Customer Reviews

Delta 46-745 Steel Lathe 120-Volt, 1.5 HP Motor

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I recently upgraded from the Delta 46-700, and there is no comparison. To start with, the stand is very well built, and very rigid. The legs are hollow, and easily filled with sand. The stability was good before, but now I get almost no vibration, even when turning large bowls.

The spindle is also much beefier than the smaller model. I managed to warp the spindle on the 46-700 by turning a large Ash bowl. I doubt I could warp the spindle on this if I bashed it with a sledge.

The DC motor and controls are very good. The only flaw I've seen is that my controls occasionally go into fault mode for no noticeable reason. The only way I've found to clear it is to kill the power and restart it. This only seems to happen with the drive is stopped, so it hasn't been a big problem for me.

I would definately recommend this lathe to anyone but production woodturners. It's very smooth, especially after filling the hollow legs with sand. It has a much beefier spindle than the smaller Delta, which is a major consideration if you are turning larger bowls. As a matter of fact, I bought this lathe after killing the headstock on my smaller delta lathe doing just that. The Baldor motor and DC controls are very nice also.

My only qualm is with the control stalk. Due to it's position, it both picks up dust and is in the firing line for items that shatter while the lathe is at speed. Luckily it seems fairly beefy, as it withstood a large chunk of cherry at 1800 RPMs. Otherwise, this lathe is fantastic for the price. I'm very happy with mine.

After buying all the shop equipment I needed to outfit my wood shop I set my thoughts on a lathe. I did research and found one very important factor when choosing a lathe, don't go cheep! I choose the Delta 46-745, and I'm so glad I did. The baldor motor is the finest in the industry, and the control you have over speed is fantastic. The other great feature is low to no vibration, Delta even gives tips on totally eliminating vibration by either, filling
the legs with sand or the ability to use 4x4's to widen the lathes foot print or secure the lathe to the floor. This lathe is both smooth and very powerful, everything is accesable and very easy to setup, all tooling has it's place in the leg tops and the control box is right at eye level.This lathe is now my favorite machine in my shop!! You have to have one of these bad boys!!!!

Lathe is very nice and works very well. Fit and finish is good as well as ease of assembly. My concern is that the electronic speed control is mounted where two things can happen:

Debris can damage it because of location if something comes off the lathe.

Dust is going to keep the electronics coated continuously due to location and large vent holes in side of control.

I've had this lathe now for 10 months I have made all kinds of things on it. This machine is a serious work horse. I have not had any problems with it at all. If you are looking for a true value this machine has it all.

I have had a 46-765x model for over a year now and I love it.I had a 46-700 12" lathe for quite a few years. The verable speed drive is awsome and is not to be confuised with the mechanical type.I added sand into the base pedestals and steel rod into the bed.I have the weight close to 700# now and it is very smooth.This lathe has not been recieved well in the woodturning world but I'm not sure why.Mine works great and as you see by the reviews most people who have these really like them.There are better lathes out there,but they cost alot more.The nova dr-3000 is compareable but I haven't used one.The 16" jet is also in the same price range and has a large following,although I'm not a fan of Jet. You just can't beat Delta for support in my experience