Anyone have a Monarch 10ee lathe?

[930dreamer]

I bid on a 10ee bed on ebay, the starting bid was .01. I'm the only bidder so far. It's in Lovettsville, Va, I'd rather not go and pick it up. So in the off chance I win it is there anyone from the GJ that needs it and can pick it up?

Here's the auction # 121068508474

 

[454ragtop]

Not to worry, I'm sure the 10EE afficiandos aren't going to let you win that that for .01.
Jim

 

[930dreamer]

Not to worry, I'm sure the 10EE afficiandos aren't going to let you win that that for .01.
Jim

You're probably right.

 

[A_Pmech]

Not to worry, I'm sure the 10EE afficiandos aren't going to let you win that that for .01.
Jim

Especially the factory, which buys up beds to rebuild into new machines.

 

[Packard V8]

They're heavy enough to have serious scrap value, but valuable enough I've never heard of one being scrapped out ;>)

jack vines

 

[justanengineer]

They're heavy enough to have serious scrap value, but valuable enough I've never heard of one being scrapped out ;>)

Ive seen many of the production lathes get scrapped, but whats the real value of a turret lathe today? Its a rather niche market. Ive also seen many lathe shells like this one scrapped. 10ee's in well used condition are like South Bends....worth more as parts than as a whole.

If this was a 30" bed it would be gone already, and I would suspect maybe the seller is upgrading his to a bigger/newer bed, hence the parts stripped. As a 20" shell I hope someone buys it but I wouldnt be surprised if it was scrapped.

 

[John in OH]

IIRC, the Monarch 10ee was a high-end tool room lathe, not a production lathe, and, as far as I know, they have not been manufactured in over 40 years or so. However, they are a primo machine and if in good condition demand a good price. Again, and don't quote me here, I believe they were only built in one size ... about a 12" swing and 20"-24" BTC.

The 10ee was ahead of its time somewhat in that it used a variable speed drive that was built integral to the machine. Unfortunately, that very fine feature is now its weak spot as the original variable speed drive was a complex system of vacuum tube technology that is now long obsolete. Due to the integral build of the variable speed drive into the lathe, it is not just a simple matter to replace the drive with a new design. Not impossible, but not easy and not cheap.

If in good mechanical and good running condition, a 10ee is a highly prized find.

 

[A_Pmech]

IIRC, the Monarch 10ee was a high-end tool room lathe, not a production lathe, and, as far as I know, they have not been manufactured in over 40 years or so.

New machines from Monarch are still available, although the bed casting is rebuilt. Price is around $140k, I think.

 

[bsg]

Monarch has never stopped making new lathes.
They used to buy the 30"ee beds before they started to reproduce those as well.
I have sold several lathes back to Monarch including 30"ee.
They still buy some machines for rebuild, mainly the inch metric gearbox machines.

The 10ee is a toolroom lathe and high precision.

I think they are the only American made toolroom lathe still being built.

Kevin

 

[justanengineer]

IIRC, the Monarch 10ee was a high-end tool room lathe, not a production lathe, and, as far as I know, they have not been manufactured in over 40 years or so.

As the other John pointed out, they still produce them. I believe now they are offering machines built off original beds that are rebuilt, as well as new Asian castings. Blasphemy I know, but that was the last rumor as to casting COO I heard over on PM.

As for production machines, there was a production version, a turret lathe with any of the toolroom options the buyer wanted to pay Monarch for. Most of the production versions didnt have quick change gear boxes and were pretty "plain," but some were basically a toolroom ee with a turret instead of (or in addition to) a tailstock. The castings were the same but there were "deletes" in place. The first pic in the link shows a plain production ee with basically no options.
http://lathes.co.uk/monarch/page5.html

Definitely agreed they are "the" lathe to own and on my "someday" list. Ive passed on several due to lack of room or $$$. Two sizes, 20" btc and 30" btc. There was also several varieties of drives for these, but thas a discussion for PM. As with everything, condition dictates price but 20" toolroom machines in well worn/used condition with no tooling can be readily had for ~$1k in these parts, but Ive seen up to $6k for NIIIICCCCCEEEEE ones. For the long bed 30" machine, Ive never seen one below $3k, and only a few at that. As to the plain jane production machine's price, most seem to go for <$500 scrap.

 

[bsg]

As the other John pointed out, they still produce them. I believe now they are offering machines built off original beds that are rebuilt, as well as new Asian castings. Blasphemy I know, but that was the last rumor as to casting COO I heard over on PM.

Where did you hear or see that?

 

[930dreamer]

Ok, I did win this Monarch lathe bed for .01.

 

[A_Pmech]

Ok, I did win this Monarch lathe bed for .01.

Call Monarch and make $$$?

 

[Nelson58]

Wow! Great deal. Advertise it on Ebay or CL and make yourself some money.

Wish I had room for a 10EE in my basement shop. Cadillac of home shop lathes.

Nelson

 

[930dreamer]

Wow! Great deal. Advertise it on Ebay or CL and make yourself some money.

Wish I had room for a 10EE in my basement shop. Cadillac of home shop lathes.

Nelson

That would require me to drive the 1500 miles to pick it up.

 

[Joe B.]

ha ha ha. That is pretty funny. You better not back out of the purchase. That would piss off the seller!

I'm sure you can find a way to disposition it and still make it profitable for you.

 

[930dreamer]

I have a local person interested, thanks.

 

[CRH]

I finally found one! Not running yet, but it is close...

Just working on figuring out the MG drive.

I'm super happy with this project so far. My old car projects are getting 0% of my attention now!

Looks frumpy, but it is in surprisingly better shape than I expected!

 

[Nelson58]

Looks good. How much did it set you back?

 

[930dreamer]

Man I still want a 10EE, tell us more about it.

 

[CRH]

Looks good. How much did it set you back?

I was embarrassed to admit I threw $3,000 at this project when I got it home. But after getting things figured out, it is thankfully turning out better than expected.

These lathes leak, require special attention, cost $$$ to fix...but also are amazing!

Still lots more to do, but I was able to do some test cuts yesterday. I've been on a huge learning curve since getting this machine, thanks to the archives here: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/monarch-lathes/

 

[Nelson58]

$3000 isn't bad at all for this machine. Gotta learn somehow. I have some tapes.

 

[CRH]

[/url]IMG_4395 by crh2765, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Nelson58]

Looks good!