and that fixed the issue for now, but I am fearful THIS board will fail in the future, too.

I tried several "fixes" prior to contacting Delta, including using compressed air to blow the potentiometer, using contact cleaner, etc. No change.

David

[Scott Welty]

OK! Thanks everyone. I think there are enough red flags about Delta to turn (!) me to the Jet. The Delta would have fit better in existing bench space but that can be adjusted.
Scott

[Richard Coers]

OK! Thanks everyone. I think there are enough red flags about Delta to turn (!) me to the Jet. The Delta would have fit better in existing bench space but that can be adjusted.
Scott

You know you are replying to a 5 year old post, right? There are parts available now, but pricey.