Nose cap question.

[greymount]

Recently poured a pewter nose cap and i have a few pockmarks on the surface of the pewter that I can't file out.  How would I repair these?

[Ky-Flinter]

You might try heating the pockmarked areas with a soldering iron and adding more pewter.  It's a fine line between too hot and making the holes bigger, or too cold and the new pewter doesn't stick.  I've had it work sometimes, and other times not.  I figure if it works great, if not I pull the pewter out and re-pour.

-Ron

[hudson]

I had that problem once and had good luck using a soldering Iron. I used little bits of pewter for fill,  good luck.

[rsells]

I have done this a few times, and you are right about the fine line between melting the new material into the formed without causing issues  with what you have in the stock.  I use an old fashioned type soldering iron about the size of a pencil.  I cheat a bit by using masking tape to build up a dam around the cavity I am trying to fill.  I use small thin pieces of nose cap material and stack the them inside the dam.  I use enough material there to extend above the dam I built around the cavity.  I hold the soldering iron against the new material and form a molten drop of material in the dam large enough to fill the cavity.  The trick is to hold the soldering iron in the drop of molten material long enough to heat the formed material to the point the two flow together to form a bond, but not enough heat to cause the cap itself to collapse.  Some times the process works OK, but sometimes I have to pour another cap or repeat the process if I see a separation line between the two materials when I dress the surface of the repair down to the cap.  I have been using the same printer's type material for the poured nose caps since the late 70's.  For years I made the poured nose caps without any issues, but the last 4 years or so I have run into the problem you are having now and again.  I don't know what I have done to change my process, but for sure something has changed.  I have about decided that I may be overheating the material to the point it may be starting to form pockets in the molten liquid before I pour the cap resulting in the cavities showing when I file the cap to its final shape.  I like the look of the poured cap, so I just work through the issue.  If I decide to pour another new cap, I use the same soldering iron to heat the material to the point it flows to get it to drop out of the cavity in the wood.  I have to be careful not to hold the iron against the wood and cause damage to the delicate pieces of wood in the cap area. I have filed the tip of the iron into a narrow V shape to make it easier to remove the material without burning the wood.   Good luck with the repair or new cap.
                                                                                                  Roger Sells 

[Bob Roller]

On the few rifles I have made I used tin. I have never had any pewter
and lead isn't good looking so tin it was.

Bob Roller

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I think tin has a higher value that pewter.  I use high speed babbit material.

[Bob Roller]

I think tin has a higher value that pewter.  I use high speed babbit material.

Yes,it does have a higher value but it's what I have on hand even now.
Also some babbit. 30 years ago I worked in a babbit bearing shop and
the last one I was involved with was a pour of over 600 pounds on a
big,3 segment bearing. The night shift finished it...........OFF,wrecked it.
I was laid off after that and found out later that the upper management was
stealing from the company,even selling babbit to competitors and they knew
my opinion of thieves of all kinds. The office girl,Renee' said I scared the $#*!
out of them and I am glad I did.Your mention of babbit brought forth this rant.

Bob Roller

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

We encourage rants of this nature Bob.  Don't hold back!

[Bob Roller]

We encourage rants of this nature Bob.  Don't hold back!

It was about a year later I saw Renee' Wilson at the mall and she asked me
if I remembered a conversation at lunch one day when all of us,the day shift
crew were eating at a big picnic table and the subject of theft from an employer
came up. I remembered it and she reminded me that I said "Anyone who steals from an employer
that is paying an above average wage ought to be prosecuted and jailed".
We were being paid well and I suppose the easy money by theft and selling jobs
that never got into the books was too much.The lure of easy money.Renee'was
not involved and she got another job minus the drama of arrests,fines,jail and
a bad name.

Bob Roller

[Hungry Horse]

I agree with Bob about bar tin. I have cast nosecaps out of new pewter, old pewter, several different types of solder, as well as some alloys that I didn’t know the make up of, but the most successful caps were all cast from bar tin. They are strong, cast without voids( if not overheated) and remain bright.
 
 Hungry Horse

[jerrywh]

 I used tin before and it also doesn't tarnish as bad as pewter.

[Metalshaper]

Find some old bars of auto body lead. the kind the old masters used to make their "
Lead Sled" mods for the custom cars of 40-60s. The bars my bud came into are mostly tin
And when melted up with some pewter makes an awesome mix for pouring nose caps and such!! The great thing is it flows almost like water and stays fluid a bit longer than just pewter.. helps to prevent the voids you can sometimes get??
And as stated, the tin\tin mixes stay brighter longer!

Respect Always
Metalshaper\jonathan

[elkhorne]

Does anybody know a source for bar tin that we can purchase for nose caps? Thanks.
elkhorne

[Greg Pennell]

I’ve bought bar tin from both Buffalo Arms, and Rotometals for alloying for cast bullets before. Come to think of it, I need to order some more.

Greg

[elkhorne]

Metalshaper,
What is a good mix of tin and pewter for a nose cap pour. I used pure pewter from TOW last year for some knife bolsters and it did pretty well but had problems with it cooling too fast on one and had to redo. Sounds like the pewter tin alloy might pour better. Appreciate the help.
elkhorne

[Metalshaper]

EH,

I tend to work by T.L.A.R ( that looks about right ) the last one I poured, I think it was close to a 1:1 mix ?  Got the pewter melted and just added the tin, in bits, until it had doubled the volume,,, more or less

Respect  Always 
Metalshaper  /  Jonathan 

[greymount]

Tried to fill the pockmark with solder and also with pewter filings using my soldering iron. Both melted but nothing would stick.  I even tried flux and that did not work.  Any ideas?

[Scota4570]

I've used linotype.  It cast great at a low temperature.  The color is good.  IT has not oxidized.

For fixing casting imperfections I use an old fashioned soldering iron.  The copper is about 5/8". 

[Hungry Horse]

If you alloy your pure tin with one of the many mixtures that have been called pewter over the last several hundred years, you often end up with a mixture of metals that melt at different temperatures. This is EXACTLY what you DON’T want. If one metal is melted, and one is not quite there yet, when they are both liquid one will be overheated, and will have air pockets where the metal has boiled.

  Hungry Horse

[Gaeckle]

Tried to fill the pockmark with solder and also with pewter filings using my soldering iron. Both melted but nothing would stick.  I even tried flux and that did not work.  Any ideas?

Pete, I think the problem is that the base of the nosecap has to be the same temperature as the filings on the soldering iron, but due to mass, the heat disapates somewhat. One way is to make a small 'pin' that is tapered from some of the pewter or maybe use solder, drill a very small hole in the dimple, insert the pin and cut it off just shy of the nose cap surface. Genltly tap it with a very light hammer to set it into the hole, swedging so to speak, then work the soldering iron over the head of the pin blending it into the nose cap. This may work, but then again, it may not. I do think that the little dimple can be filled out, it's really not that deep. Your blending skills are pretty good, that's why I think a little file work will be the solution.