Delta 1642

Re: Delta 1642

John Veerkamp

>Rob,

I've had the 1642 for about 15 months now. I love it. I did put sand in the base/legs to make it heavier. The only thing that I would like to change is to remake the tool rest so that I can get my handle lower as Terry Daniel suggests. Most likely there are after market products for this but I haven't run across one yet. This lathe has all of the power I need for what I do. I fitted it with a Oneway Talon chuck . For the money it is a great lathe.

John

Re: Delta 1642

Rick Martin

>I have the Delta 1642, actually the 46-745. Cant complain about anything, turned some really big chunks of maple, cherry, locust, and walnut with no problems. For the money, I thinks its great lathe.

Rick

Re: Delta 1642

Guy

>A friend of mine turns professionally and the 1642 is one of his lathes. He uses it a whole lot and he says he has never had a problem with it. Good power, smooth running, everything locks down the way it should. If you are getting a good price on it then go for it. For the $2000 new price you can shop around. Take it easy, Guy

Re: Delta 1642

Fog Tanner

>Rob,

I have been using this lathe for over two years now and have found most of the limitations. I chose it over the Jets, as it was going to be my "lifetime" lathe. My Vic 300 gets here next month. I love the Delta for doing spindle work and "normal" size bowls. I have used the McNaughton center saver for coring bowls. This works fine on bowls around 9" and smaller. I found that the larger bowls can cause the headstock to unlatch due to the vibration encountered. You can still core the bowl taking it a little slower. If you don't core bowls, then this is not a consideration. Thats why I went with the fixed head Vicmarc.

Delta sent me the new controller to test due to the old one faulting when coring bowls. The new one solved that problem. When it gets to a "high load" condition, more power is applied to the motor. If the lathe you are looking at doesn't have the new controller, you can exchange yours with Delta. Their customer support has been great. I had to change the power cord between the controller and motor as the one that came on it was a little short and no slack. Delta quickly sent me a new one that solved the problem. I havn't seen another one with a short power cable, so assume mine was a mistake (made on Friday).

I put 1 1/2" blocks under the feet to raise the spindle height 2" above my elbow. These are resting on pieces of rubber floor mat. This helped in eliminating the waves in the concrete floor and cushioned vibration. With this I have no problem in tool rest height.

I bought a Oneway live center to replace the stock Delta that was a little lacking (single bearing). I also use the Oneway Stronghold for all my chucking needs. The Delta has no problem turning this chuck. The Vicmarc is another excellent chuck, with a wide range of jaws. The one failing I have found is the locking on the quill in the tailstock. You really have to turn the locking lever very hard to tighten it.

Due to the sliding head, you have to check the tailstock alignment when it is critical. It doesn't affect anything in spindle turning. It is only noticable in pen turning or using the tailstock to support a bowl blank.

The one thing I like about the sliding head, is you can move the head down the bed about 9" so you won't trip over the feet. Unless you need the full length of the bed for a spindle, its nice to be able to postion the headstock to a more comfortable postition.

Overall the steel bed Delta is an excellent machine for the price range. I would recommend it over the Chinese made machines. If you are truly looking for a real lifetime machine, then you need to save your pennys for a Vimarc or Oneway, that's a Ford vs Chevy discussion. I bought the Vic for turning offcenter pieces which go beyond a 16" swing. If you never want to go over a 15" bowl or turn larger offcenter pieces, the Delta is a good machine. If you can get a "good" price, its a good machine if you decide to add a "second" machine later.