Working with pewter

[100quattro]

Has anybody got any tips for working with pewter?

Having seen work by the likes of Simon Hope I have tried inlaying pewter into the rim of turned bowls......but have not been very successful.

Firstly, pouring the molten pewter presents problems, varying from spitting to air bubbles...is the temperature too low, too high, or am I do something wrong?  That I think I can work around with practice but the next problem comes in trying to get a good finish because (I think) of the differential hardness between the wood and pewter.  I turn to a nice smooth seamless transition between the wood and metal, but after sanding/buffing/polishing I am left with the pewter standing slightly proud.  How do I get around this?  Finally, what is really troubling is that despite using well seasoned wood and undercutting the pewter inlay the slightest movement in the wood (when taken into a centrally heated house) causes the pewter to 'pop'.  Is this a reaction to the heat generated when pouring the molten pewter?    How do I overcome this?

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Kevin

[Dave Atkinson]

Hi Kevin

I can't give you an exact reply but maybe this will help.

Last year I made a pewter insert for a box and threaded it on the lathe.  Melting the pewter was a straightforward affair - I did it in a pan on the kitchen stove and then poured it carefully into a couple of moulds I'd made from scrap timber.  I stirred the molten metal in the mould with an old kitchen knife (slowly)  to remove any bubbles. 

When completed I glued the pewter into the box and it's been fine ever since.

I suspect that you may have create a ring first and then glue this onto/into your bowl as it will inevitably shrink when it cools.   I did write it up and if you send me an email I'll be pleased to send you the article, which also has pics.

Cheers Dave

[100quattro]

Hi Dave

Many thanks for the off forum email detailing your pewter work - you've done a fine job there and congratulations for the 1st place in the club competition. 

It's a slightly different process to the one I'm trying to achieve but very interesting and full of useful bits of advice.  Many thanks to you and the forum for providing the means to exchange these ideas.

Regards

Kevin