Delta Midi Lathe, Any Good

I am in the research phase of my latheing experience and would appreciate any opinions of the Delta Midi Lathe that I am considering. I plan to turn mostly bowls and small spindles and would this lathe fit my needs. Your input is appreciated.

STEMO

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Let's go Yankees We got Godzilla!!!
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I have the Jet mini "midi" lathe which is pretty much equivalent to the Delta, and I love it. I'm a total newbie at turning, but it seems to have all the qualities for it's size that you will want. There is a new EVS mini from Jet that is available now, which you might want to consider as well.

Mike

Reply to
Mike in Mystic

A review of the current mini/midi lathes was done for October issue of Woodworkers Journal. The lathes tested: Oneway 1018 Vicmarc VL 100 Jet JML 1014 Fisch TC90-100 Delta LA200 CarbaTec CML 4SE

And reading the review, Steve picked the Vicmarc as the lathe of choice for quality and value for $ spent. If you have the money though he said the Oneway you get what you pay for. The Jet, Fisch and Delta pretty much were all about the same, but if you read the article closely, it would seem that he possibly liked the Jet or Fisch over the Delta where the Delta lacked. Like the tailstock quill throw for instance - on the Jet its 2 1/2" long, on the Delta its 1 1/2". Delta has plastic locking handles instead of metal. The Delta and Fisch both need a washer between the headstock and the faceplate where the Jet does not. The Vicmarc - better fit and finish of all parts. A 24 point indexing system the Jet, Fisch and Delta lack. The Vicmarc though can come with or without a motor. The motorized unit is more expensive and is still only a 5 speed lathe. Buy it motorless and hook up a Variable Speed motor. If you don't feel comfortable hooking up your own motor and such, then the nod would go to the Jet. And like someone else said, if you wait, the Jet VS version will be available soon.

Oh, the carbatec - that's a smaller lathe than the rest and Steve said primarily only for doing miniatures or hobbyist things like pens or doll furniture.

Reply to
Jim M

Hi there,

I originally bought the Delta Midi as my first lathe and was quite happy with it... for a while. It turned out that I had a bad spindle; the threads seemed to be cut off centre so when a faceplate or chuck was installed, it wobbled. This was fixed for free by Delta since it was still under the warranty. I also had to buy some new handles because the plastic tailstock handle broke.

I just recently won a Jet Mini and having them side by side really shows the quality advantage the Jet has over the Delta.

- it's quieter

- the handles are all metal

- it's much smoother running

- it has a better faceplate

- quality of the spindle seems much better

- the spur center is much nicer

Having said that, I much prefer the location of the power switch and the ease of switching speeds on the Delta. Had I had the money (Jet was more expensive) and known the differences between the two machines, I would have originally bought the Jet. It's similar to buying a new Honda Accord and having no complaints about it until you drive a Lexus for a while.

Hope this helps,

Carlo.

Reply to
Carlo Robazza

I have to second Carlo's comments about the Delta.

The one I bought had the off-center headstock/bent spindle/whatever it was that caused a good deal of vibration and made getting a smooth cut impossible. Checking display models in several stores showed that they had the same problem.

Delta did correct the trouble for free under warrantee. The plastic handles on mine have not broken, yet. But they probably will not last forever.

As I am another newcomer to turning the plan is to keep this one for a while then, when it can be justified, selling the Delta and getting a better lathe.

If I had it all to do over I would have gone with a different lathe.

Patty

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Silverpdx

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