This is an electric hat stretcher that my father used to hand make for National Hatters Supply in New York. Everything part on this machine was cast, cut, drilled, machined, assembled, painted, and polished by him for National Hatters from back in the late seventies all the way up to the late eighties. This is one of a few he had in his shop, along with wooden stretchers, brim cutters and hat sizers he also made.

On Oct-01-13 at 06:14:31 PDT, seller added the following information:

This is an electric hat stretcher that my father used to hand make for National Hatters Supply in New York. Everything part on this machine was cast, cut, drilled, machined, assembled, painted, and polished by him for National Hatters from back in the late seventies all the way up to the late eighties.This unit does obviously work. We used to manufacture the heating elemnts that are in the dome. They were an abestos type material that was good for resisting heat buildup from the spring wire that was wrapped around them. In later years Hatters sold thermostats that controlled the amount of heat that could be generated. This is one of a few he had in his shop, along with wooden stretchers, brim cutters and hat sizers he also made.