New Shop Machine: 28" Monarch Lathe 

Fortunately for us fans of his channel, Keith has the resources to rescue machines like this and has chosen to expend his personal efforts in the full view of the RU-vid world. There's no economic justification for this ancient workhorse but I'm glad it can live out its remaining days playing in Keith's pasture. And we get free education from a good-humored teacher.

My goodness Keith. That is a fantastic addition. Wow, just wow.

Kieth you look so happy I'm genuinely so pleased for you - looking forward to seeing your restoration

Fantastic looking forward to many episodes of restoration of old equipment

if your close to maryland, i have the right tail stock for that lathe. you can have it if you come and get it.

Keith, that nice way to start the week with you, seeing a piece of history with this lathe beautiful 28 "! And all that at some point acquired, the beautiful task to bring it to its former glory begins. Congratulations, Keith, and as is always very pleasant and expose what accounts. Greetings and success!

"My name is Keith, and I'm an arn a holic...." You are KILLIN' ME Bubba!! Congrats on the purchase. Regards, Duck

Fantastic purchase Keith. You are definitely playing with the big boys now. You have a TON of material for years of videos. Congrats again... Fred

Wow Keith that lathe is really something special. I am going to follow this restoration job till the end!!

Great to meet you at the bash. Thank you for your time.

That Monarch is HUGE!! Love it. 28" swing. wow. Your shop machinery inventory now is beyond impressive. Most interesting description... mega useful to have a manual too. Hope the tail stock build will do the job -sure you can do it. You have plenty to deal with!

Nice Lathe! I'm looking forward to seeing all of these restro's! Now all you need is time!

You took the words right out of my mouth Keith. What a monster! The lathe I ran in high school was a Monarch. Maybe my shop teacher knew something.A childhood friend was offered a job by his uncle at Pratt and Whitney. Some guys have all the luck. He lives in Hartford. Don't blame you bit. It's a shame that such wonderful machines are scrapped. Glad you saved some of them.

Looks like a great addition to your shop. Looking forward to seeing it in operation.

really nice and big lathe Keith im getting my first lath soon through my moms friend it is just a small craftsmen and needs a motor idk much about it just yet but im so stoked watching people like yourself tom Adam and Keith fenner have made me want to get into machine work for years just as a hobby anyways thanks for the entertainment over the years ~ josh

I finally have made it through all your videos. I started from the oldest to the newest and now I'm all caught up. It's been a lot of fun and I look forward to what the future holds. Thank you very much for all of the time you have devoted to these videos. In many ways you have motivated me to get off my butt and get into the machine shop. I appreciate that. Thanks Keith, John T.

Congrats Keith very happy for you....

Trabon is a lubrication system for the moveable surfaces.Thats why there is lines going to your saddle and all those small steel lines to get oil to the ways,and a timer so you can set the intervals when it pumps lube.Trabon is still in business and we use their lubricators on all our manufacturing machines at FCA.

Very nice machine Keith! Looking forward to seeing what ya do with it.

I am looking forward to seeing you restore this monster. Have fun and I'll watch.

this is super great,,, oh man i envy the space you have,,,

sweet addition to the shop.

Awesome new addition Keith!

The Monarch is fantastic Keith. I hope you manage to get it up to a good working order.

Wow! you have a busy future ahead of you, nice BIG toys!

That lathe is a beauty, it'll be great to see the restoration videos, maybe even visit and help some. Love the videos, the shop makes a guy want to cry, I'm working in a garage in nyc for now.

I live in the hometown of Monarch. My grandfather, worked for Monarch for over 35 years. They are not as big as they use to be, due to Japanese lathes, which do not last as long, because you have to replace them about every 5 to 10 years, and a Monarch could last at least 60 years. Even the newer lates made by them, are made by machines that are that old. The "EE" lates, were always the most popular, and they had to start making new ones again. I never thought they would, but they had to, due to the demand. When I was stationed in Germany, I saw a 1965 Monarch lathe, on a truck at one of the bases, and I was really surprised to see it. I hope you have great success with your machine. Monarch, does get parts for old machines, by trades or whatever, so if you need something, you may call them. I have an uncle, that has been working for them for about 30 years or more.

That's going to be great to have in the shop! Good to see that you have a big tailstock to base your replacement from. It'll take some work, but I think most of the hard part is already done.

Awesome....congrats! Enjoyed the walk-a-around

very lovely little piece of iron indeed ! looking forard to seeing it prepped up...

Awesome machine, good luck with it.

I'ts really wow! My congrats Keith!

Just found this video. Great lathe but I can't recall ever seeing it again. An added treat is seeing the shop uncompleted. Back when there was a floor (LOL). I now have a better idea how the shop was framed, except for the upper roof and windows. Just wish that I was able to copy it.

What is not to like about a big old dirty lath well 5 people don't like the idea of restoring this beast. Git-R-Done Keith.

that is huge. Congratulations, Keith

Oh man a Monarch! Can't wait to see that thing running!

