I have been asked to make a spoon and fork for a Christmas Present.

I have hammered out the spoon end from roughly 1/8" plate. A Railroad spike serves as the handle which is now about 5/16 or better square. How would you join the two? I assume a forge weld or rivets. I also considered a collar and forge weld. Problem is my welding is not too great yet but I think I can manage if I get the joint right. I prefer a joint that I can assemble well enough such that welding involves only one piece (not having to put the two together for the weld).

Any suggestions on how to make this joint up? Rivets seem a bit hard to do in such a thin handle. But I am open to everything including starting over. IF needed I could post some pics later today

Hello Borntoolate. If starting over is an option, why not forge all out of one piece? Forge the handle, leaving a blob at the end to flatten then dish into your spoon. Same thing for the fork...

not a bad idea. With the struck end of the spike being the blob. The fork is done. It is one piece.

Are these eating utensils, or serving utensils? I make my eating spoons from 5/16" square stock. Fold the dish end back onto itself and faggot weld it. This doubles the mass and you can them flatten, draw and swage the dish. On serving spoons, I use 1/4" square stock for the handle and 18ga sheet for the dish. Then I use 1/8" diameter rivets to attach the dish and handle. Works very well and is sturdy, too. Hope this helps. :)

Are these eating utensils, or serving utensils? I make my eating spoons from 5/16" square stock. Fold the dish end back onto itself and faggot weld it. This doubles the mass and you can them flatten, draw and swage the dish. On serving spoons, I use 1/4" square stock for the handle and 18ga sheet for the dish. Then I use 1/8" diameter rivets to attach the dish and handle. Works very well and is sturdy, too. Hope this helps. :)

ya i do the same most of the time. rivets are not hard and look good if the holes are in line. if you go for the one piece method it can work also ... depends on how well you can draw out without burning the piece when it starts to get thin...good luck

I use the rivet method. Mostly for looks. My wife cooked three meals a day over an open fire for five days week before last at an 1814 event. She used a spoon, strainer and ladel that I made last year. No problems.

heavy copper electical wire will work for rivets the size that used to run from the tranformer to your house
and had a rubber an cloth cover. drill your holes then split your handle at the spoon end.counter sink the
holes on both sides. peen them over good then file of the excess.

if it is going to be in contact with food use steel rivets. It is much safer than copper. Copper has to be coated with tin to be used with food.

Forge Brazing

If it is for a table/eating spoon forge it one piece out of about 3/8" stock (upset the bowl end to about 1/2" to get more metal for the bowl or, as someone suggested above, fold the end back and faggot weld it.)

If it is a serving/cooking spoon make the bowl and handle separately and rivet or weld them together. If you started with large enough stock to make the bowl it will be a lot of work to draw out the handle. I'm assuming that you are probably doing a large spoon because a RR spike would be way to big for table use unless you were using a small mine RR spike and then it would be tough to get enough metal for the bowl.

Servingly,
George M.

Are these eating utensils, or serving utensils? I make my eating spoons from 5/16" square stock. Fold the dish end back onto itself and faggot weld it. This doubles the mass and you can them flatten, draw and swage the dish.

I've seen the same done with RR spikes. The spike head was folded back and welded to give enough mass to make a ladle.

Copper has to be coated with tin to be used with food.

The copper is not the issue it's constant exposure to copper oxides. (The green stuff)

Gobae So why put your self at risk when it can be avoided.

You mean like not leaving a crack between the bowl and the handle that can't be effectively cleaned and could harbor food poisoning bacteria or cross contamination for someone with food allergies?

Hmm tinning the entire end might deal with that aspect...

Gobae So why put your self at risk when it can be avoided.

I'm merely trying to correct inaccurate information.

I seriously doubt that copper rivets in a two piece serving spoon would ever be exposed to enough acidic foods for long enough to cause any copper oxide toxicity. Any oxidation from a brief exposure would likely be removed when it was washed. Also, if you are afraid of crosscontamintion in cracks, etc. I suggest that a ceramic utensil is better. A vitrified surface doesn't hold much of anything if it is regularly washed.

Toxicly,
George M.

PS Copper is pretty toxic to most bacteria.

A wise smith once told me this .

Tack weld the 2 bits together ( ARC ) , put in fire , heat where you want to weld ( get nice & hot ) , Weld " in the fire " .
Take out of fire , flux should almost fall off as it cools a little ,. Hammer the weld to look like a " real " forge weld .

Thank you Bill Epps , a real niffty trick .


Dale Russell

if Ya'll are right on the copper,just for fun,explain away at coper pans ,bowls and utencils that have been made and used for 100's of years

The copper is not the issue it's constant exposure to copper oxides. (The green stuff)

So when I do a plumbing repair and see all that green on the inside of the pipe - that means my tap water is toxic?
I drink that water daily.

Bill

So when I do a plumbing repair and see all that green on the inside of the pipe - that means my tap water is toxic?
I drink that water daily.

Bill

Only if you rinse your pipes with vinegar (or some other acid) to release it and then drink. Which is where it becomes a problem with cooking. If you're cooking an acidic food the oxides are released from the copper and enter your food.

Dear EGreen,

Most of the copper pots, etc., at least in the 18th and 19th centuries were tinned to avoid the problem. I have always considered the copper pots and pans from the mideast which are tinned to be more likely to have been actually used or made for use with food while the plain ones are made for the tourist trade.

I was at the Grand Bazzar in Istanbul last year and at one stall I stopped at it appeared that most, if not all, the older appearing items were tinned while a smaller proportion of the shiny, new items were.

Cautiously,
George M.