Search for a Gizmo to Strengthen Arms

Golf novice Judi Vahey of Orange is driven by the need to find a Dyna-Bee, which is a ball-shaped, gyroscope-like gadget for strengthening the forearms. Can you help a “hole” lot while Vahey is puttering around, or will she be teed off that she can never be a smooth swinger?

Mrs. H. W. Anderson of La Jolla wants to complete a set of Callaway towels she received as a gift last Christmas. The pattern is Maharanee and the color is cinnabar; the towels came from Illinois. Can you help before her hopes dry up, or will Anderson be convinced that she’s all wet because she let that person in Illinois rub her the wrong way?

Elaine England of Newport Beach is trying to locate three-inch and six-inch Bluegate candles in the bayberry scent . These candles are made in New England, she’s been told, but she wonders whether any store on the West Coast carries them. Can you help England see the light, or will she finally have met her match?

Helen Fucciolo of Burbank is looking for a Scoop-and-Scraper, a gadget that has a long handle and a half-moon-shaped rubber scraper for removing food remnants from the bottom of jars. She believes that it is made in Hong Kong. Can you help Fucciolo get a handle on this thing, or will her hopes hit bottom before the end of this scrape?

Reader-to-Reader Help Line: For a golfing friend, Spencer at (213) 831-6269 is looking for a Confidence 7-iron with a red band. Please help and put the friend back in the driver’s seat. . . . Mina at (818) 794-0230 needs a few balls of Bouclette 100% black wool Lion brand yarn, which has been discontinued. Please help. Get on the ball and make Mina’s head spin. . . . Betty at (213) 670-5412 would like the recipe for Helms’ Bakery Bridge Mix and for Calirox cookies, made many years ago by a bakery near La Brea and Melrose avenues in Los Angeles. Please help, so that she’ll know which way the cookie crumbles.

Note: The Reader-to-Reader Help Line is only for one-time items and 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 Dorothy Fries of North Hollywood, who was looking for an unflared small-size thimble, we have fingered several sources. Closest to her, hands down, is Thimbeling With Joan, 11007 Densmore Ave., Granada Hills, (818) 366-5315. As the name implies, Joan Peterson, who specializes in sewing matters, says she may be able to help. Not quite “sew” near to Fries is Stitchery Thimbles by Carol Bradley, 13105 Nimrod Place, Brentwood, (213) 394-1424. And Bessie Birdsall of South Gate writes that several mail-order houses (including Miles Kimball, Lillian Vernon, Downs, Harriet Carter and the Ferry House) list thimbles. And if Fries still comes out of all this with empty hands, we have two readers who might be willing to part with a thimble. The “thimblest” way to obtain names and addresses is to mail us a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

Charlot Evans of Malibu, who was looking for someone to replace the rollers on oversize sliding doors, reports that Terry Faber of California Sliding Door Repair came to her house, after being recommended by reader Dennis Pezzato, and did the job. So the following information is mainly for another Malibu resident, L. E. Hoffman, who also needs rollers replaced. Jeff Woods of Captain Glides, (213) 393-7177, says his firm can do the work, in addition to tub enclosures, screen doors and similar services. Captain Glides was also recommended by Judie Cogan of Northridge. And Sally Zarefsky says Swartz Glass, with offices in Santa Monica and Los Angeles, carries a large selection of rollers for most types of sliding doors and may be able to do the work.

We’ve had several requests for Mirror Brite chrome cleaner. If you live in the San Gabriel Valley, a nearby source, according to a reader named Adelia, is McVey Hardware, 9556 E. Las Tunas Drive, Temple City, (818) 286-7481. They also carry Merry Brooms, another item that we have had calls for within the last year.

Herb Hain cannot answer mail personally but will, space permitting, respond in this column to readers who need--or have--helpful information. Write (do not telephone) to You Can Help!, You section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.