When the Beloit Corp went belly up, the late Ken Hendricks was in the right place at the right time. A bankruptcy judge paid him to haul away a bunch of foundry molds to the dump.

Instead of hauling them to the dump, Hendricks called on Jack De Munnik, an old friend and onetime artist at advertising agency Leo Burnett in Chicago. Together they formed American Industrial Art. De Munnik preserved the shape and patina of each pattern. He assembled the pieces into tables, clocks, sculptures, and wall hangings of fabulous beasts he called Machinas.

This is one of those salvaged and repurposed pieces. It has an incredible patina and showcases the wonderful skills of the pattern makers of the last century. What I really like is the use of different types of wood.

Im told that this mold was for casting a pump impeller for a paper making machine - the flagship products of the Beloit Corporation.