Abstract: An apparatus for charging a succession of metal plates edgewise and downwardly into a metal melt from a position spaced above the top level of the melt, is provided by a plate support forming a declining surface down which the plates can gravitationally fall edgewise, this surface extending from the charging position downwardly to a position adjacent to the melt level, and releasable means being provided for releasably engaging each successive plate prior to it falling from the declining surface into the melt, and for thereafter releasing the plate so that it can immerse edgewise into the melt more gently than if it fell freely down the surface, thus avoiding splashing the melt.