Advice on Monarch 10EE and Bridgeport Series 1 acquisition

[rabler]

One option to seriously consider, get these (Bridgeport and Monarch). If the Monarch is going to be a challenge to get running, set it aside (keep it) and buy an import lathe, possibly used, to get you going while you work on the Monarch, sell the import once the Monarch is running.

 

[Macca]

get a rigger over there to move them RIGHT NOW!!!

I don't think I have a rigger local to me. Seems like 2 hours to the nearest from the phone calls ive made.

 

[Susquatch]

I don't think I have a rigger local to me. Seems like 2 hours to the nearest from the phone calls ive made.

I have only just joined. But I can tell you this. Those are both awesome machines. You are wasting way too much time talking about whether they are worth getting and what it will take to get them working. You need to get over there, study the situation, and then get on the phone.

Only going by what you have said already, I'd hire an independent flatbed car towing company to get them. They have winches and gear and you can both load them with a forklift and unload them with winches and rollers or sleds.

Don't worry about getting them to work just yet. THEY ARE FREE and they are both premium machines most of us would love to own! Just go get them before someone else does.

Even if you don't end up fixing them, both can be parted out at a healthy profit or sold as is at a healthy profit. That would get you started on buying working machines.

AFTER you get them home, you can take your time figuring out how they work and what might be required to get them working with a rotary phase converter or vfd or whatever.

But first things first. GO GET THEM NOW.

You suck finding a deal like this.

You really suck if you let them slip through your fingers.......

Ps - I had a Bridgeport, I have a Bridgeport Clone now, and I have a 14x40 lathe. I would be on the way there already if I knew where they were.

 

[great white]

I don't think I have a rigger local to me. Seems like 2 hours to the nearest from the phone calls ive made.

Those are expensive, high quality machines capable of commercial grade production work. If you wanted to get modern equipment with the same quality level as these machines, you’re looking in the 10-20,000 range….each.

Spending a grand or two to get them home is almost a no brainer to me.

Worst case scenario you turn around and sell them for 4-5 grand and pocket whatever it is over your cost to move them. You could part them out and potentially make more than that, but thats a lot of time and effort and it may be years before you get rid of it all. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want a disassembled lathe and mill hanging around for an extended period. I’d sell them whole, if I was going to sell them at all.

If I had the space to even store equipment like that, I would have been over there 5 mins after the call and arranging to have them moved in the next day or so (if they weren’t total crap).

But its your call. You know how much time, money and space you have to dedicate to the venture.

Good luck

(Ps: go get them now!)

 

[Macca]

I have only just joined. But I can tell you this. Those are both awesome machines. You are wasting way too much time talking about whether they are worth getting and what it will take to get them working. You need to get over there, study the situation, and then get on the phone.

Only going by what you have said already, I'd hire an independent flatbed car towing company to get them. They have winches and gear and you can both load them with a forklift and unload them with winches and rollers or sleds.

Don't worry about getting them to work just yet. THEY ARE FREE and they are both premium machines most of us would love to own! Just go get them before someone else does.

Even if you don't end up fixing them, both can be parted out at a healthy profit or sold as is at a healthy profit. That would get you started on buying working machines.

AFTER you get them home, you can take your time figuring out how they work and what might be required to get them working with a rotary phase converter or vfd or whatever.

But first things first. GO GET THEM NOW.

You suck finding a deal like this.

You really suck if you let them slip through your fingers.......

Ps - I had a Bridgeport, I have a Bridgeport Clone now, and I have a 14x40 lathe. I would be on the way there already if I knew where they were.

Thank you for the response, I am now in "how to get them home" mode... seriously, especially after everyone's insight into these machines and how much positive information there is on them. I appreciate all this helpful advice.

On another note, they cannot slip through my fingers. It was also the weekend and i had to wait to make phone calls to see who could move them.

 

[great white]

Another thing to consider is the 10EE is quite an attractive looking piece of equipment. Its the art deco-ish styling that I find appealing about them:


Freshened up and restored it is quite the conversation piece in the shop and while still capable of some serious work.

Heck, I could walk into the shop with a coffee, pull up a chair and just stare at it all day.…

 

[Macca]

Another thing to consider is the 10EE is quite an attractive looking piece of equipment. Its the art deco-ish styling that I find appealing about them:

View attachment 415024
Freshened up and restored it is quite the conversation piece in the shop and while still capable of some serious work.

Heck, I could walk into the shop with a coffee, pull up a chair and just stare at it all day.…

I couldn't agree more, that machine looks very attractive... almost like using it would be frowned upon.

If you don't mind me asking, what do you have invested into the external restoration (hours)? What were the stages? Complete tear down, sand, prime, paint, chrome?

 

[Susquatch]

Thank you for the response, I am now in "how to get them home" mode... seriously, especially after everyone's insight into these machines and how much positive information there is on them. I appreciate all this helpful advice.

