Making A Buffing Shaft

Here is another accessory item that you can make for any lathe, not just the 46-140, that is also an example of where a scroll chuck can come in handy.

It consists of three stock buffing wheels that I picked up at Sears mounted on a length of 5/8-inch diameter allthread. Although they're not easily seen in this photo, each wheel is held in place on the shaft sandwiched between a pair of nuts, two flat washers and one split washer.

The tailstock end is dimpled for the point of the live tailstock center.

The headstock end of the allthread has a standard connecting nut on it, and is thru-pinned with a common finish nail. The connecting nut is in turn grasped by the scroll chuck.

Each wheel is charged with a different type of polish or rouge.

Simple, cheap and effective.

Mounting A Wire Wheel

Sometimes you have to take a lot of rust, scale or other crud off of something and you don't want to spend all day cleaning it up with a handheld wire brush and a can of turps. On one such occasion I ginned up the following using a standard wire wheel, a length of 5/8-inch allthread, some nuts and a split washer.

That's a connector nut on the left end, thru-pinned with a finish nail. Here's another look at it.

This end goes in the scroll chuck, obviously. The other end is dimpled to accept the tailstock live center point.

How (Not) To Replace The V-Belt On The 46-140

Someone once asked me for advice on how to remove the headstock spindle in order to replace a worn V-belt. I have personally not had occasion to do that and to be frank I really don't want to risk accidental damage to the spindle itself or to the headstock casting. So if and when the time comes for me to replace the belt on my lathe I'm first going to give one of those flexible link belts a try. Even if it doesn't work out I can always reuse the link belt on my tablesaw.

For those of you who have already determined for yourselves that you're going to install a new V-belt and must therefore remove the spindle to accomplish that task, know that the owner's manual will be of no help to you on this subject. Judging by the lack of information there I'm going to assume that the lathe came from the factory with the V-belt and headstock spindle already in place.

The parts schematic is the only official source of information on disassembly that I know of, but sadly it offers no verbal guidance about the process.

Here's a link to a thread over at OWWM that discusses how to remove the headstock spindle and bearings. (It's not obvious from the thread's title, but a response to the OP's question discusses the 46-140 specifically.) That response may or may not be the complete and authoritative word on the subject but it's all I could find. If you're at all unsure about something posted there don't hesitate to contact the author(s) of that thread via the OWWM site as most OWWMer's are rather helpful folks and are more than willing to share what they know or have learned. If you come upon this article some months or years from the date of this posting, do a thorough search of the OWWM site to see whether or not someone may have subsequently raised this issue. Of course, if you find something really good and useful it would be most appreciated if you would mention it or link to it in a comment to this article. (Refer OWWMer's here, or readers of this blog there, I don't care, as long as the new information you've come across is duly noted for posterity.)

Pen Turning On The 46-140 Lathe With A Plain-End Pen Mandrel

There are three basic types of pen mandrel, as defined by the method of mounting to the headstock: those having a morse taper shank, those having a threaded female socket, and those having no mounting fixture at all -- the so-called "plain end."

In other words, a "plain end" pen mandrel is basically just a length of straight and smooth round rod with no obvious means of mounting to the 46-140's headstock.

Here's where you get creative. I will explain two similar methods, one for use with a scroll chuck, the other for mounting directly to the headstock spindle.

Let's suppose that you happen to have a scroll chuck with an ordinary 50mm jaw set. Rough turn round and then face off a thick hardwood dowel. Cut off a 3 inch length of it and grasp it in your scroll chuck jaws. Turn down a 1/2-inch long tenon at the tailstock end of that dowel. Drill a 3/4-inch deep hole in the center of that tenon that is just large enough to accept the smooth end of the pen mandrel. Aim for a snug fit. You don't want any play in that hole and it must be perfectly centered. Secure the mandrel in the wood block with a set screw driven into the tenon perpendicular to the axis of rotation. Here's a photo of the finished item. You can see the "tooth marks" where the scroll chuck's jaws grasp the block.

