Monarch Machine Tool Company - THE TURNING POINT - 1950s Promotional 16mm Film
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Published 2022-04-28
I was recently given dozens of old 16mm films that were rescued from the dumpster of a local college many years ago, all dealing with machine shop topics, ie training, etc. Since I couldn't find any reference to this particular film online, I figured I'd use it as a trial run for scanning these films. It's a laborious process. I will most likely be passing these films along to an archive rather than tackling them myself, but maybe I'll do a couple more of them. Scanned with my Moviestuff Retroscan Universal. I normally clean my films as part of the scanning process but this time I was running very low on film cleaner and didn't want to use up the rest of what I had on this experiment, so please excuse the dirt.
All Comments (21)
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Saving these movies from the trash was a heroic act indeed
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The shop I work in has a Monarch EE10 with a manufacturing date of 1954. It is still one of my favorite lathes to use. Still holds 0.0002 in.
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I work in Germany/ Saxony as an lathe and mill operator, sometimes also on surfacegrinders and so on. Just a couple of months ago I finished my 3 year training, and everytime I see such a film like this, I cant wait to go to work again. I love to use precision Tools and machines, to create different types of workpieces what ever it is. Such a great job!!! Danke für den tollen Film!
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I have fond memories making chips in the 70's and 80's. Monarch, Le Blond and Axelson. All wonderful machines proudly made in the USA. How times have changed.
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Here in my home town of Sidney Ohio. I had an uncle who worked , he ,he started out of high school and was kept working there during WW2 and after, until he retired. A neighbor was a technician who traveled the world repairing Monarch equipment. The factory is still here, but not in the glory it once was.
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Very nice! No crappy AI generated narrator to make one's ears bleed, and the man actually knows how to speak his native language.
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hi pea i thank you again for taking all these films off my hands and sharing them with the world .and a big thanks goes out to mike burger [ san diego city collage] for letting me save them from the dumpster it only took 25 years for something to happen with them but hey better late then never keep up the great work pea
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I bought a 1953 Series 61 lathe in 2015. I opened the headstock when I got it in my little shop to clean, check the oil, the Bijur valves in the lube system. The machine was over 60 years old then. I was STUNNED at the condition of the gears, shift forks, bearings...they didn’t look 2 months old! Man I miss that lathe.
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I wish America would go back to producing more machine tools. I work in a machine shop where we build press brakes. And it’s freaking cool to see where our machines end up in the US. Trailer companies, grill manufactures, tech schools, and even the in armed forces! We need to move companies back to America and bring back quality.
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Thanks for posting this. I've recently been getting back to my roots; I was an engineer for Monarch Machine Tool Company in 1976 and early 77. I think that was the turning point in the American machine tool industry. I remember the company worrying about foreign competition and the struggles to stay cost competitive while maintaining the high quality reputation of the Monarch brand. It was very interesting; the union went on strike in early 77 and I worked in the shop for a few months until I left to pursue a 39 year career in the electric power industry. The factory looked much the same as in the film. However, the instruments were all state of the art. The 10EE was still being produced and was a great lathe. I cut my teeth designing customer requested options for the Model 60. However, I wanted to work with computers, and there wasn't an opportunity for me in the CNC area at the time. So I left and lost track of the machine tool industry until just recently. It's comforting to see that Monarch still has a great reputation!
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One heck of a video their quality control was pretty intense. Thanks a bunch for uploading this!
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I have one from 1956. I love it. This video makes me even prouder to own this machine
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When they said their lathes were made to last, they weren't kidding one little bit...
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The EE is still my favorite, they still run smooth 50+ years later.
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Proud owner of a 10ee. This video is fantastic!
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I have a 1942 Monarch CK12 in my shop at home and I make parts on it for several local repair shops and thread the ends for hydraulic cylinders
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GREAT video we are two very thankful guys here that you saved this historic video sharing the Monarch lathes. Our favorite lathe by Monarch is either of the 10EE 20- or 30-inch versions, so rigid they truly are. Thanking you again, Lance & Patrick.
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I have a suspicion my Chinese lathe was not made to the same standards
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Great piece of history! Thanks for saving.
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Wow now I know why a monarch is so good. I also have a monarch model c lathe and I am very blessed to have it. My dad served his machinist apprenticeship in the dupont Wilmington shops he always said you can't beat a monarch lathe.