On another note, they cannot slip through my fingers. It was also the weekend and i had to wait to make phone calls to see who could move them.

OK. Well then that is settled.

But you still suck twice. Not only free but well leashed so they can't run away on you!

Just gotta get em home so you don't suck 3x.

Don't ignore the flatbed tow truck option.

You can drive right off the loading dock onto the flat deck with the forklift. Then tilt the flat deck and slide them off with a winch at your place. They will know how to do it.

An independent won't have a boss to say no. Prolly take a couple hundred and a case of beer all-in on a slow day.

 

[great white]

I couldn't agree more, that machine looks very attractive... almost like using it would be frowned upon.

If you don't mind me asking, what do you have invested into the external restoration (hours)? What were the stages? Complete tear down, sand, prime, paint, chrome?

Thats not my lathe, I just grabbed the pic off the net. I’m not even sire if thats an oem color for them, most of the pics on the internet are a machine gray color. I can only wish I had the money and room for a 10EE….

But time and money are very dependent on the starting condition of the machine. Mechanical defeciencies (obviously) have to be adressed first, then you get into the cosmetics.

I’ve ”only” got an Atlas TH42 in my garage. I started off learning it and addressing the mechanical issues (mostly from wear). I went so far as to convert it to a dc motor (baldor) and dc speed control (danfoss cycletrol), which added to the cost.

I’m just starting to address the cosmetics, which eats up lots of time with cleaning and prep. Mine is going rust-oleum metallic turquoise:



It’s a bit of a bear to get it “de-oiled” after 70 odd years of total loss lubrication. It’s literally in the metal at this point. Then theres the multiple layers of paint. Takes forever to strip, even using some fairly serious chemicals (paint stripper).

Time wise, I’ve had the lathe in my possession for about 4-5 years now And I’m just getting to the cosmetics.

But I’ve been fixing the mechanical stuff piece by piece as I learned to use the lathe. I would estimate somewhere around 6 months to a year if you were to tear it down and do a complete rebuild/paint, maybe longer if you just have evenings and weekends to work on it. Thats even more true if you’ve never done it before or are not familiar with the model you have. Or if you have to “farm out” things like paint, etc. For something as nice as a 10EE, I’d probably pop the money and farm the painting out to a pro, or possibly consider powder coating. Powdercoating can be a bear though as it often ends up in areas don’t want it (screw threads, bearing surfaces, etc)

At the end of the day I’m hopeful my TH42 will look as good as it works. Where you go with your 10EE is up to you. Get it running and functional first and learn some (at least) basic lathe skills, then consider how far you want to go with it…cosmetics wise.

One thing I will say is that the 10EE is a serious piece of equipment. Which means it can hurt you (or kill you) in a fraction of a second if you don’t know the basic safety rules around a lathe. I’d recommend either reading up on good lathe practices. Or, if you have this in your area, take some weekend or evening shop classes to get some of the basic safety rules in your head.

 

[rabler]

There are lots of levels and approaches to old machinery. One approach is just change the oil and run them. The other extreme is to tear it down to each individual part, clean it up, and assure function. Repainting is cosmetic, the machine will run fine with old paint, BUT there is pride in ownership, having a good looking machine will motivate you to take care of it, and new paint is easier to keep clean.

Paint and cosmetic is one factor. I would call repair of mechanical issues, much like repairing a car, another factor. This will include getting the MG running and/or swapping it out for a new motor and VFD. The third factor is alignment and rehabilitation of wear of the major alignment surfaces. A lathe (or mill) uses many large metal surfaces that slide across each other on a thin film of oil. In a lathe these are primarily how the carriage rides on the lathe bed, and how the cross slide and compound move. These sliding surfaces are generally called "ways". The wear of those ways is effected by how much use the machine has seen, how well the lubrication was maintained, and of course the general design.

This last factor has the biggest age-related impact on how easy it is to use the machine to produce accurate detailed dimensions. It also requires some specialized skills to address. Those skills are learnable, but it does take time and an interest in that type of thing.

As a relative newcomer to hobby machining, trying to assess and address all of these factors is daunting. I would caution against trying to address all of the cosmetic issues without understanding what other issues need to be addressed. I am in the midst of rebuilding an 10EE, and have several other machines I am currently also working on. Additionally I'm building a new shop. Obviously I'm addicted (That doesn't mean I'm an expert!) But rebuilding a machine to a showroom-like appearance such as @great white's picture is a big endeavor. I'd hate for you to end up with a pile of parts and lots of frustration. I'm probably stating the obvious but just putting it out there. The 10EE, especially as a freebie, is a great machine. I would *suggest* (my opinion) you start by looking at what is the simplest path to getting it running, and use it a while before diving into a complete rebuild.

Note the use of a couple pallet jack wheels under mine.
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