With the mandrel now secured in the wood block, add your pen blank, spacers, etc., tighten it all up, place the dimpled end of the mandrel rod on the point of your tailstock center, and turn your pen.

Alternatively, let's suppose that you have only the factory spur drive center. Unscrew it and set it aside. Now simply tap a hardwood block that is at least 4 inches long by 2 inches square with an ordinary 7/8-14 machinist's tap. Screw it on to the headstock and then follow the above instructions for turning a tenon, etc.

Necessary Fixture-Making Tools

As an alternative to manufactured faceplates and other accessories, with the following tools you will be able to create just about any kind work holding jig or fixture that you might possibly need.

• 7/8-14 right hand, carbon or high-speed steel machinist tap -- for making inboard headstock accessories.
  
  
• Morse Taper #1 finishing reamer -- for making headstock fixtures that will hold objects having Morse Taper shanks (e.g. pen mandrels, drill chucks).
  
  
• 3/4-16 left hand, carbon or high-speed steel machinist tap -- for making outboard headstock accessories.
  
  
• hot melt glue gun and high-strength glue sticks -- for making wooden glue blocks that will hold workpieces without your having to use a tailstock.

The examples of the jigs and fixtures that I will describe in subsequent articles have been created using one or more of the above.

If you have the time and patience, the right hand taps especially can be found quite cheaply on eBay (two or three for the price of one). The left-hand tap and finish reamer are not so cheaply obtained, in which case it is good to cultivate friends who are seriously into souping up cars, ATVs or dune buggies.

Scroll Chucks for the 46-140

Although there are several types of scroll chucks on the market, there are only two companies that I am personally aware of that manufacture chucks that will accommodate a 7/8-14 tpi headstock. They are Teknatool and Oneway, both of which provide high quality products. I happen to own the Nova G3 by Teknatool, pictured below, and I am quite pleased with it.

Pictured above and starting clockwise from the bottom are my (well used at this point) G3 with 50mm jaw set, 7/8-14 spindle adapter, woodworm screw insert, spur center insert, and T handle chuck key. All of the items in the photo were sold as a single package. I bought mine from Woodcraft about five years ago. They still carry it. Amazon has them, too.

The G3, like many other scroll chucks, requires a headstock spindle adapter to fit this or any other lathe headstock. These adapters are standard accessories that are manufactured by Teknatool. Depending upon where you buy your G3 chuck, the spindle adapter may or may not be included as part of your package. So be sure to check. Here is a link to Teknatool's list of spindle adapters for its various chucks. It may well be the case that you'll have to speak by phone with a sales representative from the company you buy from since their web sites (usually the U.S. sites) frequently do not list the 7/8-14 adapters -- giving the impression perhaps that they are simply not available, which is clearly not the case.

The advantage of the spindle adapter of course it that if you move up to a different or larger lathe at some point in the future all you'll have to do to take your scroll chuck with you is buy the requisite adapter for the new machine.

Additionally, there are all sorts of available jaw sets for this chuck. Personally, I only own the 50mm "standard" jaw set. Changing jaw sets is mostly a matter of unscrewing, re-inserting (and not misplacing) eight machine screws and doing a little alignment of each jaw part. It's not difficult by any means but it's a sufficiently time consuming operation that you would reasonably try to avoid doing so more than once during a given work session.

A Canadian company named Oneway sells three different models of scroll chuck (the Oneway, the Talon and the Stronghold). Here is a link to the Oneway spindle adapter chart where you will find adapters for just about every spindle size there is. All of these items may be purchased from online retailers such as Rockler and Woodcraft. Here's a link to Oneway's complete list of Canadian, US and international resellers. Various types of jaw sets are also available for each of these models of scroll chuck.

In my estimation the sole drawback of using a scroll chuck is that the chuck body extends out from the headstock far enough to essentially consume most of the "gap" in the lathe bed. In other words, if you intend to turn lots of bowls or platters with this lathe then you might be better off buying or making a faceplate or a "longworth" chuck so as to maximize the depth and diameter of the pieces you'll be able to turn.

