Playing with pewter

[Chris A Lawrence]

Experimenting with making pewter tops for some hollow forms with threaded finials. Dont think its going to go on this roughed hollow form. Will have to make a hollow form that matches the curves in the cap.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

You just gonna leave us hanging? No explanation of how you do it? Did you spin it to the top? Come on Chief, we need details.

[Chris A Lawrence]

Dont remember what i googled but i found Kieth Larrett's blog and got the idea there. Here is the link http://keithlarrett.com/2013/06/28/c...ar-and-finial/

[Bert McMahan]

Oh wow, you can turn pewter with wood tools? Very interesting!

[Chris A Lawrence]

Oh wow, you can turn pewter with wood tools? Very interesting!

And it turns easier then wood. You get one continuous curl until you pull the tool away.

[John K Jordan]

Oh wow, you can turn pewter with wood tools? Very interesting!

Pewter, brass, aluminum, and even mild steel. I mostly use Thompson tools for metals - skew, gouges, etc. Scrapers for steel.

I bought some alabaster today - gonna try that next.

JKJ

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Experimenting with making pewter tops for some hollow forms with threaded finials. Dont think its going to go on this roughed hollow form. Will have to make a hollow form that matches the curves in the cap.

Nice work Chris, why you could turn a wooden shape/block that looks right on your hollow form, then pull the pewter over it to get that shape.

Like I have turned and spun brass and copper on my lathe with wood turning tools and home made tools, they can be found on the net and you can make simple ones for your own use.

Candle holder.jpg brass legged burl.jpg ornament.jpg lidded pot.jpg

[Reed Gray]

A question about pewter, aren't there 'good' and 'bad' types? Some thing to do with lead content???

robo hippy

[Chris A Lawrence]

A question about pewter, aren't there 'good' and 'bad' types? Some thing to do with lead content???

robo hippy

Yes there are different types with different lead contents. I think most modern pewters do not have any lead in them and are mostly tin. This one was made from some leftovers i had from a hobby that a bought a starter set for a long time ago unfortunately i do not know composition of it. This experiment is going to be for my personal display only. I have some coming that is lead free. it is mostly tin with a little copper.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Just because it is lead free does not mean it is not toxic. I think it is a modern lead free substitute called Britania metal that has antimony. I can't even recall what is in woods metal, but it melts at about 190 degrees F. Yeah, it melts in a pot of boiling water. but it is also toxic. I had a collection of modern and old pewter when my house burned down. I found a solid puddle of pewter in the ashes after the fire It weighs about 5 pounds. Since it is questionable, I would only use it for decorative things, certainly not food contact.

[Chris A Lawrence]

Just because it is lead free does not mean it is not toxic. I think it is a modern lead free substitute called Britania metal that has antimony. I can't even recall what is in woods metal, but it melts at about 190 degrees F. Yeah, it melts in a pot of boiling water. but it is also toxic. I had a collection of modern and old pewter when my house burned down. I found a solid puddle of pewter in the ashes after the fire It weighs about 5 pounds. Since it is questionable, I would only use it for decorative things, certainly not food contact.

I would never use pewter in anything i sell that would be used for food contact. I would not want the liability. Only reason for using the lead free stuff is for selling purposes. Lead has become a bad four letter word so being able to say something does not have it is a good thing.

[Mel Fulks]

I think the current law is nothing new can be sold as "pewter" if it contains any lead.