Cast Iron Tape Dispenser - Thrift Store Find

I went down to the local thrift store the other day to poke around; just looking for opportunities to add stuff to the garage.

What I like to do is just stand and stare at the items in front of me and let my imagination decide what things might be used for. It also lets me absorb what is on the shelves.

So I'm walking around and I spy sitting on a shelf tucked back into the corner; a tape dispenser! Now a tape dispenser is not something I wold normally get worked up over, but this one is different.

It's made of cast iron!

So I grab it, plunk down the two Bucks they are asking for it and drag it home. I've seen one of these before when I was in the military, and never seen one anywhere else.

It was an ugly tan color so that had to be fixed right away. A session with the rattle can of yellow later, and here is the result.

 This thing is just about indestructible! I could use it for a wheel chock, door stop, or self defense weapon. I figure it would take a tank tread or an acid bath to do significant damage to  the body. Since there's not a handy reference to size, that's a standard roll of 1 inch masking tape in the dispenser. The best part is the parts that could be damaged, the cutting bar, roll holder, and rubber base are all in perfect condition.

My guess is they aren't made anymore.

And now with a depleted budget I can say I at least picked up an interesting piece of equipment for the garage.