Waffle iron help

E

EricC

Member
I finally had a chance to hit up a local antique mall. I found this buried way in the back.

I read the main site page on waffle irons and did some forum searching but don't really know anything about it. Wagner? I can't find any pattern numbers on any of the pieces.

One iron is missing the handle, the other is fairly worn. But the CI appears to be in great condition. In fact, the outside is much lighter and shiny under the uneven seasoning, might be plated?

I'm a babe in the dark here so any info about it would be greatly appreciated. Also, what would you say is a fair value?

Thanks!





 
Ostensibly Wagner made during the time they owned and at the Sidney Hollowware foundry. You could probably repro some handles. What are they asking?
 
As a Griswold waffle maker only guy I know little about other brands. That said, some features tell some of the tale. The handle that is left looks like a Wagner handle on a Wagner type screw. Sidney says Wagner. What bothers me is the patent date and the hinge style are about 20 years apart. Ball hinges and no side resting pins were circa 1910. Makes me wonder if it was somebody’s attempt to get a piece of the market.

Hilditch
 
The patent, a Wagner patent, references a ball hinge, not a particular type of ball hinge. I'd like the price better if the handles were intact, but it's scarce enough I'd probably get it anyway.
 
Whew - I had planned on being a good boy and bring those pics home, get the forum's expert opinion, and then act based on the results.

But then I realized it took me four months to find the time to get out there, didn't know when the next opportunity would be. And the "discount" is likely perpetual, but it might be just for the holiday...

So I walked back to the booth and got it. Was hoping it wasn't a foolish move.

Thanks for the help!
 
Nice WI, unfortunately I don't know much about the older ones. I wouldn't mind fixing a missing handle myself. But I'm a cheap skate and would of loved to found it for a bit less, but hey that's just me. All you guys and gals that post yours always get me little green with envy. I may hate when I get one and reveal what I pick one up for it may be way more than I'm comfortable spending:) cool find Eric, I'll have to get out more in the new year and find one for myself.

Happy holidays all
Steve,
 
Eric...Couple comments...First- Good looking piece and it should restore nicely with a little work. Have never found a WI easy to clean & season but once you're done it's well worth the effort. Second- The missing handle will be a bit of a challenge to replace like the original one. Note in your second pic the metal ferrule, where the wooden handle meets the neck of the iron. The screw protruding from the WI handle kind of dictated the use of the ferrule in order to keep the wood from splitting once screwed into the wood. I've seen ferrules listed by Google but not sure if the size needed is available. You would need to measure the existing ferrule and try to match it with one available. I'm attaching a link to a previous post here on CIC that has an assortment of WI's in our Show & Tell forum. Every one of the Wagner WI's has these ferrules and it appears they are various lengths. I assume that's because of the WI size's. Lastly...I think someone has taken a drill w/ a wire brush and used to remove some of the rust and crud that the iron probably had on it. That splotchy pattern is usually the result of that process. You may get most of it out with e-tank and vinegar soakings. It could take years of use to restore the black look it should have had.
Good luck.
http://www.castironcollector.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3369&highlight=waffle+iron
 
Thanks for the comments.

Good point with the ferrules - I've been exploring my options on replacement handles, and I've got a guy up north who could machine custom ferrules for me pretty easily.

It's the wood handles themselves that are more challenging, surprisingly enough. I've done some wordworking, could probably use my drill press to create the hole down the shaft for the screw (though it'd be tricky), and I could reproduce the flat side with my bench sander.

But a lathe is one tool I've never used. And my machinist / engineer friend isn't set up to work on wood. He could more easily fab the whole replacement handle out of metal than make a wood one...
 
EricC said:
Thanks for the comments.

Good point with the ferrules - I've been exploring my options on replacement handles, and I've got a guy up north who could machine custom ferrules for me pretty easily.

It's the wood handles themselves that are more challenging, surprisingly enough. I've done some wordworking, could probably use my drill press to create the hole down the shaft for the screw (though it'd be tricky), and I could reproduce the flat side with my bench sander.

