Pewter: Can I turn it?

[Nige7]

There was a very nice pewter(I believe) lid on a hollow form bowl at the club the other night. I don't know that it was turned but it set me to wondering if pewter as a softish material is viable for safe turning in a wood lathe with our usual tools?  You might not want to use your best tools to do it but is it doable does anybody know?

Nigel

[Martin Lawrence]

Hi Nigel,

Yes you can turn pewter, also aluminium. and possibly brass but not sure on the last one.

Cheers Martin.

[Paul Hannaby]

If you start with sheet pewter you can also spin it. This also works with aluminium, copper and brass too.

[thebowlerhattedturner]

Hi Nigel,
           yes you can turn pewter. I melt and cast my own quite often and it turns an absolute dream. Slow the lathe down especially when you polish it and take small fine cuts. Possibly the best tools to use are scrapers but I regularly turn mine with a spindle gouge, just make sure the shavings clear as you turn or they weld themselves back on. Once polished I seal it with either beeswax or laquer.
  You can also texture it quite nicely too.
Hope this helps,
Regards
John BHT

[Nige7]

Thank you everybody, much obliged

Nigel

[BarryMobbs]

Hello Nigel,
 I posted this note last year in response to a similar question but I think it is worth repeating.
 I was fortunate enough to attend an AWGB workshop with Simon Hope last year wherethe topic was the use of pewter in turning.
 Health and Safety was an important part of this workshop as you are dealing with a hot moulton metal. Pewter melts at a relatively low temperature of 240 degrees C but even this temperature will cause severe burns if it gets on you. I use a small gas powered camping stove and an old saucepan to melt the pewter and it should be heated to melting point only, not hotter.
 I have cast pewter into spigoted wooden moulds for turning before fitting to the wood and have also cast it directly into a prepared recess in the work and machined it in situ. Because the pewter contracts as it cools you need to run CA glue into the joint interface to hold it in place for turning.
 It is vitally important that the wood is very dry because the heat of the pewter will cause any moisture to boil off violently. Hand and face protection are essential. Barry

[Nige7]

Thanks Barry. That is interesting. A long while back I cast aluminium using polystyrene as a sacrificial mould but that would be frowned upon by the elf and safety brigade these days. Aluminium requires a bit more heat to get it to melt, about 630 degrees C I think, so not a task to be undertaken lightly or without some care. That box lid was a very decorative affair though.  The guy I recently got some turning tools from and a nice load of timber has done a lot of pewter and silver work and I have seen some nice castings he has done in pewter.

Nigel

[Jon Holden]

Hi Nigel,

Yes you can turn pewter, also aluminium. and possibly brass but not sure on the last one.

Cheers Martin.

I have turned down the brass connectors on a three piece walking stick and although it took some time and careful work with a roughing gouge (and regular sharpening) it worked very well. Successive grades of Micromesh brings back a very high shine to it and a melamine finish over the whole stick protects the brass to some degree from tarnishing.