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I asked him how much he wanted for the lathe and he gave it to me for my b- day. What a guy!
B-day present from the father in law
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60 Posts
I have a couple things to get before I can run it bit I am excited. I have always wanted to learn to turn. 
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3,257 Posts
I had that same lathe. The slowest speed is too fast for roughing bowls. Add a lot of weight to the stand to help with this and if you can round the bowls off with a bandsaw or chainsaw as best you can before mounting. Other than that it's not a bad lathe. You will need to lubricate the Reeves drive pulleys frequently.
Have fun and be safe.
Have fun and be safe.
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60 Posts
He told me it was not a bowl lathe and I was ok with that for now any way. Thanks for all the info and tips.
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7,222 Posts
Congratulations on the new lathe. Nice gift.
Take a look back at earlier threads. A number of threads where folks ask about starting out. One example.
Where to start
When I purchased my lathe I realised it was the most I had spent on a tool, which I could not use without spending more money.
My table saw was more expensive, but at least I could plug this in and use it.
With a lathe, the tools and accessories add up to a lot more than most folks starting out appreciate.
I recall my wood turning friend mentioning about turning tools being expensive, "$40 each". I said I had not paid so little for one at that time.
You can get away with turning between centres for spindle work, but a scroll chuck can be very handy for the times when even with a spindle project, you need to have one end held in the lathe whilst having access to turn the other end without the tailstock interfering.
The one item you should not skimp on is a decent face shield. Look at NCPaladin's post #14 in this thread. Turns out my Lee Valley faceshield had the higher rating stamp.
Faceshields
Take a look back at earlier threads. A number of threads where folks ask about starting out. One example.
Where to start
When I purchased my lathe I realised it was the most I had spent on a tool, which I could not use without spending more money.
My table saw was more expensive, but at least I could plug this in and use it.
With a lathe, the tools and accessories add up to a lot more than most folks starting out appreciate.
I recall my wood turning friend mentioning about turning tools being expensive, "$40 each". I said I had not paid so little for one at that time.
You can get away with turning between centres for spindle work, but a scroll chuck can be very handy for the times when even with a spindle project, you need to have one end held in the lathe whilst having access to turn the other end without the tailstock interfering.
The one item you should not skimp on is a decent face shield. Look at NCPaladin's post #14 in this thread. Turns out my Lee Valley faceshield had the higher rating stamp.
Faceshields
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3,257 Posts
Well it's not a bowl lathe per se, but I turned a lot of bowls on mine. It was just a little hairy until I got the bowl round. fortunately I turned a lot of segmented bowls back then and they were close to round when I got them glue up.
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74 Posts
Congrats on your present.
Ray
Ray
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60 Posts
Thanks for the info this will help me out. I plan to turn some spindles and knobs first and transition into bowls.john lucas said:
Question for John
Thanks,
Bandman
John, you are not the first person to mention lubricating the Reeves drive pulleys, just how do you go about that? What lubricant do you have the best luck with?
Thanks,
Bandman
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1,059 Posts
I'm not John, but I have a Delta 1440 "Shop Queen". Reeves drives can be a serious PITA, but it helps to put a small amount of wheel bearing grease on the spindle where the movable half of the pulley rides. Check the keystock and remove any sharp edges from it. Make sure that the keyway and keystock have plenty of lube, but not enough to sling it all over the place. If it is like most lathe Reeves drive, both the spindle and the motor shaft pulleys will have one side that moves. On the headstock, it is controlled by a lever and on the motor it has a spring.
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3,257 Posts
Don't remember what I used on that lathe but on my Dad's shopsmith I use White Lithium grease. I put it on and them wipe most of it off because it collects dust. That's why you need to clean it pretty often.
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60 Posts
Thanks for all the info about the lathe guys.It's been really helpful!
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1,059 Posts
My lathe is the model that came out after yours (46-715). Mine has a 14 inch swing, but other than that they are very similar. I have turned some bowls on mine, but the Reeves drive really isn't rugged enough to stand up to that kind of turning on a continuous basis. It would work fine for table legs and other small diameter things. Delta no longer supports these lathes, so when the Reeves drive wears out, you might consider going to stepped cone type pulleys.
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