I stopped at an estate sale last week. The estate belonged to a man that had been a Ford dealership mechanic since the mid 1950's.

I found lots of irresistible items while there and probably spent more money than I should have. But, I did get some good stuff so I guess it was OK.



The one thing I am most puzzled about is this item which was simply labeled, "work station" on the tag. When I showed up it was all full of old nuts, bolts and misc. Junk car parts. By the time I returned for it they had cleaned it out and I was actually a bit disappointed.

Here are some more details:
All metal construction with rounded corners. Approximately 42" wide, 30" tall and 20" deep. Despite looking like it is sitting flat on the ground it is actually mounted on four casters and has a small amount of ground clearance. The casters say "USA" on them. Two doors with full length piano hinges. Spot for lock in upper right door. Cabinets inside are separated and there is a small short step in the very back of each cabinet. Curious amount of wasted space on both sides between cabinet area exterior side walls. Has been brush painted blue but original color was white. Inside is smooth white. Outside is kind of a slightly textured speckle white. Had a thin (3/8") plywood top on it which is clearly not original. When top is off there is full access to the inside of the cabinet.

I've been racking my brain for almost a week trying to figure out what it is/was.

I assumed it was automotive given the previous owners career with Ford and many of the other vintage items he had saved from the dealership. I even thought it might have been the base cabinet for something like an old Gravo or Alemite mechanic's work station from the 1940's but I can't find any examples exactly like this. For all I know it's maybe not even automotive. I've searched many other areas from medical to kitchen but with no luck. I am really puzzled by the two brackets at the top back in each cabinet compartment. We had wondered if some part of a top might have dropped into those?

Hopefully someone here will recognize it and can fill me in.

Thanks in advance,
Jay



With top removed.



Paint removal in process.



And finally while doing a a Google image search of 'Alemite cabinet' I found this picture which looks kind of close. The link for the website the photo was taken from was dead so I have no other information or a confirmation the one in this photo was actually an Alemite.