Here are a few Merchandisers that Graco produced that don’t show up very often these days. Starting with this complete example of their Wall Luber, found in Belgium.
This red unit is one of the Service cabinets speciality built for the Graco Service departments. Used to repair their own products.
This Oil Bar was a stand-alone model without the side cabinets.
And how about this cabinet and wall surround configuration. Only one we have seen in this layout.
A collection of all the main Workbench manufactures catalog front/ad pages. Recently, I found this Lincoln Engineering pamphlet from 1947, of all places for sale on Etsy.
Almost all of the companies referred to their work station cabinet units as Service Merchandisers, outside of Alemite and Balcrank.
Thru the years Graco made some very subtle tweaks to their Merchandisers. They are the only manufacturer to have this long of a production run and keep their Work Stations unchanged.
Here are two different ID plates; displaying the change from ‘47 to ‘48
The most common version of this bench came with lower square handles and this round bucket parts-washer.
In some of the later model Graco’s, the washing bin was a bowl shape, and the lower bench had a simple round pull knobs present.
About half of the models have an electrical plug on the back tool-board as well as the right side of the lower bench
Recently we found out that these Oil Bar benches, with the drain in them, were 4 inches less deep than the standard merchandiser benches
We all know that finding the original desk for a Workbench can be quite a task at times. Here are some cabinets with creative solutions for replacement workbenches.
This might be my favorite repurposing of a bench. A Youngstown kitchen sink cabinet, with a top added to it, makes a nice fitting workbench for this Lincoln.
A look back; Founded in 1926 by the Gray brothers in Minnesota, Gray Company Inc.’s goal was to produce efficient and specialized automotive service lubricating equipment. It wasn’t until the late 40’s that industrial paint spraying was established.
A wonderful image of a 1938 Graco wall luber and a motor vitalizer being pulled by a Minneapolis-Moline tractor.
The Graco headquarters has a small museum showcasing some restored pieces from the early 1940’s
With help from the company, we have most of the Graco catalogs from the late 30’s through the 50’s. If you are looking for info on a specific piece, please feel free to reach out.
That being said, we have seen many of the different brands Work Stations in different makers Dealerships over the years. Alemite’s and Lincoln’s are often mixed in with other brands.
Here is a Shure one sided cabinet bench. The end cap is something new to us.
A Graco wall surround with just cabinets.
These Visualiner cabinets have been reworked into stand-alone smaller cabinets.
Finally, here is a Work Station that never actually existed. The Artist for this ARO ad was probably worried about showing a Alemite Bench in the final print, so they modified its trim and window placement.
It is still one of three Graco’s we have seen with the original, beveled, dealer glass intact. In this original state, it went off to become a display in a private collection.