Get Ready to Dip Into Special Fondue Plate

Bonnie Textor of Los Angeles is trying to get her hands on a divided enamel fondue plate ; six divisions would be perfect for her needs. Can you help Textor dip-low-matically, or will her guests be licking their chops because she’s in the sauce?

Eleanor Gibbel of Beverly Hills would like to find an individual or a shop that does custom macrame work. Can you help keep Gibbel in stitches, or will she have to keep needling us until we solve her knotty problem?

For baking pies, Laurie Kilian of La Habra is looking for a market that still carries a Procter & Gamble shortening called Fluffo , which has recently been discontinued; it comes in a three-pound can with a yellow label. Can you help, or will Kilian always feel shortchanged because nobody is getting pie-eyed over her baking?

Reader-to-Reader Help Line: Ruth at (714) 792-9636 needs a pad and cover for a 30-year-old Mary Proctor hinged slant ironing board. Please help smooth things over for Ruth, so that she can strike while the iron is hot. . . . As have many readers over the years, Sue at (213) 257-2010 is looking for the screw-in wooden handle for a two-quart Descoware sauce pan. Please see to it that things pan out for Sue. . . . Jean at (213) 510-1438 desperately needs several copies of the book “50 Great Buffet Parties” by Ruth Conrad Bateman, published in 1974 by Doubleday. Please help make Jean’s next party the greatest ever.

Note: The Reader-to-Reader Help Line is only for one-time items and 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 John Donat of Torrance, who was seeking slide holders for a Bell & Howell cube slide projector, the picture is becoming clearer. Don Holmes of Sunland, Richard Creighton of Fullerton and Sofia Meznarich of Winnetka agree that these slide holders are available at K mart and Fedco stores or at Ritz Camera. We also heard from two readers who have such slide holders and are willing to part with them. A stamped, self-addressed envelope will throw additional light on the subject.

Marion of San Diego, who was searching for hood-less, long-sleeve, front-zipper sweat shirts in adult sizes, should go back to school. Nicki Devine of Marina del Rey says these shirts are available at most college student stores. Craig Hoerner says he bought some at a surplus store in Hollywood, but a San Diego surplus market might do. Mary Hubbard says she bought some of these shirts at the Surprise Store in Hermosa Beach last Christmas. (They may have a branch in San Diego.) We also heard from a Glendale reader who will make such a shirt for Marion or else send her the McCall pattern.

James Kuyper of Pasadena, who was looking for the springs that keep an ironing board pad smooth, has a hot item on his hands. The springs are available at K mart (from Pauline Steele of Glendale and L. C. McGinnis of Torrance), Fedco (a Long Beach reader), Osco Sav-on Drugs (from Anna Sanderson of Torrance) and Sears (Juanita McCullough of Torrance). Hardware stores that handle the item are McVey in Temple City (from Sally Tynan of that town), Virgil’s in Glendale (from W. S. Williams) and Coast Hardware in Laguna Beach (from Mrs. H. K. McMurtry). Sol Kaplon of Encino says to simply buy some springs and attach them to the pad with strong twine. We even have a mail-order source. Walter Drake, 27 Drake Building, Colorado Springs, Colo. 80940, sells four K5090 Ironing Cover Fasteners for $3.99; this came from Mrs. Charles Graham, Craig Hoerner and Mary Hubbard.

Ed Shriver of Long Beach, who wants someone to reweave his Brown-Jordan patio chairs, can go to any Brown-Jordan dealer or to the factory in El Monte (where the work is done). The firm’s refinishing manager, Frank Voorhies, says to call (818) 443-8971, Ext. 243. Readers who suggested Brown-Jordan are Maybelle Holditch of Laguna Hills, Karen Kearney of Long Beach, Barbara Boyd of Dana Point, L. E. Miller of Manhattan Beach and Mrs. Jules Berman of Beverly Hills. Other Southern California firms that work on patio furniture include Patio Guys in San Marcos and Santa Ana (from Marian Poage of Bonsall and Paula Kruse of Newport Beach) and Patio Furniture Refinishers in Santa Ana (from Mrs. Elmo Switzer of Laguna Beach).

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.