Reproduction Waffle Dog Irons
Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:35 pmI went to Southern California's San Fernando Valley today and stopped by the Sheehan foundry to see how much it would cost to have the two halves of a waffle dog iron cast using an original as a pattern.
The fellow said that he'd have to use certified "food grade" aluminum (which he happens to have) that is free of lead, arsenic, cadmium, plutonium, and spent uranium, just to be on the safe side.
He quoted $35 per pair of castings (one waffle dog iron). To end up with a functioning waffle dog iron one will have to drill six holes, tap two of them to 1/4-20, use screws and nuts or rivets to hold the two halves together, obtain two 7" 1/4-20 carriage bolts, some wood dowel with a 1/4" hole though it, and a couple of push clips to keep the wood dowel handles in place on the carriage bolts.
One would then have a very passable replica of a genuine waffle dog iron. The reproduction casting would, though, be 1% smaller than the genuine article (although it would take a real expert to notice this discrepancy) as a result of using an original as a pattern and the molten aluminum shrinking 1% as it cools in the mold.
So, with shipping, maybe some tax, and the additional materials one would need to purchase, and a bit of time, it is possible to have a reproduction waffle dog iron for about $50. If anyone is interested, PM me with an email and we can move forward. I'd be willing to get the castings together, provide some instructions, and ship them out by the most cost effective means.
Unfortunately casting small numbers of an item using an original as a pattern is labor intensive.
I'm not entirely convinced that it would be a better alternative than scrounging or shopping EBay. As we know, the last EBay unit sold for over $90.
Cheers,
Gus
The fellow said that he'd have to use certified "food grade" aluminum (which he happens to have) that is free of lead, arsenic, cadmium, plutonium, and spent uranium, just to be on the safe side.
He quoted $35 per pair of castings (one waffle dog iron). To end up with a functioning waffle dog iron one will have to drill six holes, tap two of them to 1/4-20, use screws and nuts or rivets to hold the two halves together, obtain two 7" 1/4-20 carriage bolts, some wood dowel with a 1/4" hole though it, and a couple of push clips to keep the wood dowel handles in place on the carriage bolts.
One would then have a very passable replica of a genuine waffle dog iron. The reproduction casting would, though, be 1% smaller than the genuine article (although it would take a real expert to notice this discrepancy) as a result of using an original as a pattern and the molten aluminum shrinking 1% as it cools in the mold.
So, with shipping, maybe some tax, and the additional materials one would need to purchase, and a bit of time, it is possible to have a reproduction waffle dog iron for about $50. If anyone is interested, PM me with an email and we can move forward. I'd be willing to get the castings together, provide some instructions, and ship them out by the most cost effective means.
Unfortunately casting small numbers of an item using an original as a pattern is labor intensive.
I'm not entirely convinced that it would be a better alternative than scrounging or shopping EBay. As we know, the last EBay unit sold for over $90.
Cheers,
Gus
