Monarch 612-2516 lathe

I would recommend that you throw away all the old meter valves. There are multiple layers of felt and very fine screens inside of these – and sometimes even a check valve. Even though you get them clean enough to flow oil, it won’t be long before they clog up again. The decades of old, sticky paraffin I think is the culprit.

However, I would really recommend that you consider breaking the apron and the saddle completely down. I have done this on pretty much all my lathes, and I’ve never been sorry that I did. No matter how much you clean on them or how clean the machine is, you’ll be amazed at how much dirt and crud is still in there. Additionally, I usually end up changing all the bearings in the apron while I’m at it.

You have the right equipment and the right attitude to get it done. Don’t let the complexity of the apron deter you. Just set the apron upright on one table, suspended from a crane. Then build yourself a laydown table out of a new sheet of plywood. Start at the top of the apron taking the top pieces out. As you take each piece out, reassemble them in your hand and lay them out on the plywood as they came out, numbering them as you go. I mark the board with the number. Sometimes I’ll even write notes related to the assembly on the board next to the part. It also helps to take pictures of the part and of where it came from. You continue this process going down through the apron until you reach the bottom. Eventually you’ll reach the bottom of the casting. This is where you can truly clean it up and possibly re-Glyptal it.

Take each subassembly and clean all its pieces, replace bearings as needed, and reassemble that subassembly being sure to retain the original order and orientation as laid out on the plywood table. Eventually you’ll end up with a table full of cleaned, inspected, and repaired parts. At that point you’ll have the order for reassembly (just work in reverse). By the time you clean and inspect each part, you’ll know the apron inside and out and reassembly won’t be that hard. The complexity of the apron really makes no difference.

In the end you’ll have a smoother working apron that you know is working and oiling correctly. One bit of help is that Monarch made such good quality machinery, you won’t have to fight poorly fitting parts. Besides it gives you a real appreciation of what made these so special.

One other thing, before reinstalling the saddle and apron back on the lathe, I usually assemble them together hanging from the crane and run the oil system to verify that everything is oiling as it should.

Of course you may be aware of this already. I just don’t often hear it actually explained how this is done.

I’ve included a few pictures of this process on a recently completed TOS apron as an example.

IMG_1219.jpg IMG_1220.jpg IMG_1221.jpg IMG_1222.jpg
 
However, I would really recommend that you consider breaking the apron and the saddle completely down.
I’ve done the full apron rebuild on both a 12CK and a 10EE, as well as the QCGB on both of those. While they are both simpler than this one, I’m familiar with the process. Agree it’s the best plan, but it is not in the cards right now as we’re starting construction on a new house shortly. And to be honest, most of my rebuilds on these older machines is iterative rather than exhaustive. Just what works for me. If I really do a full apron rebuild I’d also like to turcite the carriage.

At least the 612, unlike the 10EE and 12CK, has a removable face plate on the apron, so I was able to do a decent cleaning.
 
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I wasn't aware of your previous experience so my post wasn't necessary. Sorry about that. Good luck with the new house. That does sound like a project!
 
I wasn't aware of your previous experience so my post wasn't necessary. Sorry about that. Good luck with the new house. That does sound like a project!
No apology necessary! I should have mentioned that I seriously thought about it, and had to talk myself out of it. Thanks!
 
I wasn't aware of your previous experience so my post wasn't necessary. Sorry about that. Good luck with the new house. That does sound like a project!
No, your post will be there for folks in the future who don't have the experience. Knowledge transfer is never wasted, sometimes it takes a while to get to the right person but never wasted....

John
 
Got out to the shop today intending to make new collars for the clutch shaft. As with many Monarchs, this one uses a square rod as an apron clutch shaft, and there are two levers/handles that can be used to disengage the spindle from the motor, and engages the spindle brake. One lever is right next to the QCGB, the other moves with the apron. These collars (bushings?) tend to get worn out, the hole should be perfectly square but these are irregular octagons. That makes the clutch lever sloppy. (Nobody likes a floppy knob). Fortunately they aren't that hard to make, but I didn't have any suitable stock. So I ordered 3' of 1.75" 1215 rod from McMaster after comparing price with online metals. I'm also waiting for a suitable roll pin for the half-nut lever (in the baggy).

Collars/bushings are in the lower right in this pic:
IMG_5426.JPG

After realizing I needed more stock, I was feeling a bit disorganized so it was time to do some cleaning. The above picture was after I cleaned up the bench. The underside of that apron was pretty filthy and some residual oil had drained out. That transitioned into a general clean up around the shop, and a good chance to collect my thoughts. Cleaning and strategizing/planning tend to go hand in hand for me.

