Merchandiser Catalog Front Pages
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.
Lincoln Engineering Early Merchandisers
As early as March 1940, Lincoln started producing these deco styled workbenches.
They came with a built in front light, wall surround and a unique waterfall top marquee sign. These early door badges state Lincoln Systems.
The flip down door on the bench was for access to the parts washer bin.
Around ‘41 the company added in a left cabinet door on the front of the rounded top bench.
Sometime before ‘45, they included their straight sided desk into this model with the more standard double door access.
Workstations in use at dealerships
I cannot get enough of these black and white photos of benches in their original garages.
At lease 4 Shure Lowboy merchandisers in this service department.
A rare sight of Kent-Moore turrets combined with their 6ft benches.
Workbenches we have never seen photos of
Over the years, these are the two Merchandisers that we have been unable to find any real-world images of. Anyone out there seen one?
The 1940 Balcrank Service Salesman
And the 1946 AMPCO Mechanic’s Bench, from Amarillo TX
Also, here is an early styling Lincoln lube cabinet that we have yet to see.
Custom Merchandisers with glass display doors
Some owners decide to modify their side cabinets. Here are six different examples
Work Stations with repurposed Workbenches
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.
Lincoln with a 60’s Shure bench
Kent-Moore’s with a proper width desk. Bonus; You could actually use these with a chair.
How about a Lincoln with a toolbox and a fridge?
Shure with a Bear Telaliner cabinet and one with a kitchen counter
Three Alemite’s with desks in place
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.
Custom Lincoln's with extra trim
Here are a few unique Lincoln Engineering cabinets with extra stainless
This last Lincoln merchandiser, has had a section added for light up glass, and even Alemite emblems. But the raised side edge, door handles, and bench cabinet spacing give it away.
Original 40's - 50's Merchandiser Prices
Here are some of the original prices for these Work Stations over the years.
First Alemite, 1940 - $199.00
Balcrank Workbench, 1940 - $216.50
Kent-Moore Cabinet, 1940 - $135.50 in Michigan or $160.50 to Oakland, CA
ARO Merchandiser, 1948 - $265.00
Later Alemite, 1949 - $274.50
Sioux Valve Service Bench, 1949 - $395.00
Latest Kent-Moore, 1950 - $210.00
Lincoln Short Merchandiser and Cart, 1953 - $360.00
Cheapest vs Most Expensive Merchandisers we have seen
Throughout the years we have seen many varying prices on Workbenches. We thought we would share some on both ends of the price spectrum.
We have seen beat cabinets listed for sale for a hundred dollars, but this complete, original paint Lincoln, was amazingly only $175.
On the highest side; this same style Lincoln (below) was listed on Hemmings a couple years ago for $36,000.
Lincoln Merchandisers being used in the 40's
We enjoy discovering old newspaper ads and articles showing these workbenches in their original service departments. Here are some unshared Lincoln’s in glorious black and white.
Largest and Smallest mechanics Workstations / Cabinets
Looking though our archive images, we thought it would be interesting to share some of biggest and tiniest cabinets we have seen to date.
First up is this huge double Lincoln lubrication surround, out of Raymond Ford in Ohio. Measuring in at 14 feet tall and over 26 feet long.
Also up there in the Large category is this 21 foot long custom cabinet out of a Studebaker dealership in Montana…
and a large cabinet built by Graco.
On the Smaller side, here is a short Lincoln storage cabinet.
30 inches wide, by 41” tall, and 15” deep.
Alemite and Shure also produced some pretty small cabinets…
but nothing quite this tiny.
Below are custom 3d printed workbenches by “Improbable Garage”.
Inspired by Alemite styling, they are producing these 1/64 scale cabinets. You can see these and their other products on Ebay at this link.
The Historical Literature Collection
We are always hunting for Manufactures catalogs as well as original Ads.
Welcoming 2020
Happy New Year to all!
All of these work stations are now 80 years old.
A Collection of Workbench Emblems
We have been acquiring these Merchandiser Badges over the years and are now getting them scanned, so we can 3D print new metal reproductions.
Coming soon …
Searching for Lincoln Engineering benches in promotional ads
It is hard to believe that we have had trouble tracking down ads from Lincoln that show their popular 1945 - 57 merchandisers. With the quantity produced, there should be plenty of magazine ads and catalogs floating around. To our dismay their simply isn’t much out there.
The two ads above are the only ons we have with the model 2765 present in it.
Update
We found these two wonderful Lincoln ads from sellers in Canada with measurements, features and drawings
We do stumble onto images of these units in use in the late 1940’s every now and then.
Notice the K60 Snap On toolbox behind him
