... lead ladle ....

[Cades Cove Fiddler]

  ... Picked up this nice little copper ladle yesterday... shallow 3" bowl ... want to adapt to use as a lead ladle for bag carry ... I've beat on iron, but never copper and need advice from some smiths ... do I heat the bowl to form pouring lip ..?? any suggestions appreciated, ... also, handle is a twisted iron rod,... I plan to heat it and form a spiral to insert a stick to use in fire ... will heting the handle affect the copper bowl..?? ... I know there is great advice and suggestions here, so all help appreciated,... Regards, C C Fiddler ...

[TN Longhunter]

Copper is the opposite of iron. Work it cold and while it will harden, you then heat it and allow to air cool to soften so you can work it.  You can heat to soften as many times as you need to. Heating the handle to work will not affect the bowl.

Good luck

[Mark Elliott]

I anneal copper,  heat to a dull red in a low light and allow to cool.   You can quench in water once it goes black to speed the process.   Anneal frequently as it will work harden and crack.   The same goes for brass and silver.

[Hungry Horse]

If you are going to run bullets with this dipper, you will want more than just a lip for pouring. You want the lip to start down about an inch below the edge. This channels the lead, and gives you more control. To make a long lip like this, get a 3/8” drill bit, and open up your bench vise so the shank of the bit will easily pass between the jaws. Anneal the copper, and put the bowl on top of the open jaws. Now slip the drill bit shank into the bowl so just about an inch of it is in the bowl. Then just give it a couple of sharp smacks with a medium size hammer. The lip should be nicely formed.
 I use a similar ladle for pouring nosecaps. I made it out of half of a copper float from a stock tank, and length of iron strap, riveted on for a handle.

  Hungry Horse

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

The one I (we) use is not suitable for the bag, but it is certainly effective for casting ingots.  Here's Daryl reducing some sheet lead into useful 1 pound ingot size.








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[trentOH]

That Boston Terrier looks like a pretty serious supervisor. No messing around on his watch!

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

He was a great dog...miss him a lot.  Just one left now.

[Clark Badgett]

Now that is serious dipper. Where on earth did you ever find one that size. I hate to think what it must weight full of molten plumbium.