Opened up the DRO and set out the parts, along with oil pump and perspective 12V DC gear motor to drive the pump (lower right) at about 10 RPM. That oil pump will feed the entire carriage and cross slide, that oil system is completely separate from the apron. For the DRO, this is an 80" Z axis scale, the center to center distance is suppose to be around 50" but the carriage travel is a bit more, enough that a 60" scale would have been tight. The cross slide scale is a 16" 1 um scale.

IMG_5425.JPG

I'll need to fabricate some parts to work with the DC motor to drive the oil pump. A bit of CAD work in the pipe for that. I also need to mount the DRO. Planning on a mast off the back of the carriage, but need to make sure it doesn't interfere with the oil pump setup.

I've also been thinking about my aborted 10EE project recently. I got the apron and qcgb completely rebuilt on that before I started on the new shop build. But it has stalled since then. I have pretty much decided to send that out for someone to grind the ways and turcite the carriage. Then, much to the dismay of many of the 10EE aficionados, I'm planning on a induction motor, 7.5 HP, a VFD, and I'll go down the rabbit hole of making the back gear work (need to make a new gear for that).
So the todo list on the 612 condenses to:

1) clutch shaft bushings
2) rehang apron on carriage
3) re-install all 4 apron rods
3b) new felts for clutch shaft wipers
4) design and fabricate DC motor to oil pump mount for back of carriage
5) level bed
6) install DRO scales, likely fabricating better guards. (Kit includes some light duty aluminum ones, but ...)
7) fabricate a DRO head mast and mount that, arrange wiring, etc.

If you made it this far, congrats on surviving my ramblings while I organize my shop and thoughts!
 
Spring, so been busy with farm & yard chores, horses, and other projects, so progress hasn't been quick, but it is great to have a shop to spend a few hours in when I do get some time.

Got the clutch shaft bushings remade. This is a typical repair on old Monarchs. Interestly the set screws around the perimeter of the bushing were done on a rotary table rather than hand drilled, so it made it easy to replicate the hole pattern rather than drilling and tapping new ones.

IMG_5431.JPG


Got the carriage, apron and apron shafts re-installed. Also the DRO head and Z axis scale mounted. Still working on the cross-slide scale, there is an external oil line on the tailstock side of the cross-slide which lubricates the cross-slide leadscrew nut. Trying to come up with a workable way around that.
IMG_5449.JPG
 
Spring, so been busy with farm & yard chores, horses, and other projects, so progress hasn't been quick, but it is great to have a shop to spend a few hours in when I do get some time.

Got the clutch shaft bushings remade. This is a typical repair on old Monarchs. Interestly the set screws around the perimeter of the bushing were done on a rotary table rather than hand drilled, so it made it easy to replicate the hole pattern rather than drilling and tapping new ones.

View attachment 489192


Got the carriage, apron and apron shafts re-installed. Also the DRO head and Z axis scale mounted. Still working on the cross-slide scale, there is an external oil line on the tailstock side of the cross-slide which lubricates the cross-slide leadscrew nut. Trying to come up with a workable way around that.
View attachment 489193
That is going to be a awesome Lathe once you get it back together especially having the rapids on there I need to do the same repair on the clutch shaft bushings that you did on my 16X30 Monarch
I hope I don’t run into any unforeseen issues when I take mine apart. Looking forward to seeing you making some chips once you have it back together and running!!
 
That is going to be a awesome Lathe once you get it back together especially having the rapids on there I need to do the same repair on the clutch shaft bushings that you did on my 16X30 Monarch
I hope I don’t run into any unforeseen issues when I take mine apart. Looking forward to seeing you making some chips once you have it back together and running!!
The rapids are a bit intimidating, as using the rapids sends the corresponding handwheel spinning at a pretty good rate, and that wheel is at a dangerous height. I did also change the oil on the rapids motor worm gear, glad I did.

I made the square hole in the bushings with a 1/4" then 3/16" endmill, finished off to fit (square) with a file. Filing took a little time, maybe a leisurely hour for two, but wasn't willing to spend $400+ to buy a 3/4" square broach. Alternately you could drill the corners slightly oversized first, that would lose some contact area but for a lathe that isn't used day in day out probably would last several decades. Obviously when this 612 was made (1967) Monarch was aware that these bushings were wear items, this lathe even includes way wipers and an oil port for the apron clutch lever bushings.
 
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I noticed how pretty the square hole looked and was impressed. With a single pass square broach, I think it's SOP to use a slightly oversize starting hole, which leaves the 4 arc segments remaining.
 
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