Its a wonderful thing to see a little bit of Connecticut machine working history being brought back to life !! From your narration it seems that the dealer was in West Hartford Ct, or possibly the purchasing Dept for P&W, and the machine was purchased by and destined for service at a Pratt & Whitney plant..During the early 60's that would have been East Hartford, Southington, or North Haven which is just about 4 miles from where i live. Over all the years in between and all the folks I knew who worked for P & W, I wouldnt doubt that at least one of them had some hands on with this machine... Great score for your shop, and I hope you have a lot of fun & enjoyment bringing that old "Cold War" horse back to life :)

What a great ole lathe , Thumbs up ..

Nice new toy for you to play with. and us to watch, can't wait.

Monarch lathes are awesome you'll love it.

Love the lathe well done

what a beautiful machine. and adapting the tailstock/s, it should be relatively easy. just a bigger version of Aboms adaptation of the steady rest. Great buy and looking forward to future restoration vids.

Hello Keith, This is what you call a real machine and a nice addition to the other machines, but I guess that the shop gets to small when you add more of those lathe's haha. But this type of lathe seems me ideal for bigger projects and the other is great for little things. Now I am looking forward to the time you go to restore this lathe and hopefully a new series of video's after the restoring of the other lathe. But now I am first curious about the first startup of this lathe and if he works and how it sounds. Besides, now I can understand why the electric motor in my Honda is so powerfull because it is also a 20 HP electric motor just like this lathe did have. This is a massive machine and I can understand that it needs a powerfull motor. Thanx for the presentation of the new tool and many greetings from Roel !

Nice machine Keith! What a monster.

Now that's a lathe! I'll be watching that resto series for sure. My wife heard you mention your illness, then said "hey he's got it too".

That beauty is going to be a lot of fun! Will be very interested to see how the tracer attachment worked, and how you eventually put it to use.

Theres two 3jaw chucks in the lathebed aswell. Nice buy! Big machine

Now this is a lathe. Can't wait to see it running. We have a 24" leblond with no tailstock at work.

That lathe is a monster Keith! You look pretty excited.

THANK YOU...for sharing.

Keith, Traybon is a lubrication system. The air line was sometimes used to pressurize the oil instead of using a pump. The "clock" was to set lubrication intervals. We used the same system on our large stamping presses.

Looks like a nice machine.

Great lathe. Abom79 will be pleased to see another Monarch (and yours is bigger). Liked the sneak preview in the background of the paint stripped from the Le Blond lathe.

if you plug it in before starting the restoration, please do a before and after video of it running. it would be very cool to see! that thing looks so amazing.

Looks great, Inspired by yourself and all the other youtube creators i have just got my first lathe, its a small wade CAV lathe that would fit on that 22" chuck. Thanks for your videos.

Keith, If you have to have a disease that;s the one to have, I cant wait to see that beast run good luck on the restoration. Ty

Very impressive! Great chatting with you (as usual) at Bar-Z this weekend.

Keith, You sick sick man! I thought I was bad having a 20" swing lathe in my home shop. You have me beat and I concede. LOL I love it! Good luck! All the best! Mike

Back in the 80s when I was a Boy Scout, we all took a tour of that P&W plant. It was the largest building I had ever seen at the time.

First i thought: what a huge workshop this guy is building. Well, seems it is more of an sanatory for the "Big Iron Desease". And it is just filling up quickly, getting smaller every time and will probably end being tiny. Wish you a lot of fun living your dream. And wish us a lot of fun peeking at you a little bit doing so. congratulations!

Wow -- you can turn loco wheels with that puppy. Congrats and good luck.

My wife would have shot me dead...I can't get a 6" Jointer for my shop...My wife gave me grief for weeks over the CHEAP Harbor Freight drill press (that I've used hundreds of times)...and here you are getting a massive lathe. Way to go!!!!

Dang buddy, that thing is crazy! Originally bought by Pratt & Whitney, that's awesome.

Very cool Keith!!

Hey Keith, you keep taking on these projects you're going to live to be 100

Keith you luck dog, That is the best dam machine ever made. I love my Monarch

I have a 16 inch monarch hydro shift looks very similar in design to this one. It is the best machine i have ever ran. Im not sure if you know but this machine has a rapid travel in both direction by moving the feed handles forward and backwards. It also has auto oilers in the carriage that keep the ways, thread screws and all other moving components well oiled and usually in very good shape even on well used machines. The tail stock on my lathe is massive it sets full of oil and has a hand operated oil pump that pressure feeds oil the the live center bearings. It seems unusual that this machine has only a 10 hp motor as mine has a 15. it will handle a 200 cut at .015 feed easy. The one I the one i have is a 1956 model. Cool machine.

Way cool! My Father was a Machenest and then he became a production engineer. Always said Monark made the best lathe,s.Wish my health was better I would give you a few weeks of manual work striplng paint.I know how much you must love that part ! GRIN!

absolutely beautifull machine for the big jobs

Beautiful lathe!! They were an excellent machine! Made right here in Ohio..

Now we can stop wondering why the new shop is so big! Big guy, big tools. Watch out Abom, competition is coming!

It is a beautiful beast.

Nice big lathe. You will fix it up in no time ☺

ran monarch air tracer, great machine, took some time to learn how to operate!

