My posts come in waves, and I've been making one every week or so as i try to peice together my new home garage shop. My last post on choosing a lathe went very well and gave me A TON to think about.
Ive been looking for a smaller footprint lathe that isnt a little 6" atlas/craftsman type and found a 10ee with electrical something or other going on. I am not the most well versed in electrical, but am known for taking on projects way out of my comfort zone and doing OK or suffering for long periods but still winning in the end.
I would think the electrical for a lathe isnt too complicated since most of the business is in the gears... can anyone chime in on this and give me a little words of wisdom and maybe what I might be up against?
I know how to check spindle bearings, ways, gear meshing, but how about this electrical problem or what im not considering??? Would love to have a 10ee
As long as you are willing to take on a project buy it. That’s one of the best lathes ever built. Lots of support for them here and on Practical Machinist. Most likely that round dial has a simple motor generator in it. The contractor is simple to re-wire and I documented it well in my thread. Same with installing the transformer. What is the build date of the machine? If you contact Monarch with the SN you can purchase the build sheet (pretty inexpensive) for the machine along with the parts schematics.... those are very informative and worth having. If you can get that lathe for under 3K, and are willing to put some time and parts into it, it will be worth far more when rebuilt. Looks to me that most of the expensive parts to replace are there. Headstock bearings, if it needs it, can be expensive, but the rest isn't that bad or hard to come buy. Post some more detailed pics and I can give you a much better rundown of what you will need and what to expect.
I think that the 'ee' in the model stands for 'electrical engineer'. If you don't have the degree then it might not be a good first choice. Here is a good thread to peruse;
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/rebuilding-a-monarch-10ee-lathe.482053/
lg
That’s my thread. The Electrical Engineer commit, really applies to the later non-motor generator units. Those can get quite complicated, but there is a vast amount of information on repairing those over on the PM forums. If this is a motor generator unit. and I'd be surprised if it wasn't, electrical parts are cheap and it is very simple. The square dials are where things start to get complicated electrically.
To the OP mine was in very tough shape to start
Before
I literally tore it down to the very last screw and rebuilt the entire machine. All new bearings, wiring, electrical, etc.
in the process I wrote an entire repair manual for it that documented every step with images. I learned more from that project than I did in 7 years of engineering school getting my degree and met some amazing people along the way. That project gave me the knowledge and skills to fix anything. I’d do it over again in a heartbeat if I ever find a reasonably priced inch/metric version or a Moore Jig Bore.
Ronin is correct, that 10EE is a professional tool room lathe, and WAY too much lathe for homeowner use. It's heavy as hell too. I know people that have them and love them, but they aren't new to lathes. You would be better served looking for a 10" Southbend or similar.
Blasphemy. Only two downsides to the 10ee is the need to have or rent a fork lift for loading / unloading and it likes to have 3 phase power. It can be re-wired to run on single phase or phase converters can be had for cheap these days. Otherwise, there is no disadvantage of owning a high-end machine. That machine is roughly 3500#'s and its about 300lb/sqf. If you install some feet under it, you can move with a pallet jack. To lift it, you want to use a lifting strap under the main support within the bed.
Even if that one works, it looks rougher than a gravel road.
As was mine, I'd think of it as a diamond in the rough. These were built sturdier than a brick **** house, and looks to me a lot of what's going on with the OP's is really just paint. Most likely it was a war machine, so the finish paint on those was a bit rough to start.
Very few lathes, including brand new modern ones can hold tolerances as tight as an 80+ yearly Monarch 10EE thats why they are so sought after. Monarch spared no expenses when building these, and at the time they cost serval times what a typical house did. They will still build them to custom order today, but thats $250K+ and not a whole lot has changed.
