I had mentioned in an earlier post that I had bought a tilting table off of facebooger marketplace. I finished cleaning it, making a handle for it and painting it today. I also popped for new flange nuts because what was on it was not original and once I learned its history I thought it a worthy investment. It cleaned up well. Here it is ready to go back together:
Put back together with new hardware:
Paul Harvey used to say "Now, the rest of the story" (this may not be of interest to some but it was to me)
I can find absolutely nothing on the Auto Box Machine Company of Mass. I know that this is the manufacturer because I did find another one of these on the interweb with the same markings.
Most of my equipment is used, well used, but in good working order. This piece is used about as much as anything I own. I only know the history as far back as the guy (s) I purchased it from, in many cases had seen it in their shops for years. This piece is different.
I had noticed that the table had "tool room" stamped on it. I asked the previous owner if it had been in a plant and what if anything he knew about it. He said that he worked for an aviation plant in the Dallas TX area and it had closed and he had bought it from them. He said they made tail assemblies for the Boeing 747 and 767 so I could rest assured that the table had been used in that operation. Cool!
While cleaning I found a soft metal tag that was not very legible (much easier to see blown up this big).
Once I read United States Government my OCD spun off like a raped ape! After searching on the net I found this tag which shows what I could not read:
As it turns out the "Defense Plant Corporation" was created by the US Government. Its purpose was to generate manufacturing capability for the war (WW2) effort. From what I have been able to find, the corporation was only in existence from 1941 thru 1945. During that time, this plant was apparently owned by the gov and operated by North American Aviation. That name rang a bell to me. NAA ultimately owned the plant after the war. NAA built the B24, B25, P51 Mustang, and the original T6 aircraft in this facility. I read on one site that at its peak, the facility was a war machine. NAA built as many as 725 P51 Mustangs in one day. Not long after the war ended, NAA sold the facility to Vought Aviation. Vought built the F4U Corsair and the F8 Crusader under the watchful eye of the US Navy. As near as I can tell, this tilting table has been busy since the early 40's building war birds and commercial aircraft assemblies. Planes as early as the B24 and the P51 Mustang all the way to the 767. Knowing its history made the work well worth it. Buying new hardware was a no brainer.
I stopped short of trying to sooth out the bruises and contusions because they are part of the story.
I just wish it could talk.
Put back together with new hardware:
Paul Harvey used to say "Now, the rest of the story" (this may not be of interest to some but it was to me)
I can find absolutely nothing on the Auto Box Machine Company of Mass. I know that this is the manufacturer because I did find another one of these on the interweb with the same markings.
Most of my equipment is used, well used, but in good working order. This piece is used about as much as anything I own. I only know the history as far back as the guy (s) I purchased it from, in many cases had seen it in their shops for years. This piece is different.
I had noticed that the table had "tool room" stamped on it. I asked the previous owner if it had been in a plant and what if anything he knew about it. He said that he worked for an aviation plant in the Dallas TX area and it had closed and he had bought it from them. He said they made tail assemblies for the Boeing 747 and 767 so I could rest assured that the table had been used in that operation. Cool!
While cleaning I found a soft metal tag that was not very legible (much easier to see blown up this big).
Once I read United States Government my OCD spun off like a raped ape! After searching on the net I found this tag which shows what I could not read:
As it turns out the "Defense Plant Corporation" was created by the US Government. Its purpose was to generate manufacturing capability for the war (WW2) effort. From what I have been able to find, the corporation was only in existence from 1941 thru 1945. During that time, this plant was apparently owned by the gov and operated by North American Aviation. That name rang a bell to me. NAA ultimately owned the plant after the war. NAA built the B24, B25, P51 Mustang, and the original T6 aircraft in this facility. I read on one site that at its peak, the facility was a war machine. NAA built as many as 725 P51 Mustangs in one day. Not long after the war ended, NAA sold the facility to Vought Aviation. Vought built the F4U Corsair and the F8 Crusader under the watchful eye of the US Navy. As near as I can tell, this tilting table has been busy since the early 40's building war birds and commercial aircraft assemblies. Planes as early as the B24 and the P51 Mustang all the way to the 767. Knowing its history made the work well worth it. Buying new hardware was a no brainer.
I stopped short of trying to sooth out the bruises and contusions because they are part of the story.
I just wish it could talk.
