Utility Heating Pan

This tool at Smith’s Tavern is a utility heating plan made of cast iron.  There is a long metal handle (with a small hole for hanging) and a flat-bottom circular vessel with a small pour spout.  By calling it a “utility” pan, it could be used to melt anything - lead, butter, cheese. However, this tool was most likely used for melting lead.

 

To melt lead, the pieces of lead would be added to the melting pot.  It would be put on a heating source (maybe by the blacksmith). Impurities would be skimmed from the top of the melted lead with the metal ladles - impurities would be greyish in color as opposed to the silvery color of melted lead.  The melted lead would be ladled into ingot molds or other molds depending on what is being made.

 

Reference:  https://goneoutdoors.com/melt-lead-weights-6396152.html

Catalog Items:

Item T187

Location:	Left Shelf - 3rd
Length:	17 cm
Width:	8 cm
Height:	8 cm
Weight:	134 g