Lighting a Fire Under a Smoke Bell

Kathy Cline of Leucadia is looking for the old-fashioned smoke bells that were attached to a ceiling to catch and disperse smoke from wall candle sconces; they were usually made of brass or glass. Can you help smoke out a source or two before Cline climbs the wall, or will she be burnt out before this hot question dies down?

Betty Grantham of Los Angeles wants to get her hands on a blanket with a cowboy motif (rope, cactus, boots) that her grandson saw on a Saturday morning Pee-wee Herman show. Can you help Grantham sit tall in the saddle, or will she just have to let the (buffalo) chips fall where they may?

John Hart of Burbank would like to stub his toes on some old-time felt soft-sole and soft-heel men’s slippers. You can earn his heart-felt gratitude by slipping him a few sources without being too soft on him; otherwise, he will have to toe the line a bit longer, at least until his sole search is over.

Reader-to-Reader Help Line: Two readers are having problems with Sunbeam appliances. Arlene at (818) 907-0518 or (213) 936-6111 has a 30-year-old waffle iron that nobody--not even California Electric Service--can fix. And Frances at (818) 289-1300 needs the handle to a Sunbeam Mixmaster Model 7B. Without too much waffling, please get a handle on this situation and see to it that both readers get out of the fix they’re in. . . . Ella Mae at (818) 249-4252 needs a book, published a decade or so ago, that gives various patterns for a craft called Shrink Art. Please help before Ella Mae goes by the book and visits a shrink for consolation. . . . Debbie at (805) 644-4181 is gambling that someone can spare a schematic, wiring diagram or owner’s manual for a Mattel Las Vegas pinball game, Model 2442 ; please take a chance and see to it that Debbie hits the jackpot, instead of the ceiling.

Note: The Reader-to-Reader Help Line is only for one-time items or for products no longer available in stores. And you must give us written permission to publish your telephone number, so that others may contact you directly.

For Kay Artinian of Santa Monica, who wanted a hand-operated meat grinder that can be attached to a table, it should no longer be such a tough grind. Betty Kelman of Los Angeles says she saw two such meat grinders recently at the City of Hope thrift store at Pico and Crenshaw boulevards, Los Angeles.