Cast Iron Mechanical Piggy Banks

[anubisa]

Ok I hope this isn't in the wrong place, if it is I am so sorry. So if you don't know what a cast iron mechanical piggy bank is, it is one of those old piggy banks that would move when a coin was placed in its hand or something else depending. So I have one that has the hand and needs to be repaired. I have all of the parts (I think) except for the screws and was wondering if anyone knew how to repair it or knew where to go to repair it. I would appreciate any help at all. Thanks.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Cast Iron Mechanical Piggy Banks

Ok I hope this isn't in the wrong place, if it is I am so sorry. So if you don't know what a cast iron mechanical piggy bank is, it is one of those old piggy banks that would move when a coin was placed in its hand or something else depending. So I have one that has the hand and needs to be repaired. I have all of the parts (I think) except for the screws and was wondering if anyone knew how to repair it or knew where to go to repair it. I would appreciate any help at all. Thanks.

Can you post a picture of the broken parts? I'd be better able to see what needs to be done.

[anubisa]

Re: Cast Iron Mechanical Piggy Banks

Sure. I'll take some pictures and post them in a little bit. Thanks.

[anubisa]

Re: Cast Iron Mechanical Piggy Banks

For some reason my pictures aren't uploading to the site. Go to my instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/serenityh82/ and they'll be on there. I'm sorry for the problem. Thanks again.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Cast Iron Mechanical Piggy Banks

For some reason my pictures aren't uploading to the site. Go to my instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/serenityh82/ and they'll be on there. I'm sorry for the problem. Thanks again.

OK - I'm looking...

Is it actually broken, or is it disassembled?

[anubisa]

Re: Cast Iron Mechanical Piggy Banks

It's been disassembled. None of the pieces have been broken.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Cast Iron Mechanical Piggy Banks

OK - you mentioned that screws are missing, but do you know if all the other parts are there?

If I were trying to reassemble it, I would find a variety of screws that match the thread size to hold it together while I was doing trial and error figuring out how it works.

It shouldn't be too difficult, I don't think these things are particularly complicated, as long as all the parts are there.

- - - Updated - - -

I just watched a video of a bank like that in operation - it looks like a pretty simple lever-type action.

[anubisa]

Re: Cast Iron Mechanical Piggy Banks

All the parts that I took pictures of were the only ones that I found. I just can't seem to find a website that can instruct me on how to put that type of piggy bank together. Is there a particular type of person to go to that might be able to repair these things?

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Cast Iron Mechanical Piggy Banks

I looked for info on assembly, too, and couldn't find anything related to the clown.

There are people who do restoration, but they are going to be very, very expensive. Your best bet is to find somebody who enjoys tinkering with mechanical objects, and asking him/her to help you.

I did notice that there is somebody on Etsy who is selling restored versions of this bank. You may want to write an email and ask for some help. The people on Etsy tend to be friendly,

[anunitu]

Re: Cast Iron Mechanical Piggy Banks

They are I believe collector things. Some collector might want to try to restore it. As B. De. said it might get expensive. Like some classic cars,the value depends on ALL parts being original,even a reproduction horn rig on a classic car could drop its value drastically. The collector scene is very picky on originality.

[anubisa]

Re: Cast Iron Mechanical Piggy Banks

I'm thinking if I can't put it together myself I might have to try to sell the pieces on ebay or something. It's an old piece and I am sure that someone out there would want it. I don't want to part with it, but I don't have the money to pay for it to be repaired unless they aren't way overpriced. I do have the memories and that's all that matters.