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109 of 112 found the following review helpful:
 Okay, but problems to knowFeb 28, 2004
By George N. Appenzeller
"nappen"
I have been using this lathe for approximately 1 year and this is what I have found.
I bought the lathe as a first lathe. I was inexperienced and on a budget. With those things in mind, it did well for the first few months. All the items were there, it shipped fast and was not difficult to assemble without assistance from anyone else, though I recommend getting a friend to help with some of the lifting.
I noticed a rattle and some vibration, but it was very minimal and it didn't seem to affect performance. I satisfactorily turned several bowls and a lot of spindle work. The motor gets a lot of bang out of the 3/4 horses. The mobile headstock is very versital. The tool rest is quite good. For a starter lathe it is a nice tool.
Now to the problems.
1) The base is not heavy or rigid enough. That is an easy fix and not a real detractor.
2) The tailstock base does not lock down well enough and I find myself retightening it frequently.
3) The biggest problem now is the constant worsening of the rattling and the vibration it causes, which translates into the spindle and handwheel. It makes it impossible to rechuch anything accurately and vibration is extreme, even with small loads. One of the pulleys is definately mis-machined and has both horizontal and vertical displacement while running. Delta has the pulleys on back order from their overseas supplier. I therefore took it in to the local authorized dealer and have yet to hear back. A wobbley handwheel and spindle movement make turning unenjoyable.Searching the web and the message boards, I have seen about an even number of people saying they have had no problems as those who have had worse problems than I have. Most seem to revolve around the reeves drive and quality control...Perhaps the overseas manufacture of this lathe is at fault, I don't know. If Delta could fix the problems with the drive and pulleys, this could be a great mid range lathe. With the mechanical difficulties I am having now with only moderate use (1-2 weekends a month), I could not recommend this lathe unless you test the specific one you are buying to make sure it is in good working order.
43 of 43 found the following review helpful:
 Get the best tools you can afford.Apr 21, 2002
After a couple of weeks of shopping, I planned to purchase the Jet. I logged on to get it and saw the Delta as a "new" listing .... I made a couple of calls to the Tool Crib to get more details and decided to spend the extra money on the Delta. I sure am glad I did. This machine is much heavier than the Jet, and the variable speed adjustment is nice. It can turn larger diameter and longer length projects. Overall, I believe it is a better machine and the few extra dollars are soon forgotten. The down side is you can't wire the motor 230 volt just 115volt, and the DELTA logo on the front may cost more than a stick on decal, but the way they attach it makes it looks cheap.
I try to do my homework before I buy, and I must admit I usually end up with a Jet. In my opinion, Jet tends to offer a lot of features for the money. Sure, you can get better tools if you need the top of the line, but Jet's medium priced tools are hard to beat. It was really nice to see Delta get in the game and be competative.
I haven't purchased a Delta tool since my table saw several years ago. Good job Delta! The lathe set up quickly and is stable for a medium/large lathe. I placed mine on a HTC mobile base that didn't help stability but was necessary for my shop. Remember, you have to get the extension kit for the HTC base. The motor seems to have enough power, but I have yet to challenge it with a real large bowl. I like the fact that the head stock doesn't sit down in a depression, which allows the head and tail stock to be moved to the center to work on smaller projects. Delta just needs to throw in some touch up paint. Not that I have ever used a drop of the paint Jet sends with their tools, but it is a nice touch.
70 of 74 found the following review helpful:
 Many manufacturing and design defects in this lathe...Feb 02, 2004
By Richard Munroe
My neighbor got a Delta 46-715 as a birthday present. After setting it up, he and I were checking it out and discovered that the variable speed mostly didn't work. Total change was perhaps 500 RPM, if that. After a lot of head scratching and several calls to Delta Service (who basically said "ship it back") we figured out that the pulley was binding on the shaft. After taking the whole variable drive assembly apart we found a manufacturing defect on the drive shaft. Fortunately my neighbor has access to a machine shop and we were able to turn the defect out of the shaft and now the lathe changes speed fine. A year later, we decide to take apart the tailstock because the quill was binding. We find that the key way for the quill was completely torn up (it looked as if the key way had been badly cut, then brazed, then recut), that the quill itself was badly out of round, the design for the hand wheel relies on friction alone to turn the quill (just a single set screw pressured against the threads of the spindle bolt), the end of the quill locking bolt was completely out of round, and the mechanical drawing of the tailstock shows a long key holding the quill in place (the correct way to keep a cylinder in a sleeve from rotating) which certainly isn't how the tailstock was manufactured. Basically the entire design is pretty cheap and the manufacturing process that released the parts and assembly was definately defective. It took us a year to notice the tailstock problems because I've mostly been doing facework and have only recently (the last few weeks) been doing a lot of center work. So the tailstock fell apart basically after 3 weeks use or so. Essentially a lathe only has two parts, the headstock and the tailstock and on this lathe both have had major defects in either manufacturing or design or both. I give this lathe only one star, for ease of assembly. For the price it certainly isn't worth it. For the record. I bought one of these for light production work on my farm, but I bought it used and got a clean one for very little money. If it gives me too much trouble I can always just scrap it or donate it to a school and take the deduction. I would certainly never buy one of these at retail prices. Spend a little more money and go with any of the other major tool manufacturers. Some further data is now in. I ordered replacements for the quill and the screw that moves the quill. I was told that both parts were in stock, so I sprang for the next day shipping. The quill arrived the next day, without the screw, which had been backordered. I called the next day and was told the screws would be back in stock and shipped the following Monday (3 days), it's been nearly a month now and I'm still dead in the water. Delta service really bites. I certainly wouldn't buy this product (and, at this point, any Delta product) unless I was forced to.
30 of 30 found the following review helpful:
 Delta 46-715 Lathe ReviewMar 05, 2003
By Frank
"fphowell"
Purchased Delta 46-715 lathe from Amazon.com ... Took 2 hours to assemble stand and put lathe bed on stand. The lathe finish is outstanding. A really nice paint job. Mounted 8" bowl blank and proceeded to turn a bowl. I really like being able to change lathe speeds without stopping the lathe. Very smooth, no vibrations. I like the tool rest as it works for inboard turning as well as outboard turning due to its design. The free 6-piece tool set was a real bonus. With a swing overbed of 14" and with headstock pivoted 90 degres allowing a 19" bowl to be turned I am impressed. After using this lathe for 2 hours I found no flaws. This lathe weighs a little over 300 pounds, which gives it stability. For the money this is a true bargain.
35 of 36 found the following review helpful:
WoodworkerJan 01, 2003
By GZ
I have had a number of "subtle" problems with more than one Delta product, however, this one did not follow suit. No vibration, no noise, very sturdy, smooth, etc. The only problem I experienced was with the bolts used to attach the bed to the legs; they should be at least 2 threads longer to ease installation of the bed to the legs. I found it easiest to temporarily install 4 bolts, two each in the inner holes of each end of the lathe bed, without lockwashers. Next I installed the outer 4 bolts with lockwashers. Finally, I removed and reinstalled the inner four bolts with lockwashers. A minor problem, but seemingly typical of Delta products. I do believe Delta needs quality control improvement, however, this lathe is without doubt one of the best Delta products I have purchased. I was pleased enough to order the duplicator, and will comment after receipt and test. From my experience, I would recommend this lathe.
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