Anybody who’s ever worked as a short-order cook will know what one of these is…
Yes, it’s a Press, usually used as a weight to cook burgers in a hurry…
But this one’s pins have been falling right out lately… 
So I decided to give it a quick fix, by giving it a new handle…
I started by removing the old one, and “persuading” the two brackets back to 90° with my trusty 3 lb. Estwing…
I like a beefier handle than this one has, and don’t have a lathe, so I had to find some round stock that will fit the bill… I found that at work too, in an old tired broom…
I cut a short section off the broom handle and then clamped a parallel clamp around it… that will keep it from spinning while I mark and cut it. 
And about two minutes later a test fit… I made it with slots on either end to fit around the brackets… that way, the handle won’t spin, and my knuckles won’t bang into the hot press bottom… again…
A screw in either end, and for once, I’m not going to have to worry about the finish… In two or three weeks, the new one will look very much like the old… :) 
-- Mike in Concord, NH---Unpleasant tasks are simply worthy challenges to improve skills.
18 comments so far
patron
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12166 posts in 1538 days
#1 posted 436 days ago
happy knuckles are here again
-- david - only thru kindness can this world be whole . If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure. Dan Quayle
lew
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9035 posts in 1952 days
#2 posted 436 days ago
Great mod, Mike!!
Like your dowel stock!
-- Lew- Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!
Viking
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857 posts in 1392 days
#3 posted 436 days ago
Mike;
Neat project. The way you did the ends of he handle is great.
Thanks for sharing.
-- Rick Gustafson - Lost Creek Ranch - Colorado County, Texas
degoose
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6620 posts in 1551 days
#4 posted 436 days ago
Very effective
-- Drink twice... and don't bother to cut... @ lazylarrywoodworks.com.au For lovers of all things timber...
gfadvm
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6907 posts in 887 days
#5 posted 436 days ago
Nice fix Mike. I would have made you some 1” Jatoba dowels if you’d asked. Let me know the next time and we’ll have really fancy burger presses!
-- " I'll try to be nicer, if you'll try to be smarter" gfadvm
Dick, & Barb Cain
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8682 posts in 2496 days
#6 posted 436 days ago
A very nice frugal repair job, HAPPY GRILLING!
-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1
~Julie~
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527 posts in 1231 days
#7 posted 436 days ago
I like the comment that you wanted a”beefier” handle, LOL
Hope it makes the burgers taste better!
-- ~Julie~ followyourheartwoodworking.blogspot.ca
TopamaxSurvivor
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13179 posts in 1873 days
#8 posted 436 days ago
Does the Health Dept approve broom handle repairs? ;-))
-- "some old things are lovely, warm still with life ... of the forgotten men who made them." - D.H. Lawrence
Woodwrecker
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3035 posts in 1772 days
#9 posted 436 days ago
Are the burgers going to cost more now? lol
That press is good for another 10,000 hamburgers Mike !
Good job !
-- Eric
ellen35
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2453 posts in 1629 days
#10 posted 436 days ago
I can see why they love you at that restaurant! You make them a suggestion/comment box, you fix about everything that needs fixing… and you do it with heart!
Nice work Mike.
Ellen
-- Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
studie
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609 posts in 1344 days
#11 posted 436 days ago
I’ll 2nd with Ellen. And with Topamax (Bob). I like the fit that you did too, looks nice. I wish to hear Patron sing this new tune of his. I’ll even play the banjo.
-- $tudie
Lenny
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1055 posts in 1724 days
#12 posted 436 days ago
Nicely done Mike. Per usual, a simple yet effective solution.
-- On the eighth day God was back in His woodworking shop! Lenny, East Providence, RI
stefang
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9725 posts in 1531 days
#13 posted 435 days ago
Looks good now Mike , especially with the tweak at the ends. I’m not sure the hamburgers will like it though!
-- Mike, American in Norway
Porchfish
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476 posts in 729 days
#14 posted 435 days ago
Very nice ! I used a critter like this too, a long, long, time ago, but we used it to keep the bacon flat on the iron…..nice solution to the rolling over prob. too ! Thanks for good ole’ brooms !
your friend in N. Florida don s.
-- some men see things that are and wonder why, I dream of things that never were and ask why not .... rfk
BritBoxmaker
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4054 posts in 1233 days
#15 posted 435 days ago
At last a useful tool post. Good restoration, Mike. Long may it last.
-- Martyn -- Boxologist, Pattern Juggler and Candyman of the visually challenging. http://www.theartofboxes.com
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