Industrial furniture made from machinery - photos and video

[Ed Weldon]

"print layout table from the Long Beach Naval Shipyard" Toolmaker51 -- What a fantastic find! And with a new productive second life! A great historic piece from a time when engineers and craftsmen respected each other. I hope you have identified its origin for future owners. A small engraved brass plaque modestly displayed with the clear laquer removed so it will tarnish properly would be my style. Ed Weldon

[Toolmaker51]

"print layout table from the Long Beach Naval Shipyard" Toolmaker51 -- What a fantastic find! And with a new productive second life! Ed Weldon

I have a pretty clear idea about the brass plate you mention. I've looked into a cast plaque though, not a mere engraving.
Well, I have a distinct connection to that table. And 200 some odd acres surrounding it. The Long Beach NSY industrial area encompassed 119 acres (48 ha) of the total 214 acres (87 ha) owned. There were 120 permanent, 39 semi-permanent, and 6 temporary buildings, for a total of 165 buildings.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Beach_Naval_Shipyard
About the 120 permanent buildings; main shop was around 800' long and proportionate in width 200'?. In 3 floors, you could approach any machine tool imaginable. ie 22' vertical lathes in the ground floor, largest Ingersoll laner I know of, to full size lathes and horizontal boring mills on the third floor...The largest and only deepwater drydock on the west coast, and more facilities than any from San Diego Ca to Bremerton WA. It's a ocean container yard now for China, thanks to Clinton's BRAC folly. A bridge blocks high superstructures in San Diego, besides small graving docks, and Bremerton lies way inland at the end of narrow Puget Sound, 50+ road miles, farther for vessels. Where strategy and tactics collide, I'd say.

[excerpt from resume. though I'm a Toolmaker, been fortunate to dovetail background in odd beneficial ways.]
CONSULTANT; EarthTech/ CKY/ Tyco 1999-1999 EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES REUSE
Instrumental member in dispersal to public 454 acres of Navy property and Navy equipment relegated to City of Long Beach. City operated as agent to local business, in effort to reemploy the massive workforce. Smallest companies received greatest latitude, as even single items of capital equipment generated more potential employment, than occasional use in a large facility. My background and knowledge in applications exceeded those of 45 others, many were general salesmen. Client liaison to sales staff, resulted with excellent satisfaction and many return patrons. Position matched fulfilling their needs to items available, immense or minute, and related processing equipment. Basically an industrial engineering consultant, to whoever arrived, with knowledge and vocabulary to back it up. That aided advertising department too; in local demographics and spotlighted business owners. Accompanying customers through facility; physically guarding them of Industrial or Public Safety hazards, without any kind of occurrence.

I extracted the table myself with permission, and chased some machinery outside unsuccessfully. We were barred from direct acquisition of CE. But as in every other shops I've worked, the contact and constant handling further cemented my deep preferences in machine tools, shop layouts, material handling, lighting, even wood block floors, you name it. Now, how to squeeze that into 6500 square feet...it may have been where the best known Pancake Mix was first produced in full scale volume.