This contraption stood out amongst several notable repurposings and customizations in this three-wheeled vehicle-based repairman’s repertoire. Normally, he sits upon a tall wooden stool behind his portable worktable, while customers waiting for him to finish a simple task such as copying keys (or, in the event of one customer’s shoe that needed emergency repairs, when they are unable to leave until the task is completed) sit on this wooden stool.

Upon looking, one will notice a small gap surrounded by metal plating and sporting interesting wear patterns. This stool is actually an important element of a tool: A long bar is fit into the gap, with one end bracing against the ground and the other straddled by the user. The curved shape of the protruding end of the bar allows the user to place a just-patched cooking pot or metal bowl upon it, and hammer the recently affixed (and un-rounded) patch into a rounded shape so that it matches the surrounding material in curvature. During such operations, the customer will switch seats with the repairman, sitting on the taller stool while the repairman manipulates this stool-derived flattening tool.