Monarch CK 12"

[Aurora Motor and Machine]

there are ss sleeves sold by bearing house to slide on worn shafts of any description, if your shaft is bad you could metal spray it, good luck my CAZENUEVE is same, common issue, i ignore it

Thanks for the input. We'll look at that sleeve. I hope that's not the problem We're starting to dig into it - I'll post pictures of our process!

Bud

 

[rabler]

Thanks! I'm grateful for all the input! That's exactly what happened...we checked the oil and Dad thought it was empty, He over filled the reservoir and what a leak! we're wondering about the seal and now the pump. We've not changed the oil on it and wonder if that may be something wrong. After reading yours and @benmychree messages... I believe we need to call Monarch! thanks for your help!!

If you crack open the headstock, the oil pump is visible in the bottom. It is a little bit of a pain to get to, but if I recall correctly there is a felt oil filter about the size of a half-dollar coin on the bottom of the pump that can get gradually plugged up. A piece of 1/8" felt from McMaster may be all you need to fix the problem. But I would suggest removing the oil line from the pump to the little distribution manifold and seeing what the oil ouput looks like there. The distribution manifold has small bijur flow/check valves that are known to get plugged over time. Don't mess with trying to clean them, just replace them. Monarch can supply replacements of the correct size, or you can find them elsewhere with a bit of searching.

 

[Aurora Motor and Machine]

If you crack open the headstock, the oil pump is visible in the bottom. It is a little bit of a pain to get to, but if I recall correctly there is a felt oil filter about the size of a half-dollar coin on the bottom of the pump that can get gradually plugged up. A piece of 1/8" felt from McMaster may be all you need to fix the problem. But I would suggest removing the oil line from the pump to the little distribution manifold and seeing what the oil ouput looks like there. The distribution manifold has small bijur flow/check valves that are known to get plugged over time. Don't mess with trying to clean them, just replace them. Monarch can supply replacements of the correct size, or you can find them elsewhere with a bit of searching.

Good Morning! Thank you for this advice - we get a lot of tooling and supplies from McMaster; I'll get some of that felt. We we crack it open, I'll look at the valves - on second thought, I'll call up Monarch and get the part...I know its not seen the light of day since 1964.

Thanks! I'll post some pictures soon!
Bud

 

[sdelivery]

Yes. I service Monarch Lathes frequently and can confirm there is no seal at the front of the spindle, it uses a labyrinth seal.
Also if you wish to inspect the pump and or filter remove the cover opposite of the operator(back side of head) on the chuck end.

 

[Aurora Motor and Machine]

The boys didn't take a photo of the oil pump filter. But that was the culprit! @rabler called it and we got the felt changed. We'll try not to over fill her again. The old girl is back in action!
Bud

If you crack open the headstock, the oil pump is visible in the bottom. It is a little bit of a pain to get to, but if I recall correctly there is a felt oil filter about the size of a half-dollar coin on the bottom of the pump that can get gradually plugged up. A piece of 1/8" felt from McMaster may be all you need to fix the problem. But I would suggest removing the oil line from the pump to the little distribution manifold and seeing what the oil ouput looks like there. The distribution manifold has small bijur flow/check valves that are known to get plugged over time. Don't mess with trying to clean them, just replace them. Monarch can supply replacements of the correct size, or you can find them elsewhere with a bit of searching.

 

[rabler]

Glad I was able to provide a few hints on getting her back into service. I have a '44 CK and really like it, nice lathes, very solid. Mine originally had a 1200 RPM 6 pole motor, I swapped it out for a 4 pole 1800 RPM motor, moved the top spindle speed from 550 RPM to around 800 RPM. Apparently Monarch actually offered that as a factory option at the time.

 

[JeffStreak]

I have basically the same lathe 1942 - even have the same paint!!! I have the same problem just noticed it today. Running SAE-30, I assume the problem is just overfilling?

 

[rabler]

Yes. These lathes are tough to get completely drip free but you clearly have more leaking than is acceptable. The Monarch headstock should be filled so that the oil level is 1/2 way up the sight glass that is immediately to the right of the rightmost spindle speed control lever.

I had to remove and clean the glass on mine when I first got it. If you do remove the glass, make a pin spanner to fit in two or three of the three holes and spin the collar over the glass to loose it. Prying it out is almost guaranteed to shatter the glass, in which case it can be replaced with glass from McMaster. IIRC I had to order one slightly oversized and grind it down a bit. You will need to also have some gasket material to replace the old gasket.

I am not sure on oil weight, a machine oil is typically rated in ISO and I'd have to check my notes to see what is recommended. My understanding is motor oil is not preferred as it tends to suspend particulate matter (to carry it to a filter), on a machine without a filter it is generally desired to have the particulate matter settle out quickly.

 

[Beckerkumm]

Recirculating oil is generally what is appropriate. I run Chevron Regal R and O because it is cheaper than Mobil DTE Heavy Medium but have been told that these old Monarch's benefit from a synthetic equivalent. The synthetic pushes through the oil lines easier and also benefits the gears. I haven't tried that yet but will when my oil gets older. The oil system is the problem child in the Monarch ( and most other lathes ) world. Dave

 

[JeffStreak]

Well at least it rectified itself, sort of! Overfilling doesn't seem to be a critical problem I don’t think, if it’s seeps out I’ll just collect it, filter it save it. Then not fill it up as much next time! I do have some recirculating trouble… I pulled the headstock too off and removed each line and shot compressed air through it - my sight glass at the bottom is full, and my sight glass at the top is about 1/4.

Really appreciate your quick replies.