Loose waffle iron handle

M

MitchellC

Member
I bought a 1910 Wagner toy waffle iron the other day and one of the handles is a little loose. It moves left and right slightly and I can rotate the handle a small amount. It’s not enough movement to worry about too much, but I was curious if anybody has an idea on how to tighten it up. I haven’t really messed with it much since I’m not sure how the handle is attached to the paddle. The other handle is solid and wouldn’t budge when I tried rotating it to see if it would unscrew.
 
Wagner waffle iron handles attach to what is basically a woodscrew embedded in the casting. They unscrew, but can tend to get stuck tightly over time. Penetrating oil seems to be the preferred solution if it appears they won't turn easily without damage. If it can be successfully removed, something like a thin sliver of a shim cut from a matchstick, or even just a paper match with the head cut off and inserted in the hole before replacing should tighten it up. If you can remove it, proceed how you think best to avoid damage.
 
Well I tried taking off the loose handle to try to tighten it up and ended up putting about a 1/2” long crack in it. It’s not very noticeable and it could have been worse, but it’s a crack nonetheless. Do you guys think it still has any collector’s value?
 

Attachments

  • 6817ED3C-D6C8-4258-B022-307DDCFF087B.jpeg
    6817ED3C-D6C8-4258-B022-307DDCFF087B.jpeg
    103.2 KB · Views: 8
  • A2F07BE2-215C-4741-A99A-E7AA02D5A7F0.jpeg
    A2F07BE2-215C-4741-A99A-E7AA02D5A7F0.jpeg
    107.8 KB · Views: 8
Also something that could have occurred in normal use. A broken handle or no handle at all would be more likely to impact value. I wonder if the ferrule is somehow stuck to the casting. Did you try a penetrating oil first?
 
Doug D. said:
Also something that could have occurred in normal use. A broken handle or no handle at all would be more likely to impact value. I wonder if the ferrule is somehow stuck to the casting. Did you try a penetrating oil first?
Click to expand...
Well…no I didn’t use any oil. I decided not to try taking it off to avoid damage, but then did anyway without really thinking after it started to unscrew some. I’m pretty certain I cracked it though because I heard it. I hadn’t seen that crack before. The ferrule wasn’t stuck to the casting though. It was loose and had a little movement in it when I bought the waffle iron.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top