machine that spent much of World War II on Mare Island cranking out the metal tags by which soldiers are identified, will be featured on television Wednesday night.
Called "Top Dog," the American Restoration episode about the circa 1942 Graphotype machine is set to air on the History Channel at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, said its owner Ray Prather of Vallejo's Victory Stores on Virginia Street.
The machine, now restored, is available at Victory Stores to create new dog tags, with most of the $14.98 price going to help fund Vallejo's 2012 fireworks display, Prather said.
Even after Vallejo Electric revamped the machine's motor, American Restoration officials had significant work to do to make it function smoothly, Prather said.
Found in a Fairfield antique store, the machine likely produced addressing plates or data plates at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard before turning out dog tags, expert Lindsay Hodgdon of graphotype.net said.
Fellow merchant Ken Ingersoll recognized its significance and convinced Prather to by it, despite its $980 price tag, Prather said.
The two did some research and contacted American Restoration about their find.
"Within a week, they got back to us and said they wanted to see it," Prather said.
The two drove the nearly 400 pound machine to Las Vegas, where the show is taped and picked it back up after the restoration.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
american restoration the tv show
American Restoration (also known internationally as Kings Of Restoration[2]) is an American reality television series airing on the History channel. Produced by Leftfield Pictures, the series is filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicles the daily activities at Rick's Restorations, an antique restoration store, with its owner Rick Dale, his staff, and teenage son, as they restore various vintage items to their original condition.[3][4]
The show is the first spin-off of Pawn Stars, in which Dale has appeared several times as an on-camera expert and has restored various items.[5][6] The series has featured cameo appearances by the cast of Pawn Stars, American Pickers, and magician Lance Burton.
In the opening title sequence, Dale alludes to the vintage era from which most of the items he restores originate:
According to Dale, who claims to emphasize a great attention to detail in his work, his shop typically works on 6 - 12 projects at any given time. Although he and his staff restore the items brought in by customers themselves, they are shown consulting other merchants and experts for parts, and calling in freelance employees, such as Bob, a metalworker, when their workload requires it.[8] In addition to items brought in by customers, Dale will also purchase items himself to restore from pickers, such as the toy train he purchases in "Buttered Up." The range of services offered by Rick's Restorations is limited by financial concerns.[9] Although Dale has a positive view of his staff's abilities, he observes that they are sometimes difficult to manage, in particular his younger brother, Ron.[10]
The series' second season premiered on April 15, 2011 at 10pm ET/PT with back-to-back episodes.[11]
The show is the first spin-off of Pawn Stars, in which Dale has appeared several times as an on-camera expert and has restored various items.[5][6] The series has featured cameo appearances by the cast of Pawn Stars, American Pickers, and magician Lance Burton.
Description
According to early press releases, American Restoration's working title was Rusty Nuts.[1][4][7] The series focuses on Rick's Restorations, a company owned and operated by Las Vegas area metal artist and antique restoration expert Rick Dale, who has been restoring various vintage items for almost 30 years. Dale and his company first appeared on the History reality television series Pawn Stars, in that show's first season episode "Time Machines," and in nine subsequent episodes in which he restored numerous decades-old items for Rick Harrison, the star of Pawn Stars, including Coca-Cola machines, gas pumps, barber chairs, motorcycles and jukeboxes.[5][6]In the opening title sequence, Dale alludes to the vintage era from which most of the items he restores originate:
| “ | "Remember back in the day when things were made by hand, and people took pride in their work? My name's Rick Dale, and I bring these things back to life. Every restoration has its own set of challenges. There's no owner's manual for what we do, but there's no job we can't handle." | ” |
According to Dale, who claims to emphasize a great attention to detail in his work, his shop typically works on 6 - 12 projects at any given time. Although he and his staff restore the items brought in by customers themselves, they are shown consulting other merchants and experts for parts, and calling in freelance employees, such as Bob, a metalworker, when their workload requires it.[8] In addition to items brought in by customers, Dale will also purchase items himself to restore from pickers, such as the toy train he purchases in "Buttered Up." The range of services offered by Rick's Restorations is limited by financial concerns.[9] Although Dale has a positive view of his staff's abilities, he observes that they are sometimes difficult to manage, in particular his younger brother, Ron.[10]
The series' second season premiered on April 15, 2011 at 10pm ET/PT with back-to-back episodes.[11]
Cast
- Rick Dale
Metal artist, antique restoration expert,[6] and owner of Rick's Restorations. Rick Harrison of Pawn Stars, who is one of Dale's top customers, has praised Dale's work by calling him "a certified miracle worker."[8] - Tyler Dale
Rick's teenage son, who has worked with him in the shop since age 2. Rick has opined that Tyler is sometimes lazy, which worries Rick, who wishes Tyler to take over the shop one day. Rick states in the premiere that although Tyler has been improving, he still has much to learn. He has dyed blonde hair.[8][12] - Ron Dale
Rick's younger brother, whom Rick feels is the hardest of his employees to manage. Ron, who says his life is "relaxed [and] easy-paced", takes his time in his work. When going to get an item cleaned away from the shop in "Ice Cold", he and Tyler take lunch, even though Tyler informs that the staff generally do not do so, which Ron says is one of the "perks" of being out with him. Tyler remarks that this explains why it takes Ron three hours to go to the hardware store. Rick worries that Tyler, who looks up to Ron, and enjoys going out on jobs with him, will pick up Ron's bad habits.[10] - Bob
One of Rick's freelance employees, who says in the premiere that he's been doing body work for 38 years. Rick compares Bob to a medieval blacksmith, saying that he can make anything with just a hammer and a piece of metal. Bob works with outlines drawn onto metal, and does his hammering with a variety of plastic mallets, with the base work done mostly on a leather BB shot sandbag.[8] - Kowboy
Employee who does the metal polishing in the shop. Rick describes Kowboy as "The grumpiest bastard I've ever met."[8] He used to do all the polishing and woodworking in the shop, but his duties expanded over the years.[13] - Brettly
Rick describes Brettly as the "lowest man on the totem pole", who is delegated the most tedious tasks, such as sandblasting old rust and paint from items, or disposing of beehives. Because of his perceived ineptitude, Ron refers to sodablasting, which presents no danger of damaging restored items, as "Brettly-proof."[10] - Ted
A lettering artist with 25 years of experience handpainting items and owner of Letter Perfect Incorporated,[14] a Las Vegas based signage and design firm.[15] - Kyle Astorga
Kyle is in charge of reassembling disassembled projects and applying finishing touches. He is good friends with Kowboy, whom he drives to work every day, and is described by History.com as "one of the most skillful and loyal workers at the shop."[16] - Kelly Mayer
Kelly is Rick's girlfriend and Brettly's mother, and handles the business side of Rick's Restorations such as payroll, maintaining budgets, ordering parts and customer relations. She is also the woman featured in the Rick’s Restorations logo.[17]
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