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Monarch 610 vs 612 vs 613 vs 614

alcro1998

Cast Iron
Joined
Nov 10, 2020
Location
Central Ohio
Hi, I recently have become more interested in the larger models of Monarch lathes but can not seem to sort out the differences between the 610, 612, 613 and 614. I was wondering if anyone could please explain the differences for me.

Thanks,

Chris
 
All the 61X models are mechanical shifting headstocks (not like the 62s) and very similar afaik.

The 610 and 612 series vary primarily by beefiness and were offered concurrently. Compared to the 610, the 612s have wider beds for more rigidity, maybe like 2” extra or so between ways. They are a resultantly good bit heavier than equivalent 610s.

613s and 614s I am a little more fuzzy on. They came later, maybe 70s on? I have seen some with wide range inch/metric QC gearboxes, just flip a lever to change between inch and metric without pulling change gears. Kind of like the QC boxes on some 10EEs. So maybe that is a reason. I am sure there are more differing details. You could always email Monarch and ask for specifics. They are pretty responsive.
 
Thanks for the responses. I talked with monarch today and they cleared things up. They are all pretty similar lathes but the 613 had a headstock that was raised up and the 614 were mostly made with inch metric gear boxes.
 
One won't see a lot of 614s out there, in my mind hinting at their continued value and likely irreplaceable nature.

I got a 612 into the shop this summer and I'm equally impressed by it as when I got the EE. For different reasons but the incredible detailed machine and heavy construction is a perennial favorite.
 
It all started with the introduction of the Dynoshift Series 62 lathe in 1955. By 1960 Monarch wanted to sell the Series 62 with a more conventual headstock, thus the 32 speed Series 612 was born that only differed from the Series 62 by headstock. The Series 610 was the economy version of the Series 612 offered in narrow beds. The Series 613 was a combination of the 612 and 610 moldes in the 1970's, and the Series 614 used just the 2013 and 2818 moldes that trace their way back to the Series 612, starting in the early 1980's. Thee were some improvements made along the way. Motor outside the leg, motor inside the leg, inch/metric gearbox, digital readouts, etc. But dependent on the model they are all basically the same lathes.

Interesting, one of the last major orders that carried Monarch for several years was a large U.S. Navy order for 614's. they had inch/metric gearbox, 2000 rpm spindles, taper attachment and digital readouts. Monarch build close to 100 of these lathes from roughly 1990 through 1997, shipping 1 to 2 a month. Most where models 2013 x 54, but there were smattering of 2018's and 2013 with longer center distance of 78", 102" and 126". I think the longest shipped in this order was a 174".

John L.
 
John L.,

I have long read your posts here re Monarchs. I have been meaning to ask you about a 614 1610 x 54. About 10 years ago I was bidding on a Monarch that I remember being a 1610. It was built in the early 1990's, 2000 rpm top speed, taper attachment, inch/metric threading, and I think a DRO. I have seen you post the 614s were made in 2013 and 2818, and I have not ever seen another 1610 614. Was this really a 1610 614? Or am I remembering this wrong? Would Monarch have built this size 614 if ordered?

This was a mint machine, had nice accessories and some tooling. My bid came in third, and the winning bid was nearly double what I bid. I did not really need this lathe then, but I sure do now. It was in the prototype shop of a seal manufacturing company. They cleared out half the department and replaced the machines with CNC. The Monarch 614 was prominently featured in the auction listing.

Thanks,

Marc
 
I am not too familiar with the 614s but I would assume that it would be possible to get one in the 1610 version. Monarch would make pretty much anything you wanted if you had the money and with the 614 and 612 being so similar it shouldn't have been hard to make a 1610 614. There are not many 614s out there to compare them with but the machine you are talking about sounds awesome. The inch/metric gear boxes on these machines makes them very cool. I'd love to get my hands on a 614 some day but there are pretty big for the space I have now.

-Chris
 
I am not too familiar with the 614s but I would assume that it would be possible to get one in the 1610 version. Monarch would make pretty much anything you wanted if you had the money and with the 614 and 612 being so similar it shouldn't have been hard to make a 1610 614. There are not many 614s out there to compare them with but the machine you are talking about sounds awesome. The inch/metric gear boxes on these machines makes them very cool. I'd love to get my hands on a 614 some day but there are pretty big for the space I have now.

-Chris

Monarch only sold the 614 in models 2013 and 2818. The series 613 had model 1610. We didn’t have bed casting for 1610 in the late 1980s and 1990s. Then again most of the casting would have been different since the 1610 was a narrow bed. Just would not be economical to build at that time.
 
Monarch only sold the 614 in models 2013 and 2818. The series 613 had model 1610. We didn’t have bed casting for 1610 in the late 1980s and 1990s. Then again most of the casting would have been different since the 1610 was a narrow bed. Just would not be economical to build at that time.

Gotcha that makes sense. The 613s were mostly inch metric as well correct?
 
Both Series 613 & 614 offered both standard gearbox and the inch/metric gearbox. The Series 613 and 614 was suppose to be a consolidation of the most popular options and sizes offered on the Series 62, 612 and 610.

By the late 1970's and early 1980's Monarch's profits were coming from their NC and CNC lathes. Series 16, 24, 32 and 40 flat bed NC lathes, and the Series 110, 150, 220, TC-1, TC-2, TC-3 and TC-4 vertical bed lathes along with the Metalist, Series 10 and C-10 CNC lathes. Monarch was slowly exiting the manual lathe market.

John L.
 
This won't answer all your questions. But there are a few models of 612 listed in here, with different size specs on each:

Monarch Machine Tool Co. - Publication Reprints - Monarch Turning Machines | VintageMachinery.org

The pdf:
http://vintagemachinery.org/pubs/2103/19729.pdf

Just a bit comical that Monarch lumped the 612 in as a "Small and Medium Swing lathe" in that publication. I know they built some truly monster lathes (like the Missile Master series), but I still have trouble lumping a 612-2516 into the "Small and Medium .." category.
 








 
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