Source of Accessories In The U.S.

Updated 25-Oct-2010

Busy Bee's web site says that they will ship internationally. You have to phone them however to ascertain shipping costs. I don't know how recent this development is or how expensive it is, but I just happened to notice it this evening. Anyway, at least there is a theoretical possibility that owners of the 46-140 and Beaver 3400 lathes can get parts a little more easily.

N.B. After doing a little more searching I have learned that the Grizzly and Busy Bee faceplates are Steelex brand. These faceplates and their respective inserts will occasionally turn up on Amazon and eBay and various other online tool retailers.

• 8-inch faceplate (unthreaded)
  
  
• 4-jaw independent chuck (unthreaded)
  
  
• 7/8-14 spindle adapter (for inboard use)
  
  
• 3/4-16 left hand spindle adapter (for outboard use)

I personally do not own any of the above so I can't vouch for the quality of the items. If you have one or more of these you are invited to post a comment to this article for the benefit of those who follow.

I have since acquired a Steelex faceplate. See this post.

Canadian Source of Parts and Accessories

N.B Hyperlinks updated as of 21-Sep-2010.

U.S. Shipping info added 25-Oct-2010

Busy Bee of Canada stocks a number of 7/8-14 RH and 3/4-16 LH headstock accessories as well as Nova and Oneway scroll chucks, accessory jaw sets and standard Morse Taper tooling. Since the 46-140 was manufactured in Ontario it makes sense you'll be more likely to find parts and accessories there. Their web site says that they now ship to the U.S. and generally internationally, which formerly had not been the case, however it is necessary to phone them to find out the shipping costs involved.

• 6-inch faceplates (already threaded for 7/8-14)
  
  
• 8-inch faceplate (unthreaded) and required 7/8-14 spindle adapter (for inboard turning) or required 3/4-16 left hand spindle adapter (for outboard turning)
  
  
• 6-inch, 4-jaw independent chuck (for holding square and irregularly shaped objects) and required 7/8-14 spindle adapter or required 3/4-16 left hand spindle adapter (for outboard turning)
  
  
• 6-inch, 3-jaw independent chuck (for holding square and irregularly shaped objects) and required 7/8-14 spindle adapter or required 3/4-16 left hand spindle adapter (for outboard turning)
  
  
• 7/8-14 insert for Nova scroll chucks
  
  
• Cole jaw set for Nova chucks
  
  
• No-name brand scroll chuck and required 7/8-14 spindle adapter.
  
  
• Accessory pin jaw set for no-name scroll chuck, above.
  
  
• MT#1 live tailstock center

Owner's Manual

The OWWM site has scans of the 22 page owner's manual, parts schematic, and safety sheet that accompanied these lathes.

Tailstock Accessories

While the standard "dead" (i.e. non-spinning) tailstock centers are sufficient for most spindle turning work, if you do a lot of turning you will probably want to invest a few dollars in "live" (i.e. ball bearing) centers. Any center having a Morse Taper #1 shank will fit. They are quite inexpensive and well worth the money.

My first one was from Sears (item# 00925356000, model# 25356). It has withstood a fair bit of abuse. I still use it.

My newest one is from Penn State Industries (item #: LCENTLT1).

I also have a 1/2" drill chuck. I picked mine up at a garage sale somewhere.

Penn State Industries has them in 3/8" (Item #: TM21) and 1/2" sizes (item #: LDC1MT)

About the Factory Stand

In all honesty the metal stand that accompanied this lathe is just barely adequate for the job. I've never been satisfied with it and through a combinatin of sloth and having way too many other more pressing things to do I've not gotten around to making a better one. In retrospect that is a mistake that I would counsel others not to repeat. Make a new and better stand for yourself at the time you first get the lathe.

Specifically, what I find deficient in the factory stand is:

• insufficient sturdiness - Its sheet metal fabrication makes for a too-light stand that does not adequately resist flexing and vibration. I've firmed up my stand by screwing 1/2" plywood panels into the open spaces between the legs on the sides and rear. It helped well enough, but the only significant result is that it permitted me to procrastinate on the task of making an entirely new stand as I should have done.
  
