Large 1930s American Beauty soldering iron model 3178 300w old industrial vintage tool

Old 1930s or 1940s vintage, very large American Beauty soldering iron, made by the American Electric Heater Co. in Detroit and marked with a US patent number from 1928. It's a model 3178, 300 watts and is about 7/8" across the base of the copper tip. It's about 16" long overall.

This soldering iron has some rust as shown and a very worn electrical cord. We've plugged this in and it gets hot, but you'll want to replace the cord as it's been patched in a couple places with old friction tape.