But a lathe is one tool I've never used. And my machinist / engineer friend isn't set up to work on wood. He could more easily fab the whole replacement handle out of metal than make a wood one...
Click to expand...

May try dowels from Home Depot or Lowe's. They carry Oak and Poplar but not Maple or Hickory. You can make the groves with a hack saw and steady hand. By all means drill the handles before trying to screw on to the WI screw.
 
EricC said:
Thanks for the comments.

Good point with the ferrules - I've been exploring my options on replacement handles, and I've got a guy up north who could machine custom ferrules for me pretty easily.
Click to expand...
Would you be willing to share the contact info for the guy who can machine ferrules? I'm needing about 4 of them....

Donna
:biggrin:
 
MDFraley said:
May try dowels from Home Depot or Lowe's. They carry Oak and Poplar but not Maple or Hickory. You can make the groves with a hack saw and steady hand. By all means drill the handles before trying to screw on to the WI screw.
Click to expand...

Yes, if I tried to rig some simple ones, that's the way I'd go.


W. Hilditch said:
Why do I think there are handles out there like you want that are looking for a file or came on an ice pick?

Hilditch
Click to expand...

They are the same design, but for mine at least they'd be too big, the ones I've seen. I measure the ferrule at 5/8" diameter, the handle side-to-side at 7/8" at its widest point, and the handle top-to-bottom at 13/16" at its widest point. Bigger could prevent the irons from closing completely.


DonnaM said:
Would you be willing to share the contact info for the guy who can machine ferrules? I'm needing about 4 of them....

Donna
:biggrin:
Click to expand...

Actually I was chatting with him about this last night. The existing ferrule is stamped from a very thin metal, and a machined replacement would necessarily be thicker. Wouldn't want to thin down the wood under the ferrule or it might weaken it to become another point of failure, so that means increasing the outside diameter. It's doable but would take some trial and error for the best fit.

A simpler and cheaper solution might be cutting some short lengths of 5/8" copper tubing (assuming your ferrules are the same diameter as mine).

But my semi-joke about all-metal replacements has led to a serious idea...

Can't thread them with those wood threads, but could make a smooth bore that takes the entire screw threads and all, held in place with a set screw.

Use an insulating washer, perhaps resin, between the iron and the handle. Skeletonize the handle otherwise, as practical.

With the insulating washer and the only metal-on-metal contact points being the set screw and the outside of the threads, as well as the skeletonization, it should actually remain quite cool. Probably aluminum, though could also be steel, copper, brass, bronze, or even expensive exotics like Damascus, mokume, Timascus, etc.

Much more of a divergence from the originals, but even true copies are still aftermarket copies; you're already replacing the original parts. And these would last forever.

Right now it's just a pile of ideas, though. My immediate focus is to get the CI cleaned up and reseasoned...

Thanks everybody.
 
Eric, thanks for your post on this WI. I have a No.9 iron marked "WAGNER". It has the same style of handle which appears to be the standard for all the models with wood handles, judging from pictures in both of "The Books". Mine is pictured on pg. 252 of the Blue Book.

I wanted to take the handles off for stripping the paddles, but couldn't get them to budge. A similar WI shown on pg. 73 of the REd Book (with very shaped handles, unlike those on any other Wagners pictured) had a notation that they are "iron with screw-on wood handles". I couldn't figure out how they were screwed on, until I saw your pictures. I've decided to clean and season mine with the handles in place, as I'm pretty sure the wood won't come off that long threaded rod intact.

My iron has the same patent date as yours and I thought it would be on the handle design. But this forum's Patent Database shows it's for the "combined ball journal and hinge".
 
I had to put the WI acquired in the OP aside during the holidays, but now I've been working on cleaning it up. It's had one round in the lye bath.

I don't have any good updated pics at the moment but as I've been cleaning this, I'm all but convinced the paddles were nickel plated.

Has anybody ever heard of a nickel plated WI before or am I crazy? Any info?
 
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