COPPER UTENSILS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXI, Issue 18900, 22 December 1923, Page 13

COPPER UTENSILS

GOOD HARDWARE LINES Copper is one of the metals used in making up the products in which the hardwaroruan deals, but it is doubtful if its importance is fully appreciated by the trade, probably because it more often appears in its alloy of brass than in its own pure form. Nevertheless, there are many articles made of copper that might be given more attention by sellers of hardware than they get. Copper goods are as a rule fairly expensive in first cost and this possibly leads to them being neglected when a dealer is making up his stock, but when the life of an article is considered and its cost spread over the extra time a good thing will last, jt will be found that copper goods arc very much the cheapest in the long run when compared with the various less expensive goods in other metals. Copper in a metal which lends itself well to the various processes that the manufacturer uses in making up goods. It can be cast and although very seldom used in simply cast form the castings can be made in convenient shape for following on with the other processes. It is malleable and so can be rolled, hammered and bent with the additional advantage that it can be worked either hot or coir. Copper is ductile and can be t therefore, drawn as wire and in the shape of tubes. It is also capable of being extruded, but this requires great pressure and is only used for this process occasionally. COLD ROLLING. Copper is put on the market in the form if ingots which are, however, chiefly bought for making brass, the coppersmiths or makers of copper goods usually buying what are known as strong copper sheets which are sheets of copper rolled from large ignots. The sheets generally used for hardware purposes are finished by cold rolling which not only stiffens and consolidates the metal but also gives the necessary finish to the surface. As the cold rolling hardens the metal and makes it brittle it has to be annealed between the different passes through the rolls. When in its soft or annealed state copper is very easily “worked” or shaped into the required forms by the workman. In past times this shaping was done by hand, the individual workman cutting the sheets and hammering them on various shaped blocks or heads to the required shape. After the article had been shaped the metal was stiffened by a process or hammering all over, called planishing, which not only helped the article to keep its shape and resist denting or bending but also gave it a good surface. The planishing required very skilled workmanship, especially for flat work, and was slow and expensive. With the present-day methods of large production, however, the British manufacturer has replaced most of the shaping by hand by press work, spinning, or other machine process, and the planishing is done on planishing hammers worked by power and which can be operated by semi-skilled labour at about ten times the speed of the old hand planishing with better results as regards finish. At the sam« time the old skilled hand worker still finds scope for special work is always being asked for. TIN LININGS. Copper is one of the best conductors of both electricity and heat and for this reason finds its chief usefulness in electrical fittings on the one hand and in heating and cooking utensils on the other- Copper wire is used by the electrical trades in the various forms as cable, etc., to an enormous extent. More interesting to the hardwareman however, is the later development ot electric heating and cooking apparatus for domestic use. These are well worth the hardware seller’s attention, as with the rapidly-growing use of electricity the call for these things is increasing. Copper is used very largely in these goods on account of its conductivity. The fact that we speak of the kitchen ‘‘copper” even when it is made of iron or other metal proves that copper has long been used for water-heating purposes. Among a few of the many forms that interest the hardware trade may be mentioned brewers’ coppers and heating coils, geysers, hot water cylinders for baths, confectioners’ double boilers, steam heating apparatus, domestic kettles, cooking utensils, etc. When used for cooking utensils and similar purposes copper has to have a lining of tin to prevent any contamination of the food from the corrosion of the metal, which is very poisonous. Fortunately copper is easily coated with tin so that it is quite simple to guard against any trouble in this direction. Indeed, copper seems Uhave a natural affinity for easily com bining mechanically with other metals, lending itself well to brazing so that good joints can be quickly made.