Cross my heart, Dale gave his blessing for me to ask for info on a repair stand. I'm reasonably sure I know who made it. That bit just whets the curiosity.
It's no Park Tool, Pedro's, or Minoura.
It's a Cinelli. A big, portable (not easily!) Cinelli repair stand. It's repainted, no doubt, but the Cinelli name with its trademark "C" is stamped prominently into the steel. So it may actually be Cinelli.
For those still curious, pictures are at
http://knittinghistory.typepad.com/
It's a local Craigslist find. I paid a bit less than I might for a Park Tool professional stand in good used condition. Then again, I'm sunk if anything on it breaks. Right now, it functions just fine, and offers of proper disposal seem premature.
And it ain't for sale. Get serious, Cinelli fans -- it's heavy and it does not disassemble easily. I don't even want to guess what shipping would run you, even if you found a number I couldn't turn down. (Robin Williams, if you're out there, we'll find a number and I'll deliver personally.)
Actually, that leads to Question 1: Where did this really come from? It may be Italian, sure, but my gut is telling me only a fool would pay for transatlantic shipping on this big boy. Could it be of U.S. make? If so, is the stamping bogus? If there was a "Made in" mark, it didn't survive the repaint. My seller didn't know -- he got it in the bay area "years ago."
Transitioning nicely to Question 2: How old is this item?
If you've got any questions, ask away. If you want better pix of the ugly industrial welds, I guess I could. I promise there are no fancy lugs here.
If you're just steamed because this long post is all about a blankety-blank repair stand, hey, I'm sorry. My next post will be about a BICYCLE! Just wait a few minutes.
Dan (Never mistaken for Sheldon Brown) Kehew
Davis, CA