Lathe noise issues

Re: Lathe noise issues

JL work

>The Delta 46-715 has the belt going from the pulley around the spindle to the drive shaft in the motor. The way they control the speed of the spindle is by "opening" and "closing" the pulley on the spindle. The lever on your lathe front causes one side of the pulley to move. It's noisy because of the design.

Thanks JL

Dougj Crawfordsville, IN

>Does this mean that I just have to deal with the noise or is there something I can do about it.

Thanks for your reply.

Re: Lathe noise issues

JL work

>You mentioned that you want it to last a while. One thing you can do is replace the bearings. The ones that are original are pieces of C***. They are "sealed" at the ends with plastic and don't hold up. Order a new set (front and back) and replace them. It is a pain to do, but probably worth it in the long run.

Re: Thanks JL

JL work

>The design of the lathe is intrinsically noisy. You can replace the belt and it will get a little quieter. Lube (use high temp moly grease) the spindle shaft where the pulley slides across. Keep the interior clean. It isn't sealed very well. You may try making a gasket for the pulley shield. That helps to quiet it down. Also add a ballast box. The more weight to stablize it helps to quiet it down.

Re: Lathe noise issues

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Doug, when I read just the subject line of your post, I thought "I bet he has the Delta 46-715". I had that lathe for a while and it was so noisy I wanted to wear ear protection. When I brought the Powermatic in, Mrs. Schwingding couldn't believe it was even turned on, it was so quiet.

Lubricating the drive belt helps, as does replacing it with link belts. Still, it is quite noisy. Old car mechanic trick - someone comes in with noisy belts - spray them with CRC, whisper quiet, $50 please.

You can find my review of that lathe in the articles section here.

CRC?

Georg Waldhof

>What is CRC and where does one find it?

Re: CRC?

Mike Schwing from Md.

>I used the belt dressing and penetrating lubricant. Here is one source (found with a google search)

http://www.nutty.com/chemicals.html

Re: CRC?

Russ Fairfield

>Any belt dressing available in a spray can at the auto parts store will do the job.

Further investigating

Dougj Crawfordsville, IN

>After removing the pully housing I have found (kind of) where the primary noise is, its at the motor where the shaft comes out and the compressed spring is on.

Re: Lathe noise issues

Dougj Crawfordsville, IN

>Thanks Mike, I read your review, good work on it.

Its that low speed rattle that the other guy in the review mentioned that I am getting. Sounds like a very common problem so I guess for now I'll just deal with it.

Thanks

Re: Further investigating

Pete in Holland

>Pinpoint the source of the noise. A chunk of broom stick handle pressed against a stationary noise source (bearing housing for instance) and the other end firmly planted on your ear will transmit any vibrations pretty well. This will allow you to find a source of noise on a machine, even a noisy engine. Old timer trick. Can buy a classy stethescope, but the broom stick works as well. Watch out for moving machinery though !

Re: Lathe noise issues

Dallas H

>I had the delta with the adjustable speed lever. I traded up for the NOVA 3000 DVR.

The noise is coming from the fact that one of the pully sections has come loose and shifted on the shaft (it is held in place with a set screw {SSS}. I had to move that pully over and retighten it about every 4 months or so.

What I did was to Spot drill the shaft so that the SSS set in the spot. This brings the noise level back to knew.

When the covers are off you should be able to find the pully that causes the problem.

Dallas

Re: Further investigating

Ron in Drums PA

>How does the belt look? If it's chewed up, you are in luck, just replace it.

If the belt looks good, take the reeves drive apart and check for wear.

On my Jet, I had the same problem and found that the key way on the pulley was rounded causing the pulley to wobble. I needed to replace the pulley.

Now the part that ticked me off

Part $13.00

Shipping $19.95

Of course, your is a Delta and mine is a Jet. Hope you have better luck.

Re: Lathe noise issues

Earl

>I used to have the 46-710: same problem. All the above was true and I would spray the belt and it would quiet down for about one bowl. Got new pulleys--worked for awhile. Finally I threw the front bearing doing a vase about 10" long--hanging out on the chuck. Too much for the flimsy bearings. Also, alot of the noise came from the flimsy legs and stand vibrating, even with three sandbags on a platform between the legs. Couldn't hear the radio, either. Finally gave up on it and bought a Powermatic. Not a cheap solution, but I think you just can't do much to quiet that lathe down--between the Reeves drive and thin metal and cheap bearings.

Earl

Re: Lathe noise issues

Dougj Crawfordsville, IN

>Thanks to all for helping out, I hope to be able to isolate the problem and get it resovled.