A tray as large as this one is most useful in the home for serving tea,
ice cream, etc.
[Illustration]
_Material:_ No. 20 copper, 12 × 18 ins. Four pieces of copper, 3-1/2 ×
2 ins. Silver wire for rivets 4 × 1/8 in. in diameter.
_Directions:_ Perhaps the easiest and simplest way to make this tray
is to get a large block of wood, like the end of a building joist, a
little longer and wider than the 18 × 12-in. copper sheet. Out of it
make a mould the shape of the body of the tray, by cutting the wood
away. This mould is made similar to the one you made when making the
round tray. If the mould is made carefully and according to the pattern
it is a simple matter to nail the sheet of copper over the depression,
and drive it in with a wooden peg and mallet, making it fit every part
of the mould. Before this is done it may be necessary to anneal the
metal two or three times. Do so as often as you need to, it doesn't
matter how often it must be done. When the surface is smooth to the
touch, take the metal off the mould, and turn up the edges like the
design. File off the outer edges perfectly smooth and rub them down
with emery cloth. If your wooden peg has made small dents or flat
places, leave them as a finish unless they seem too high or too low.
The marks made by any wooden tool usually make a beautiful finish.
_Handles:_ The handles are hollow. They are made by taking one piece
of the 3-1/2 × 2-in. and drawing on this the outline of the handle.
Repeat this on the four pieces. This makes four halves. With a pair of
shears cut along the sides. Cut the rest out with a chisel. Snip the
corners. Put four pieces together and place between the jaws of the
vise. File into shape. This makes each piece a duplicate of the others.
Place each piece of copper on a hard wood block and with the round end
of the raising hammer drive into the block, hollowing it out. Make them
in pairs so that when the two parts are put together they make the
handles hollow on the inside and oval on the outside. File the edges of
the handle so that they meet close. Bind, solder, and file and round
them up.
_Fastening handles on the tray:_ Saw the two ends along the soldered
joints about 3/8 in. Open these out so that they fit over the edge of
the tray. Finish the ends off either rounding or square. Now drill a
hole through the handle about 3/16 in. from the end. Place them again
on the tray just where they should be and mark for the hole to be
drilled through the tray.
_Rivets:_ Take a piece of silver wire the size of the hole. Place one
end of it on the vise so it will stick up about 1/8 in. above the
surface. With the planishing hammer, hammer a small rounded head on the
end of the wire. Cut it off 3/8 in. from the head in length. This makes
a rivet. You will need four. Place these rivets with the head toward
the front part of the tray and fasten the handle on. Polish and finish
as you did other pieces of work.