Comments on: Fixing My Wife’s Curling Iron

By: Keith Neufeld

Keith Neufeld — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:37:05 +0000

Phil, I thought about an “after” shot, but within the capabilities of my camera I’m not sure it would have looked that much different. The previously pitted area is still a coppery color because it’s still worn through the plating; it’s just smooth.

I suppose I could do a 1950′s happy aproned wife curling her hair picture.

By: follower

follower — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 07:42:48 +0000

P.S. I do enjoy reading these problem solving “slice of life” accounts.

By: follower

follower — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 07:42:10 +0000

Awww, we have have the “before” shot, but no “after” shot?

–Phil.

By: MikeS

MikeS — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 04:24:02 +0000

Your fix will work well for awhile. The curling iron lives in a “hostile” environment (high humidity bathroom) where the contacts will oxidize so the fix may be short-lived.

Do you notice how battery contacts are pointy? It concentrates the force of the contact to a small point where it will tend to push through any dirt/corrosion/oxidation. While your fix is good because it has a large surface area contact it is bad for the same reason. You may want to make a dent in the sliding contact with something like a nail punch so it contacts at one point. I think I’ve heard it called a Newton force point but I can’t find any reference.

By: Jon

Jon — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:57:25 +0000

Lol, I work at a Help Desk and hear that type of problem description all the time.

Nice work!