Monarch 10EE - what to do?

mksj said:
If you do decide to use a back gear you might look at the eBay listing I posted as an option. I would probably toss the motor but keep the back spider that attaches to the back of the gearbox. You could mount a plate to is and use a C face or flange motor to mount to it and adapt a coupling between the two or fabricate something new. ...
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Have you actually done this? Have you ever had the chance to operate a 10EE with a DC drive?
 
I have worked on DC drives and they can work very well, I have not directly worked on the 10EE drive. If you read the eBay posting the DC motor attached to the gearbox is in unknown condition, and getting it to work as originally designed would be challenging. I am sure there are some work arounds for alternate SS drives, but the few I checked into a while back had numerous problems. If you have the expertise, please guide the new owner on the installation you recommend. My other concern was the shipping of the gearbox with the motor to Canada would be prohibitive. I have worked with a few other people in another forum who did various conversions with their 10EE, most ended up installing VFD drives at the end of the day. If you purchased a new Monarch EE it is also how they come from the factory these days.
 
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Also the Hardinge factory offer a a.c. inverter to replace their dc drive.hmm
 
All original ,no modifications and preserving the 10ee art deco look is a different subject completely
 
Congrats on the new lathe. If you don't know already, a wealth of info on Monarch 10ee is waiting for you at Practical Machinist in the Monarch forum. Hundreds of posts about restoring, repairing, or replacing drives. As your lathe is a MG lathe initially you may find if you are patient that you can find complete drive units available for not much cost other than shipping. Monarch does not support the MG machines anymore, but they have the build print and schematic for your particular machine that may be worth purchasing. Lots of folks love their MG machines, Raytheon Industries in particular still had a row of MG machines in their shop not many years ago. Their service wizard liked em, so that is what they had. the Wards/Leonard drive that was in MG machines was a drive system that many repair people understood as it was used extensively in elevators. Having used a original DC drive EE for over a dozen years and having turned on a couple of retrofit machines, not knocking anyones retrofit, but I would not hesitate to fix my original drive instead of junking it. Only when I had come to the end of my patience would a ditch the original drive and go AC. There is a reason that Monarch stuck with DC drive as long as they did. Not to rag on but my machine which is over 60 years old runs on 40 year old tubes that are weak, and this machine still makes a mockery of any lathe you can buy from Taiwan except maybe a HLVH clone.
 
Doubleeboy said:
... Monarch does not support the MG machines anymore, but they have the build print and schematic for your particular machine that may be worth purchasing. ...
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Monarch still sells brushes for MG machines, but that's about it. They don't do a very good job of providing documentation for round-dial 10EEs. For about $75, they will sell you a poor photocopy of the manual and a copy of the most common version of the wiring diagram, which may or may not be the one for your machine. (There are at least eight different MG wiring diagrams, so it's very much a krap shoot.) The one unique thing that you do get is the build sheet for your machine, which shows how it was originally configured and who it sold to.

For square-dial machines, Monarch sends you a generic set of assembly drawings, but the assembly drawing for the round-dials have apparently been misplaced (for the most part). Round-dial documentation is considered "OBSOLETE-DISCARDED" and they no longer attempt to maintain it.

Metal Illness has a much better version of the manual here: MetalIllness - Monach 10EE manuals (The link isn't working right now, hopefully it will be back up.)

I visited Monarch about three years ago and talked with the president about this and he wasn't interested in trying to improve the quality of the documentation they sell, even though I offered free help.
 
I think your going to love the machine , congratulations on getting the best made lathe ever. In my opinion anyway...
 
The stamped lettering on the bed are "INSPECTED NHE Lot No. 12653". Looks like it's a 1941 model. There are faint hole marks where the original ID tag was. Who knows what happened to the tag...or the end covers...or the original drive system. The guy that I bought the lathe from said it belonged to an old farmer that restored Cockshutt tractors. When he got too old to mess around with the stuff, he sold off what he had. I'm looking forward to bringing it back to life.

The gearbox/motor that is on ebay...is that a reasonable price? It's about a 6 hour drive each way for me to go and get it. I think I should do some more research and figure out my plan of attack. I like the idea of the reduction gearbox for a low speed range. In the end, it'll be a home shop machine...but I like to do things correctly and not cut corners. I'm the type that likes to see all of the buttons and levers on the machine do what they were orignally intended to do. In case anyone is wondering, gray will be the colour. :)
 
Before you go buying motor or generator I would spend some time reading every applicable post about MG machines on Practical Machinist Monarch board. Maybe introduce yourself there and explain your situation and goals. There are only a handful of EE enthusiasts (users) here. Over there resides many more with at least 15 years plus of posts about these lathes. There are some chaps there who have many schematics which could be sent to you possibly. Numerous guys there have restored or rebuilt multiple machines. Besides Cal, there is also off the top of my head rkepler or something similar who I know has redone at least one MG maybe more. Not taking anything away from HM but most of the black belts of 10EE can be found at PM board.
 
I assume you mean this one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/MONARCH-10...115571?hash=item4405903f33:g:aqkAAOSwbopZQZU7

you will likely not find it cheaper.

What is your time worth and cost to get it? For me, I'd have to add another $1000, you may see it different.


A 10 hp 3phase motor and 15 hp VFD will make a fine drive for this lathe. I did the 5hp 3phase motor and VFD with a backgear on mine. it may be slightly better, certainly has a bit more low end torque. Doing the mechanical work to fit the backgear to another motor is not a small job. there is a GREAT recent thread here on how to do it.

I would also add the cost of additional build time and parts cost for a backgear. Myself I'd add another $1000 for build time and part cost.


Now a 15hp VFD and 10 hp 3 phase motor will cost more. My GUESS is its real close to the $2.5K I estimated above. You might do quite a bit better with careful shopping.


Either option is a good way to go, not a bad decision here. make your pick and get on with it.


Just my two cents.
 
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