Monarch 10ee

MattM said:
I used one of those laser edge finders.
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That will get you kinda close, more or less, sorta. :cautious: I have one of these and it works pretty good on my router for locating my 0-0 point, but that just has to be kinda close because I normally leave at least 1/8 inch for trim. It's useless on the mill for accurate locating, never tried it on the lathe.
 
Thanks for all the good advice. I guess I'm in a whole new world with this Monarch and have much to learn and much to do for me to realize its full potential. I'm thinking (hoping) it is basically sound and just needs minor adjustment. The laser has been taken to the wood shed where it shall remain.

A retired machinist friend is coming over today and I'll get his input.

What I need to decide is a course of action beginning with the least invasive and proceeding to ...? I guess the first step is to make damn sure the tailstock is aligned. Then taking off the collet chuck and mounting the 3-jaw ( I don't have a 4-jaw for this machine) and turning that 11" piece between centers.

Any suggestions for "order of operations" greatly appreciated.
 
I second most the things doubleeboy says...

One difference though, this lathe is so damn rigid you can't do anything with leveling. Most lathes will twist slightly, not the 10EE. I know, I tried.

I really doubt you have bed wear. The ways are flame hardened and the only way I see these wearing is if they were using it to make graphite tooling or similar for years. You need top drawer quality chucks and collets for this machine. I do a lot a work with adjust true chucks and also softjaws.

From what I've read, you need to go through the carriage. The old girl deserves a rebuild every 50 years or so.
 
Go through the carriage? Is this DIY or a job for the Monarch shop? I've rebuilt a Bridgeport Head, several Atlas lathes, and one SB Heavy Ten.
 
First order of business, open manual, read the set up procedure. Second, adjust those 4 carriage bearings so they are slightly snug and don't bind anywhere on bed as you traverse it. That will tell you alot about any bed or saddle wear you have. Karl is correct the bed is very hard, unfortunately something has to be softer and its the underside of carriage (saddle), so if your oiler don't work or it out of oil usually the back part of saddle wears and voila your are turning a taper up near headstock where all the work is done. Get those 4 bearings adjusted, loose the 3 jaw and collet chuck for time being and turn between centers. You can use the 3 jaw to hold a soft center, true it on the lathe and go to town. Look up Rolies Dads method or the two washer method of setting up a lathe, lots of videos on both on you tube.

michael
 
I'd go as far as doubleeboy says before I'd panic.

You'd pay a fortune to have somebody else do it. I had my carriage apart 20 years ago. I did not do any turcite buildup or scraping work but I did clean tons of swarf out, got the oiler working top shelf, replace several broken parts, way wipers, and tighten everything.

Oh, and rollie's dads method did not work on my 10EE either. Monarch just built these these machines too damn rigid :) My tailstock is an RSH low causing a very slight taper. I just live with it. I don't even use the tailstock for much other than drilling.
 
OK here is where it stands:

1 The machine is level, so says the Starrett 12" level

2 I read the manual, nowhere does it mention anything about tweaking the carriage

3 The spindle is running true, so says the Mitutoyo indicator

4 The collet chuck was out a few Thou, so said the Mitutoyo

5 Replaced the collet chuck with my one and only three jaw

6 Turned between centers, some slight improvement, not enough to mention.
 
Unless Monarch changed how the carriage rides between the years 1956 and the year yours was made, there are 4 bearing that help the carriage ride down the ways, they are mounted on an eccentric cam, just like the adjuster on a metal bandsaw guide bearing, if you look under , or feel with your hand you will find em, they are not that difficult to adjust, if you have bed or carriage wear you will not get a consistent feel as you go down the bed. Check the old posts on PM, I know it is mentioned. rkepler may have written about it. These bearings being on the underside, keep the carriage from lifting up if adjusted correctly and minimal bed wear. Get down on your knees and look up or use a mirror. I would be dumbfounded if Monarch gave up on them.

michael
 
MattM said:
.............. dead on until about three inches from the headstock then dips 3-4 thousands.
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Something is moving, in some direction. Put a known straight bar in the chuck and check in the horizontal and vertical planes with an indicator. You should be able to see a variation in the area of interest, then is a matter of figuring out where it's coming from. Do this by just pushing on things until you find something that moves. If that doesn't work come up with a new test.

Chasing down these things can be a PITA. Don't give up too easily, you'll get it whipped. :encourage:
 
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When you turn between centers make sure you are using a soft center that you turned on your lathe , do not remove it from chuck, or you will have to retrue it, not a hard job though. If after doing all you can to adjust carriage and dialing in tailstock you should be able to hold .001 even on a very worn machine. I believe there are posts at PM describing how to check for bed wear. When the tailstocks are new and scraped in for that particular machine, they are a tad high, a few thou and point down slightly, this gives you a margin for wear, as time passes most folks end up shimming between base of tailstock and top piece. On a 40 year old lathe I suspect your tailstock is going to need some TLC unless this machine was a one owner run by the person who owned it. I urge you to spend a lot of time at PM monarch board reading. Lots of folks have been down this road before you, only a very few are on HM, there are guys way smarter and more experienced than I at PM, Donie, rkepler, J Tiers, and many others.

michael
 
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