marka12161
Stainless
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2016
- Location
- Oswego, NY USA
There's been a fair amount of dialogue over a number of posts regarding how time consuming a proper functional restoration (scraping to original specs, bearing changes etc). Clearly when this question is discussed in the professional context it becomes a business decision to be evaluated as any other capital investment would be evaluated.
But in the context of a hobby restoration, a very different set of considerations apply. Hobbies by their very nature are irrational pursuits and trying to evaluate them by rational thinking is folly. From a technical perspective, there is no valid reason for sailboats to exist in any place other than the poorest of communities. But go walk around a marina sometime and you'll see plenty of irrational money being spent.
So, one way to approach the question is to compare vintage machine tool restoration to some other hobby like vintage tractor restoration or vintage car restoration and ask which is more demanding of one's time, talent and treasure? I've got a 1941 Monarch 16CY which i'm restoring at a glacial pace due to other commitments of my time. Some have argued it makes no sense from a time and money standpoint and that i should just look for a machine in better condition. If i were making a business investment, we wouldn't even be discussing a manual machine. So if we stipulate that the experience of the restoration process is the end in itself and not the means to an end, it's a very different conversation. Now, back to comparing my project with, say a vintage car restoration. As i see it, a machine tool restoration is a much less ambitious project. My monarch will never deliver more that 7.5 HP to the spindle, will never turn faster than 650 rpm, will never suffer the internal heat of combustion and will never require copious amounts of rusted thin sheet metal to be brazed or welded back into place and then fared smooth to accept high gloss paint.
As i see it, the challenge with machine tool restoration is wrapping your head around the machine's geometry, the ability to take careful measurements, the patience to take these measurements over and over again and the ability to handle the very heavy parts. Over all, i see it as much shorter timeline to project completion and a much less expensive proposition. Sure, no one is going to give you the thumbs-up at a gas station or ask you to ride in a parade, but that's not the motivation of a hobby machinist anyway.
But in the context of a hobby restoration, a very different set of considerations apply. Hobbies by their very nature are irrational pursuits and trying to evaluate them by rational thinking is folly. From a technical perspective, there is no valid reason for sailboats to exist in any place other than the poorest of communities. But go walk around a marina sometime and you'll see plenty of irrational money being spent.
So, one way to approach the question is to compare vintage machine tool restoration to some other hobby like vintage tractor restoration or vintage car restoration and ask which is more demanding of one's time, talent and treasure? I've got a 1941 Monarch 16CY which i'm restoring at a glacial pace due to other commitments of my time. Some have argued it makes no sense from a time and money standpoint and that i should just look for a machine in better condition. If i were making a business investment, we wouldn't even be discussing a manual machine. So if we stipulate that the experience of the restoration process is the end in itself and not the means to an end, it's a very different conversation. Now, back to comparing my project with, say a vintage car restoration. As i see it, a machine tool restoration is a much less ambitious project. My monarch will never deliver more that 7.5 HP to the spindle, will never turn faster than 650 rpm, will never suffer the internal heat of combustion and will never require copious amounts of rusted thin sheet metal to be brazed or welded back into place and then fared smooth to accept high gloss paint.
As i see it, the challenge with machine tool restoration is wrapping your head around the machine's geometry, the ability to take careful measurements, the patience to take these measurements over and over again and the ability to handle the very heavy parts. Over all, i see it as much shorter timeline to project completion and a much less expensive proposition. Sure, no one is going to give you the thumbs-up at a gas station or ask you to ride in a parade, but that's not the motivation of a hobby machinist anyway.