  
• insufficient mass - My added rack-resistance notwithstanding, when turning heavy, out-of-round objects the lathe and stand will want to walk all over the shop. That is a very bad thing. Consequently I put a honking big log section on the bottom shelf for ballast (see photo).
  
  
• flimsy bed mount surface - The 1/2-inch MDF top bends under the weight of the lathe. This invites racking and twisting of the cast iron bed, which at best puts your headstock and tailstock out of precise alignment, and at worst invites cracking of the cast iron bed itself.
  
  
• low height - I stand exactly 6 feet tall and find the lathe is too low for me. Hunching over the lathe, even slightly, is uncomfortable and tiresome. While I can't fault the stand for my stature, the height of the lathe is not something that is readily adjusted either. I could have built a low platform but would rather have spent the time and money on a proper stand. Ergo, nothing happened.

There, I think I've convinced myself that I should make the time to replace the darn thing. Perhaps when the weather warms up...

Obtaining Replacement Factory Parts

Delta does not seem to maintain online information for this lathe. However, it may be possible to obtain parts or service from one of Delta's factory authorized service centers.

Alternatively, online sites such as ToolPartsDirect or Ace Tool Repair appear to have many but by no means all factory authorized replacement parts available online. (Scroll down past the schematics to see the parts price list.)

As you will discover these are by far the most expensive options for those of you who may be trying to restore a vintage lathe. I have personally not had the need to go this route myself, but would be interested in hearing from anyone who has. Please feel free to post a comment to this article.

I have observed that parts, chisel sets, faceplates, and entire lathes do occasionally turn up on auction sites like eBay (that's how I got my lathe, as it happens). When dealing with headstock accessories in particular, it would be wise to ask the seller to provide the Delta part number that is cast into say, the back of the faceplate. That way you can check it against the published parts list to ensure that you're getting one that will actually fit your lathe. Many sellers don't know or have the means to measure the thread pitch of the items they sell.

You may also have luck finding used machines or parts at the Old Woodworking Machines "Bring Out Your Dead" forum. You must first register with owwm.org in order to participate there, however.

Other Sources of Information

If you are new to vintage cast iron woodworking machinery, or "old arn" as it's called, then you absolutely must familiarize yourself with the Old Woodworking Machines web site (a.k.a. the "Mother Ship") and its related forum/support/classified ads site. These sites are the preeminent places on the Internet for those interested in researching, restoring, or buying and selling vintage equipment manufactured in North America. It is impossible to say enough good things about these two sites and the people that frequent them.

When searching OWWM for information about the 46-140 lathe you will have to consult the "photo index" and "publication reprint" pages under the headings of four different companies: Beaver Tools, Rockwell International of Canada, Rockwell Manufacturing Company, and Delta Manufacturing Co., owing to the corporate buyouts that occurred over the years. There are 46-140's out there that are badged by each of these entities apparently, and OWWM relies on its members to categorize their submissions accordingly.

Is This Lathe Right For Me?

If you are new to woodturning generally, or don't have room in your shop for a really big lathe, then in my opinion you can't go wrong with a 46-140 if you find one that has been well taken care of. It's a solid, durable, high quality machine that will certainly outlive you if you treat it well, and you can do a lot with it.

If you already have a large monetary investment in lathe tooling (scroll chucks, faceplates, etc.) and you want to use them on this lathe then you will be successful adapting the 46-140's headstock to any spindle size except 1" 8tpi.

In other words, if you're willing to buy (or have a machinist fabricate) a spindle adapter then anything smaller than 7/8" or larger than 1.25" in diameter will work.

Why won't 1-8 work? A machinist will (or should) tell you that it's either not possible or just plain unsafe to make a thread adapter that goes from 7/8" to 1" because the root diameter (bottom) of a 1" thread is just ever so slightly larger than 7/8". There would be too little if any metal left to keep the adapter all in one piece. So all you folks with 1-8 headstock accessories are out of luck.

