# What Might This Cast Iron Pipe/Flue/Fitting Have Been For?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-this-cast-iron-pipe-flue-fitting-have-been-for/1030161>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 18, 2026, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-this-cast-iron-pipe-flue-fitting-have-been-for/1030161 "2026-05-18T00:53:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-this-cast-iron-pipe-flue-fitting-have-been-for/1030161/1 "2026-05-18T00:53:38Z")

</div>

Someone in my building is throwing this away. At first I thought it was a chimney pot, but it’s cast iron and has bolt holes in both the top and bottom. The casters certainly aren’t original, so maybe it was repurposed into a table at some point. It’s too tall for an office chair, though maybe it would work as a drafting chair. Regardless, I’m more interested in what it might originally be from. It looks like a fitting from a steam engine or locomotive, though the bolt holes in the top flange don’t look substantial enough to be for anything at high pressure. Thoughts?

[![](https://jjakucyk.com/forums/straightdope/IMG_8191.jpeg) ](https://jjakucyk.com/forums/straightdope/IMG_8191.jpeg)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-this-cast-iron-pipe-flue-fitting-have-been-for/1030161/2 "2026-05-18T01:18:25Z")

</div>

It’s a cast iron machine pedestal. A Google image search for that phrase should provide lots of images of newer and older versions. You bolt it to the floor and then bolt something like a grinder on top, and that sucker won’t move. Modern [example 1](https://www.engineersupply.com/Palmgren-10-XP-Bench-Grinder-Pedestal-Stand-Combo-9682086.aspx?VariantId=ec9f1107-a603-49a2-9ae5-36f4ee4219f4&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22077061151&gbraid=0AAAAAD_vuFPpYZqlDreIE_6NDymcmxB6m&gclid=Cj0KCQjwzqXQBhD2ARIsAKrIeU8b7aR-4xoL4NNzvE_wIOBXz-Gos6S2_vDJfgVHZB0rBJX1QOoL_ScaAt61EALw_wcB) and [example 2](https://factorysupplyoutlet.com/baldor-reliance-ga20/).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2026, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-might-this-cast-iron-pipe-flue-fitting-have-been-for/1030161/3 "2026-05-18T04:49:48Z")

</div>

Note that although it is (probably) a pedestal, it doesn’t have to be a machine pedestal – it could also be a sink pedestal, a dock pedestal, or the bottom section of a street lamp.

The fact that it’s so plain a casting, and – critically – not broken, argues that the material is mild steel / wrought iron rather than “cast iron” – so, more recent than a “cast iron” pedestal.