Ladels, spoons etc....

[KYBOY]

When you make your ladels and spoons do you upset or faggot weld for more material? Or do you use sheet metal then rivet on for the larger pieces? Ive been upsetting material for the smaller spoons..Ive faggot welded the material back on itself befor but that seems like a whole lot of work for such a simple piece..Im thinking of just using 16 ga or so sheet metal then riveting the head on the handle..What do you think?

[Ian]

If thats how you want to make it then make it that way, it all boils down to what you want to make.

If you want to make them quickly then pre cut templates from sheet (personally I'd use stainless steel) dished and then riveted to pre made handles (I'd make everything from stainless if it was me, really) is certainly faster. Look in any home supplier and you'll see spoons and ladles like that, they're mass produced items.
To readily seperate somthing you've made in that manner from a mass produced item your 'expression' as a Smith would naturally fall into the area of the handle. A simple twist for instance would be quick to do but instantly identify the piece as 'worked' as opposed to 'mass produced'.

The other method you describe involves a lot of forging for an item that would appeal to a much more select clientele so to produce items this way would only serve as an exercise (to know you can) and afterwards as a showcase (to show you can) until such time as someone takes it for the money you need for it. If they run out of the door at silly money then have at it, but otherwise you have to take everything into account.

Edited September 27, 2008 by Ian

[John Martin]

I upset. The weld, loses material, and takes to much time, when I can just upset it in three heats.

[MLMartin]

personally i have a great love for copper, so almost all of the bissness ends of my utincels are copper, i normally braze them to the iron handle

[rustyshackleford]

I'm with Mlmartin, a least for my reenacting ladle tht I make, and like Ian suggests, I customize the handle with varied twists.

[Shane Stegmeier]

OK it seems I am the only silly one, I generally forge them out of heavier stock... But my brain thinks with a power hammer and tooling in mind, so I tend to use a little more volume to start with than some people. Even when I am forging by hand, I really like those dramatic changes in cross section;-) At a demo last weekend I did one out of maybe 4" of 1"sq by hand. The ladle turned out ~14" with a decent sized bowl its a little heavy, but is quite unique, no one will ever mistake it for something bought off the shelf;-) And you are right at what I need to charge for them they don't move fast;-) and I still make a lousy shop rate... I have also done them out of 3/8 x 3/4"-1 1/4" You just isolate the bowl area, by necking it. Then preshape the bowl blank, then use a pien to draw the material out to the thickness you want. I can upset pretty well, but have not used it on spoons or ladles, and I don't normally think about using a faggot weld for something like that... But I do most of my work in a gasser.

[CurlyGeorge]

I faggot weld the end of the eating spoons. That doubles the mass and is pretty easy to do. It only takes a couple of minutes to faggot weld it. My serving spoons get an 18ga sheet mettal dish, riveted in place. Check both types in my gallery. I sell quite a few of both.

[ThomasPowers]

Yes.

(pretty much all of the above depending on what I'm making and what I have to start with---sometimes you can find a bolt with a large head you can carefully forge out for more spoon material)

[dablacksmith]

I use bolth methods but for eating spoons i use 1/4 sq and draw it out to make spoons. i knmow that sounds small but you can get them out big enuf for a decient eating spoon ! it takes practice and a good eye with a crosspien but is doable . on spatulas spoons ladles i strart with 1/4x 3/4 or 1 inch . I learned that from Pieter Ross in one of his classes on colonial type utencils . those are my spendy ones on the cheap utencils i use 16 or 18 ga sheet form it and rivit .I do a lot of reinactment ironwork so i dont use stainless(becides its harder to form). if i was starting out to make eating spoons and hadnt used a cross pien much i would start with 1/4 x1/2 stock . point the end a bit to give itthe spoon shape and neck in the sides about a inch back to define your worknig area . Then use cross pien to spread it wide ! good luck

[Wayne]

If I remember correctly, Jymm Hoffman does a spoon making demonstration on one of the UMBA dvd's

[tribal forge]

I make my Ladle Bowls and serving spoon bowls from 18 gauge sheet stock, and forge my handles from 3/16"x1/2" stock and do twists and hammer work with a small ball-peen on the portion of the handle that you hold onto to use the utensil, my cooking forks I make from 3/16"x1/2" stock

[Jymm Hoffman]

I don't remember, I have frequently done that as a demo. For Eating spoons, I use 3/16 X 1/2 or 3/16 X 3/4, depending on how big. Forge down the handle and leave enough to spread out the bowl.

Ladles, either 16 gauge riveted, but I prefer to forge them with a wider bar forge welded then spread .