Monarch 60

[Beckerkumm]

After 6 years of sitting and waiting for me to get my act together, the old Monarch is operating. I bought it locally in 2016, stripped the paint and cleaned it up in 2017, and realized I was into something complicated. I had rehabbed woodworking machines for years but had never seen so many gears or parts I couldn't lift on one machine before. I found a Smart Brown 1024 and decided to start with that as the machine seemed more manageable to learn on. Turned out the S and B needed a lot of love and it took me a couple of years to swap motor, controls, repair a million things and get it running. There have been other machines to work on so the monarch sat partially disassembled for years and the task of remembering how to put it together kept it in the " too hard " pile until this winter.

Having learned what not to do with other lathes, I finally got Monarch back together. I got lucky with Monarch's problematic oiling system in that only the gear train oiler was faulty. The ways were getting oil from the apron pump and the regulator valves were working so the ways are in good shape as was the headstock oiling system. There were a bunch of small problems that needed attention but this machine didn't show evidence of having been gone into a lot which is a good thing. My experience with rehabbing is that the biggest problems seem to have been caused by poor repair work.

My before pictures died a couple of computers ago and the Monarch is still on Hilman rollers and not leveled but it cuts well, can leave a good finish, and I believe will stay within <.001 over a reasonable distance. I'm hoping for half that when adjusted, we will see. Machine came with a bunch of KDK tooling that I'm getting used to. I prefer my Multifix but will use this for the time being. Also added a Sky Hook I got a deal on that was NOS but missing a stand. Monarch came with fittings for a tube to support the electrics so I adapted that. The head cover weighs more than the chucks I can't lift and I don't have friends so this works.

Mark Jacobs is doing a vfd conversion for me so my set up is temporary. I have a new TENV motor but the old 10 hp 326 frame one runs smooth so the operating range of the vfd will be in the 30-75 hz range. Spindle range is near zero to 1100 rpm.

This is nothing like a Tailstock restore but good enough for who it is for. Dave

 

[tailstock4]

Congratulations. It looks like you are approaching the finish line – something that can really be appreciated by someone who has done this. I know these old lathes aren’t for everyone. Good candidates are hard to find and even harder to evaluate and full of unknowns even to the very end. A great deal of effort and thinking goes into a restoration like this, but if one is willing to stick it out and work through all the problems like you did, they can end up with something that’s rather unique in performance and feel. Way to go!

 

[Chipper5783]

S&B 1024 fan here (round head). Love to see a thread on you efforts on that project! D

 

[Beckerkumm]

Chipper, there is a short thread on the vfd conversion. I can talk all day about 1024 so shoot me a message if you care to.

I'm sure I'll manage some more failure on the Monarch. There is still some attention needed but the build quality of these machines makes me grin. Dave

 

[DAM 79]

Monarchs are awesome lathes I have two series 60 and use them all the time and they are both still super accurate. That is a clever way of using the SkyHook and I think I will make something similar for mine because the tops of the headstock on them lathes are so heavy and you need two people for sure unless you want to break your back !!

 

[Beckerkumm]

Yes, I got tired of moving the gantry crane through the shop to remove the head cover. It has to be over 100 lbs. There is a spot on the underside casting web for the eye bolt but it isn't centered so you need some height on the sky hook to clear everything. My sky hook is the trailer hitch version but was missing the hitch part of the tube. It has additional length vs the lathe mounted version. I'm adding an arm extension for the chucks that i can slip on and off as the arm is a little short for that purpose. The benefit of the tool post mounted version is the ability to bring the chuck to the mount. Dave

 

[Beckerkumm]

A few pictures of the tailstock crank I made for Monarch. Not artful but works. The fuzzy picture was trying to show a delrin washer I put on the end of the shaft to protect the paint. Dave

 

[Beckerkumm]

Monarch didn't put in a way to oil or grease the feed and leadscrew bushings so I added oil cups. I probably should have used grease zerks but these work. Dave

 

[Beckerkumm]

I tested the old Delco motor at 75 hz tonight and it ran well. I think that is the limit I want to speed up the input shaft and clutch. The machine just sounded more comfortable at 70hz or less. The oiler seems to drip at the same rate whether running at 40hz or 75 hz.

I also swapped to a larger pulley to test the spindle out. My machine has a 700 rpm limit. Monarch used the same bearings on it's 1000+ machines with a similar pulley swap so I'm trying to match the speeds tag chart at 40 hz and run in the 40-70 hz range. When I get over 1000 rpm the spindle bearings start to heat up. It will take more testing to figure out the limits but I think the oiler in the headstock isn't dripping quite enough oil for rpms over 1000. Removing that oiler is a major project and I have other lathes with higher speeds so I will stay at speeds where the bearings get warm but not hot after 15 minutes running.

Motor tag is hard to read but 324 frame, 10hp, 1755 rpm, 25.4 FLA. Even at 40 hz I have almost 7 hp so I think 40-70 will be the sweet spot for the motor and the gear train.

Dave

 

[Beckerkumm]

Made a new mount for the Sky Hook. Having it on the headstock is nice for storage but not ideal and I also needed to be able to use it to lift the tailstock so I can adjust it. Nothing special but first time turning aluminum on the big lathe. I found i need to be aggressive with feed rate and DOC. I ran at 800 rpm for an extended period and the bearings just felt warm so that was good. I didn't like the tool hol der mount Sky Hook sells but this works. The hook is longer than normal due to it being the top half of a trailer hitch model and the friction brake is the cheaper version. I don't mind that but it does place the handwheel kind of high so a step stool might be in order.

Dave