This maker of sawmill machinery dates back to 1931, and likely earlier. In 1947 they were acquired by United Engineering Co., which continued to operate Turner Machinery as a separate company and then eventually as a division of United Engineering. In the mid to late 1950s, Turner Machinery acquired California Engineering & Machine Works, also of San Francisco. In 1964, Turner Machinery was acquired by P. B. Yates Machine Co. of Hamilton, Ontario. In 1967 the San Francisco operations were closed and some surviving products transferred to Yates' Canadian plants.

Information Sources

• A 1931 edition of The Timberman mentions this firm, which was located on Bryant Street in San Francisco.
• A 1947 edition of Marine News has the following item, obtained via a somewhat incoherent Google Books "Snippet View".

  United Engineering Purchases Turner Machinery Co. In San Francisco Purchase of the Turner Machinery Company of San Francisco, manufacturers of band sawing equipment, by United Engineering Company is announced jointly by...

• A 1947 edition of Matsonews has the following snippet.

  In 1917 he came to San Francisco to represent different companies that were manufacturers of wood-working machinery. In 1928 he established the Turner Machinery Company in rented space on Fremont street. With the sale of his company ...

• A 1950 edition of The Timberman has this snippet.

  The two machines were made by the California Engineering & Machine Works, San Francisco. The planer will surface stock up to nine inches in width. A 30-hp. electric motor drives the saws in the combination unit.

• A 1951 edition of The Lumberman had this news snippet.

  A new combination pony planer and cleat machine that eliminates one entire operation, saves labor, and uses waste material, has been developed by Joe Miller, California Engineering and Machine Works, 225 Natoma Street, San Francisco,...

• Ad in 1955-56 Hitchcock's Wood Workers Digest Directory, which says, "Division of United Engineering Company."
• A 1967 gang band resaw patent was awarded on one John A. Alich and assigned to this company. A 1968 bandsaw blade guide patent was awarded to the same inventor and assigned, indirectly, to P. B. Yates Machine Co. of Hamilton, Ontario. The most likely explanation is that in about 1968, Turner Machinery Co. was bought out by P. B. Yates Machine Co.
• A 1982 edition of The Pacific Report had this snippet.

  The Turner Machinery Company was acquired in 1964 by the P. B. Yates Machine Company of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. In 1967 P. B. Yates decided to close their San Francisco operations and divided their saw-producing divisions.

• A 1982 edition of The Pacific Reporter has the following snippet regarding a personal injury lawsuit.

  Plaintiff could not recover from defendant for injuries sustained while operating a cleat saw on the ground that the defendant was a continuation of the original maker of the cleat saw, since defendant did not contractually assume the liability... The saw, known as the California Cleat Saw, was manufactured by California Engineering and Machine Works, a defunct corporation which, according to the affidavit of Seipp's attorney, became Miller Manufacturers Association and then Associated Machinery and Sales Company. Associated Machinery then became the Turner Machinery Company, which produced a Miller line of saws and a Turner line of saws. The plaintiff has been unable to determine which product line descended from the California Cleat Saw.