I also had a Monarch for a number of years. It was a joy to run. With that machine when you hit reverse it was reversing the motor and everything it was turning rather than just the lead screw. It was a smooth running machine though.I had a Monarch tool room lathe with the lead screw reverse feature; it is wonderful for (especially) short threads and cutting threads into blind holes I assume that there are trip collars that can be positioned on the trip shaft to shift the clutch into neutral at each end of the desired travel.