I have the bad habit of leaving most of my mortars without handles. I finally came up with this relatively easy method for making small scale handles. They look close to the original and don’t need any special tools to build.
I started with a piece of 1/8" steel but brass would work just as well for something a little showier. Layout, drill and cut each piece to size. I used a metal cutting band saw but it could be done by hand. Finish the edges with a grinder and file them smooth.
Give each end a quarter twist as shown in the picture. The easiest way I found for doing this is to hold mounting plate in the vice and grip about 3/4” up with an adjustable wrench. It is a good idea to mark this distance on each handle so you can make them all the same.
Bend each end just below the twist to form a right angle.
Bend just above the twist forming a nice curve. It may take a few taps with a hammer and some bending to get all the handles to look the same.
These are some finished handles. The small one is for a golf ball mortar. The large one is made of 1/4" steel for my 12 pdr coehorn. Even at 1/4" it bent quite easily without needing to heat it.