Blown away. I don't think I've ever seen anything that big in a pro shop, much less a home shop. Monarch and Hardinge were the Cadillacs of American lathes -- and they are still in business last I looked (CNC today). Both offer rebuilds and rebuild assistance, at a hefty price. The first thing I would do it to get in touch with Monarch and see if they have a suitable headstock. Long shot, but not so long as touring every scrapyard in the US. Me, I love the 10EEs, but even if could find one I couldn't fit it in my shop. The fact that it was known to be accurate is a good omen -- the ways are probably good. The tracer attachment may be shot. Yes, you can replace it with a more modern CNC on the cross-slide. Major project. John Saunders at NYCCNC is the man to ask.

Be proud! If I had the space and my wife was willing....I'd have gone much larger, how about a 120" vertical lathe? It was nice to see you and the others at Stan's this weekend. I love the military surplus forklift!

Thank you for sharing your addiction with us. My wife is not threatening to move my pillow out to the garage since I don't have to acquire any of these machines myself.

Keith, ol' buddy, there's no two ways about it. You need to enlarge your shop. Maybe next time if you get to the auction early they will still have some of the big lathes available for sale. I have heard of industrious and ambitious folks before but brother you take the cake. For which, knowing you, you will buy an old oven to fix up so you can bake it yourself. Best of luck my friend and as always I will look forward to and enjoy your next video.

Wow now that is a lathe!! You have to get Adam up to your shop to play on that machine soon. I know where the is a old machine shop that has been out business for awhile, but most off the machines are still there. I will go see if any of them are for sale, and see what is still there. I will let you know what I find out. Kevin

The quest for more iron! Will the hunger ever be satisfied? ;) Congrats Keith, that's one awesome machine!!

ABOM size, nice video. Keep em comming, Greg Toney Al

That is certainly one huge lathe. At this rate you will have that shop totally full in three years. Keep on keeping on.

Beautiful! Hope all works out with this machine. Can't wait to see it run. I have a Pratt and Whitney 10" lathe circa 1900 to 1910ish. I have the over head flat belt drive equipment with it. I am looking for info on this lathe. I want to restore it.. It is before the advent of the quick change gear box. has manual change gears.

I like the look of your 2 lathes your currently restoring

I have recently found a Monarch Lathe. I believe it is a 21 inch machine. Everything is there except the chuck. The machine was dropped during a move. I am not sure what I haven't decided what to do with it. Either restore or part it out. One of the things that brought you to mind is you need a tail stock. Have you started building one yet? You might need the hole machine for parts. It has a good tail stock and apron. I will get picks and measurements this week.

Congrats Keith on what you will find as very nice Monarch lathe. I'm a proud owner of a 1942 Monarch CK 12 lathe that is powered by a 5 hp 220VAC single phase and I can easily take .125 a side ( .250 total ) . I have taken a .250 depth of cut ( .500 total ) just to prove it could be done. Monarch still supports these fine lathes and parts are available. That's a great offer from Jason Myers on the tailstock. Hope it works out. Jeff / Jeff in PA on OWWM.org

Keith is gonna make this lathe great again!

I love that the diameter of the chuck on your lathe is the same as the between centres measurement on mine! It gave me a little giggle!

The lights in the neighbood will dim like in the old prison movies when they turn on the electric chair! Great stuff Keith. Thanks.

yes, brother kieth, the heavy metal deficiency is a tough condition to fight, -- and better to surrender to it. \grin\ and on a serious note -- i have a factory rased to 24" leblond regal, autoshift, 5' length, with alot of tooling and several chucks and the plate. yes, it needs some restoration, but it is free to you. if you think you could use it, we can work out a plan to transport it to your new shop. -toly

Can't wait to see it make chips! Love it

wow a wery big one, another project to see

WoW What a cool piece.... Looking below hoping Jason really has that tail stock for you!

Wow that's a big lathe Keith your disease must be a big one hope it doesn't get better till the shop is finished. happy man good on you.

I remember Pratt & Whitney's main plant in East Hartford CT in the Mid 60's. It was full of machines like that. The last time i was in that plant in the 90's they were all gone. So were the hundreds of men who used to run the machines. Sad.

Keith There is a 28" Monarch on ebay now that has a tail stock. It might give you some insight. I'm sure there is one out there. Just keep shakin' the trees. Good luck!

WHOA! THAT THING IS BIG! REAL BIG!

Love that lathe Keith. Build a tailstock? I know that the job will aways fall short if you cannot find the capstan. In a production setting the capstan tailstock is hard to beat. As for the tracer possibly opt for hydraulic settup conversion which is easier to obtain. Such as the one keith Fenner has. The small crane would have been for chucks. On some of these lathes the capstan had a parking crane, for the quick tool change. the were three heads mounted on arms moving on a piller.

Hi Keith ! Wav, what a lathe ... on the other hand what else should you have in such a big shop - it's really a nice place you are building up there ... and how I wish I lived nearby you to see it going on - I would love it ! CONGRATS !

Nice looking baby mr Rocker , lo'ts of fun coming in the near future , thank you .