Drafting table pedestal?

I dragged this out of the woods over the summer. It's very heavy - I think cast iron? I had no idea what it was and asked a few people. The most convincing guess was a drafting table pedestal. Do you agree with this?

I doubt it's worth anything without the table, but I'm still interested in how old it is and any other info. This spring, when the snow is gone, I'll go back out and see if I can find the remnants of the table top. I didn't think to look before because I had no idea what it was. Maybe I'll find some other cool junk while digging around.

 

I'm not so sure about that drafting table guess. My son is an architect and his first drafting table (from the late 80's) had been residing in my basement for a while. I just went down to look at it again to make sure I remembered what the supporting structure looks like.

I have a tough time with the idea that a drafting table could be supported by a single pedestal. The table would have had to be very narrow if that's all there was. Plus the table surface needs support on both ends, as well as front and back in order to adjust the angle.

This pedestal does have a thumb screw for some kind of "up and down" height adjustment of whatever it was supporting, but that alone seems insufficient for the adjustment mechanisms of a true drafting table.

 

Its an umbrella holder,patio,etc or maybe a flag pole. And a very nice one,very sturdy looking .

 

Huh. Guess I need to backtrack a bit here. Just googled "antique drafting table" and found several small width ones that had 3 legged pedestals with thumb screw for height as the only support. Seems that the upper part (that fit into the hole and connected to the table surface) held the mechanism for angle adjustment.

 

I like your idea as a repurpose project, johnny!

 

Funny, this is how a previous conversation went also. At first everyone thought patio table/umbrella stand, but then someone posted a very similar picture of a three-legged drafting table and I thought, "That has to be it!" Any guesses on the approximate age? 50 years? 75 years? As for repurposing, I like those ideas too. I was thinking of using it to hold a bird bath

 

I really have no idea how old it might be, but I am curious about the screw. It's not painted, so it might be a replacement. Does it unscrew? How long is it?

 

Looks like a Eugene Dietzgen base, here's one with the original bracket, scroll down a little.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/56543484/vintage-industrial-drafting-table

 

anundverkaufen - Wow, that certainly does look like it! Exact shape of the feet and the closeup of the screw is the same. Good photo of the bracket too. I will have to take note when I go searching in the spring. I vaguely remember something like that out there. Well, this is killing me now. Maybe we'll get a thaw and I can go out and look.

Bakersgma - I couldn't get the screw to budge. It's flush with the inside of the tube part, so maybe an inch long?

 

Bird bath......ABSOLUTELY!
~
There are ways to loosen that screw but don't rush to do so.
Use 'LIQUIDWRENCH' and remove any you spill on the paint...unless you're going to repaint it...and just wait it out.
If you force it you're likely to just tear the thing in two.
Tapping it will probably help after a bit but only straight on the thumbscrew end and not so hard you deform it.
This is likely replaceable if the threads are standard.

 

Given the "thing" for antique industrial these days, I wouldn't even mess with the paint.

 

The more I think about it, the more certain I am that I saw the bracket in the woods too. It was this big cumbersome thing with arms that I tried to haul away but it was too heavy. If I find it, should I have someone make a wood tabletop for it? Or leave it as two parts? I'm never sure how much messing around I should do with antiques.

Personally, it's not the kind of thing I go crazy for, so I may sell it to someone who could appreciate it.

 

Find it first. Exposure may have ruined it. And for that matter, what you saw may be something else entirely.

 

I think that you should do that!
Depending on your budget you could have all of it blasted and powder coated to pretty much any color you could want. Standard colors are less costly.
Nothing says the top cannot be made round. Many wood supply places and possibly Lowes and Home D would have them already cut and the edge routed smooth.
Then you finish the top yourself!

 

Urban Remains in Chicago sells this exact table from $695. to $795. with new and old tops and they've sold a few.

 

I'd mount a small swivel gun in it and use it to repel Jehovah's witnesses, self styled 'tree surgeons' and other pests.

 

Update.

Winter is finally over and I've been in the woods searching for that table bracket. I even purchased a metal detector thinking it was buried under leaves. I did find some other interesting stuff, but no bracket. They apparently used that area as a junk pile long ago.

I'm beginning to think maybe I did haul it back to the house and gave it to the salvage guy when I got rid of some junk. I wish I could remember for sure. Still hoping I will come across it some day. I'll be out there again poking around. I can see why metal detectors can be addictive!

 

I STILL haven't used my G sale $5 one I got years ago!

 

Wow, that's a bargain! I paid $150 for mine My dad is going to use it too.

 

Not a highly sophisticated one but it'll find some stuff.