Since the headstock spindle will not accept morse (or jacobs) taper tooling you're mostly out of luck here too, unless you have a scroll chuck. Perfectly serviceable MT #1 adapters may be fabricated from hardwood for mounting in a scroll chuck. This will be demonstrated in future blog postings.

Replacing the headstock spindle with a custom machined one is theoretically possible but doing so would be prohibitively costly unless you happened to have a really good machine shop at your disposal. Your money would be better spent on a larger lathe that has an appropriately sized headstock for your existing tooling.

Newcomers to woodturning are understandably reluctant to even think about creating adapters, faceplates or other workpiece-holding jigs on their own, whether out of wood or any other material. For a beginner that would be putting the cart before the horse. But after a reasonable period of time you will come to appreciate that jig/fixture and tool making are a natural part of the woodturner's craft -- and a source of enjoyment and satisfaction in themselves. And that's the Great Secret about why it is possible to obtain this lathe relatively inexpensively -- most folks (and especially beginners) assume that you must go to a commercial source for all of your accessories. It's just not true.

In sum, this lathe should provide many years of good service to beginning and intermediate turners. If and when the day comes that you discover that you want to become a professional bowl or hollow form turner, you can then move up to a dedicated "pro" machine and turn this one over to someone else who, like yourself now, is looking for a high quality machine at a price that an amateur can afford.

Standard Drive and Tailstock Centers

My lathe came with an original equipment drive spur center and a 3-inch faceplate. These are right-hand threaded at 7/8-14 tpi. You'll need a 1-1/8 inch open end or spanner wrench to loosen or tighten the drive center. Apparently there was a 6-inch diameter faceplate for the lathe as well but the seller had somehow lost track of it over the years.

Also included with the lathe that I bought were a Morse Taper #1 dead center and a cup center for use in the tailstock. These latter items were also original equipment.

The above standard accessories are sufficient for turning spindles and small bowls.

What Can This Lathe Do?

I find the 46-140 to be quite versatile. I have turned pens, Christmas ornaments, chair legs, tool handles, rolling pins, gavels, bowls, lamps, salt shakers, pepper mills, jewelry stands, and various candle holders with it.

The "swing" (vertical distance from the lathe bed to the horizontal centerline of the headstock) over the gap is 7-1/2 inches, permitting a maximum workpiece diameter of 15 inches over the gap. (The steel rule shown in the photo measures centimeters on its left edge and inches on its right edge.)

The swing over the remainder of the bed is just shy of 5-1/2 inches, thus permitting a maximum spindle turning diameter of a little less than 11 inches.

The outboard end of the headstock spindle has 3/4-16 tpi left-hand threads. With a suitably sized and threaded faceplate one may turn items having a diameter larger than 11 inches. Alternatively, many turners attach a sanding disk or buffing head to the outboard spindle end.

An Inexpensive Entry Into Woodturning

From the questions I've answered for others in the past, I have learned that I am not alone in having acquired this lathe relatively inexpensively. I paid 85 USD for it some 7 or 8 years ago. For that price it came with a complete set of Delta chisels and a 3-inch faceplate, as well. All I had to do was drive 50 miles to pick it up. I think it was quite a bargain, considering that contemporary lathes of similar size and quality cost at least four times that much.

Why so cheap, especially since there was nothing mechanically wrong with it?

There are three limitations that seem to dictate the price:

• You will have a hard time finding or buying tooling for it because the headstock spindle threads measure 7/8-14 tpi. It seems that the lathe manufacturing industry has settled on 3/4-16, and 1.25-8 tpi as "standard" sizes for auxilliary tooling.
  
  
• The headstock spindle is solid. It does not have a Morse Taper socket.
  
  
• The tailstock spindle, while it accepts standard Morse Taper #1 tooling, does not have a thru-hole to permit deep drilling, such as one might do with a lamp auger.

In my opinion none of these limitations are or should be considered fatal impediments to buying or using this lathe because they all may be easily worked around. Subsequent blog postings will discuss these matters in more detail.