David Billington wrote:
I was given this tool some years ago by a machinist specialising in
gears and splines that didn't know what it was. I thought it might be of
some use on a mill but haven't used it yet. The tool was manufactured by
the Monarch Tool Company Ltd, Kirkheaton, Huddersfield, UK.
Internet searchs found no reference to the company.
The tailstock is spring loaded and when the headstock spindle is rotated
anti-clockwise as you look from the tailstock moves towards the
tailstock. It sit on a graduated swivelling base.
http://metalworking.com/DropBox/monarchmysterytool.txt
http://metalworking.com/DropBox/monarchmysterytool.jpg

Any thoughts as to what its purpose is would be appreciated.


Well, other humorous replies aside, it looks a lot like a miniature
cylindrical grinder that can be attached to a mill table, or possibly
in place of a lathe compound. The "headstock" looks like it might
have an indexing gearbox. Does it have changeable gears in the box?
If so, and it moves in two axes at once (rotation plus axial travel)
then it sure sounds like it is for cutting helical gears.

As for Monarch, this was a celebrated maker of lathes and other machine
tools. The Ltd may refer to a British branch, as I think Monarch
was a US brand. The logo appears the same as the machine tool logo.

Jon