What hardware to use on a copper strip

[Carlos]

I'm making a serving tray from bird's eye maple that will have two brushed copper strips on top as handles. I need to attach the strips using some sort of hardware, I think. I don't imagine any adhesive would be totally reliable there. So I'm wondering about ideas on what to use. Brass clashes. I don't think copper is hard enough to make screws from. I could maybe do copper nails, not sure. Other ideas?

Also...need to have it done in a couple days, so no time to mail order. I have Rockler, Woodworker's and all the usual hardware places nearby (NW Phoenix AZ).

[mm1992]

Depends how the handles are attached, but I'm not sure I'd trust copper nails to hold handles. Maybe you'd be able to form copper rivets to hold them? Some larger diameter wire might be a good starting place.

[mpc]

Do the ends of the handles have to sit on top of the tray? If not, can you bend the end portion into tenon of sorts and bury them into mortises? Dowel pegs run through the sides of the tray would then pin the handles. You could also braze copper plates to the bottom of the handle strips and slip those into mortises, with or without cross-dowel pins again.

mpc

[Carlos]

It's flat bar stock sitting flat on the top edge. That's part of the look I'm going for. It will need at least two screws to be solid. I grabbed some dark-coated screws from Rockler last night, which I think might work as far as color goes. I will drill a piece of stock today and put the screw in it for a real look. It's so hard to get these metals to photograph accurately, but the screws are dark smoke, slightly warm tinge to them. I'm brushing the copper with steel wool.

[atgcpaul]

Making an infill plane by dovetailing metal sides to a metal sole is on my woodworking bucket list. In the process, you hammer/peen and grind the dovetail joints to the point where the joint lines disappear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jIlmRwx5z4&t=9s

That is all to say that my personal preference would be to not have any exposed hardware or to have it be so subtle that it is invisible. I would attempt to use this method in the video below or a combination of this method with a copper rivet and a belt sander to blend the rivet head into the copper strip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnBZltkXqT0

Paul

[Carlos]

Interesting. This is copper to wood, so slightly different from that video. But a copper rod could be glued into the wood, and then hammered until it fills the hole, the sanded off. Hmm, I might be too time constrained on this project to go get supplies for that, but let's see how the workday goes.