# Picked up new/old lathe



## AZGRUNT (May 20, 2014)

Found an old 1988 Delta DL-40 (aka 46-401) on craigslist. The gentleman selling it was a a 76 year old hobbyist that really took great care of his tools but was moving out of state and did not have space or desire to drag all his tools along. 

THE GOOD
The unit runs great, 16" swing with 24" max, 5' bed, is variable speed, indexing head stock and comes with a ton of parts, about 20 turning tools (most Robert Sorby), oneway and nova chucks and various sized faceplates and tool rests.
This unit was built in Brazil as Delta Invicta and has a reputation for being very fine machines. The lathe was about $2600 when new, He was only asking $650 for everything (could not believe it)

THE BAD
This unit was built before the current AC motor and VFD technology was widely used and has a 1.5 HP DC motor and DC variable speed controller. Although this unit is running great, some of these units were known to have issues with the speed controllers and its next to impossible to find OEM replacement parts.

MORE GOOD
Since I'm in the electrical field, I have a few used 2hp Motor/VFD combos available to me that I can use to upgrade my lathe to more modern technology without too much stress if/when unit fails. 

Gotta love finding a great craigslist deal! If anybody has any useful info or comments on this lathe, please feel free to post or contact me via PM.

Joe


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## nightowl (May 20, 2014)

SWEET!!!


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## Dan Masshardt (May 20, 2014)

I've not seen too many like that around.  Looks beefy.


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## healeydays (May 20, 2014)

No wonder you let your Jet go so cheap.  Nice find...


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## Dalecamino (May 20, 2014)

You could make some fancy fence posts with that. :biggrin:


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## walshjp17 (May 20, 2014)

Wow!  Nice deal.  I'll bet you could easily make a full size baseball bat pen  with that beast.:biggrin:


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## turncrazy43 (May 20, 2014)

That was a great find and deal. They are few and far between. Enjoy your new bargain.
________________________________________________
Everyday I'm vertical is a great day


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## Fishinbo (May 20, 2014)

Truly a decent deal. The lathe looks in good shape. Just worth the bucks. Hope it will help you more.


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## AZGRUNT (May 20, 2014)

Thanks Guys. 

I really enjoy turning my pens but would also like to try my hand at some other projects like bowls and plates too and was a bit limited by the size of the Jet Mini. This lathe should should fit the bill nicely. I have reached out to some of the members of the PAW (Prescott Area Woodturners) and they have been super. I plan on heading to one of their meeting after the AAW symposium, like most clubs, they have a mentor program for people that would like to learn new skills and try new types of turning projects. Always fun to spend some time with others that enjoy the hobby.  

On a side note, I will be heading down to the AAW Symposium in Phoenix next month to catch an eye-full, anybody else going? 

Joe


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## mikespenturningz (May 21, 2014)

That looks like a great find on a nice lathe.


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## rherrell (May 21, 2014)

SCORE!


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## hobbyist2013 (May 22, 2014)

You suck!!!

That's a decent machine. Great score and it should serve you well.


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