Good tips on pouring pewter nose cap

[Old Ford2]

Hi,
I would appreciate any good tips on pouring pewter nose caps.
I have poured several wheel weight nose caps, but never pewter.
Thank you!
Fred

[Hungry Horse]

 Heat your pewter to the melting point (not beyond, do not let it boil), flux with bees wax, make sure you have the ramrod hole plugged tightly, and the barrel cap secured well. Skim the dross off the top of the pewter, make sure you have a big enough ladle to make the pour in one smooth quick motion. Because of the mass of some nosecap pours, I use binding wire around the bottom of the dam. I make my dams out of Manila folders, or file cards.

  Hungry Horse

[n stephenson]

If you`ll take a graphite pencil and black all the surface you want to cover it will help it to flow.   Nathan

[Mauser06]

Being a beginner, I ran into a few issues.


First, look through the tutorial section and do a few searches.  There are some great threads with pics that helped me a ton. 


My biggest mistake was over heating.  Once it gets too hot and boils, you have to let it cool and re-melt.  Otherwise, you get Swiss cheese. Lots of goods and holes. 



That's a pour that was too hot...See the holes? 


I cut out my design and then under-cut the bottom edge so it would help lock it in place. 

I then drilled some small holes in the stock to achieve the same.


Like was said, a graphite pencil is said to help it flow. I did it.  Can't say if it helped or not, but it's recommended. 



I then used a minella folder to make the mold. 


One piece around the stock and another in the barrel channel.  Mine was a half stock with an entry pipe so it was a little different than typical. 



Heat the barrel in the area of the pour.  If the pewter hits cool metal, it solidifies and stops the pour.  You want to get 1 quick, clean pour.  I'd say once you start pouring, keep it flowing quickly to finish it. Don't try to pour it slow. 


Be careful.  Moulten metal is no joke.  I'm "accident prone" and managed not to get burnt.


Here's the pour I ended up using.  Wasn't perfect. But I was able to use it. 













Wish I took pics of the card stock tapped on the stock. 




Do NOT use modeling clay for a dam.   Lol.  I used modeling clay on one of my attempts.  "Doesn't harden" or something "sold" me on it.  Figured it would work perfect....Well...It melted.  I had a volcano of moulten clay and pewter spewing everywhere.  I used black clay too...It made a MESS. 


It's not difficult.  If you don't have pewter, you can use solder.  Not sure if mine is purchased pewter or if it's solder lol.  It took me a couple attempts. Some I recycled but some, like from the clay mess, wasn't able to be recycled.  I'd guess mine is a mix of both lol. 


It cuts and files pretty easily, so I didn't mind mine being overly large. I had it shaped pretty quickly. 


Again, I'm no pro.  But ran into many issues along the way. Mine turned out and is tight on the stock. 

[moleeyes36]

Here's a tutorial on it http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=4669.0

Mole Eyes

[JBJ]

The video about says it all. Will add that I used bits of non-absorbent cotton packed into crevices on a couple of pours and it worked for me to stop any leaks. Have also used florist clay but you must be careful about temp. Have NOT used solder as a metal source but personally would not use a lead alloy solder. Have only used pewter or Britannia metal salvage from thrift store finds. It is cheap and around here quite available. I always save a few strips of metal cut from the pewter items to use as a filler for any minor holes left in the pour. The careful use of a large electric soldering iron and non-corrosive soldering paste, together with the saved strips, has allowed me to successfully touch up pours. Just a few thoughts re what has worked for me.
J.B.

[snrub47]

I've poured maybe a dozen using Babbitt, always with good results.........

[Hungry Horse]

The best nosecaps I have poured are all pure tin. They are harder than most other stuff, and keep a shine pretty well. And I don't have to worry about lead contact, quite so much.

  Hungry Horse

[retired fella]

I've poured a couple using tinned solder.  Works for me and is hard enough to not scratch..   don't wear sandals...

[jerrywh]

 Best way to heat the barrel is to stick a red hot rod down the barrel to the point of the pour. I have poured some of pewter and some of tin. Tin is pretty and stays bright but isn't as hard. Don't forget to plug the RR hole.

[Meteorman]

I've used FIMO modeling clay many times, worked great.
Follow Ken's tutorial and you'll be fine.
I once used a Wilton piece I thought was pewter ...  seemed like it took
 a long time to melt... poured it in and everything burst into flames. 
Turns out the Wilton stuff is an aluminum alloy. Doh.

[L. Akers]

I make molds from aluminum foil folded many times to get a bit of thickness.  You have to get the metal hot enough to remain liquid during the duration of the pour or you end up with "layers".  The aluminum foil helps transfer heat.  I use 63/37 bar solder for my pours

[Turtle]

  Two things I learned;

#1 preheat the barrel

 #2 Old fashioned muffler cement makes a good heatproof sealer for you dam

                                    Good luck, turtle

[Dphariss]

Did literally hundreds while at Shiloh usually in batches.  Use a lead free solder like Silva-Brite 100 (my favorite). Its an old pewter formula. Heat the BARREL till too hot to touch then put in the stock. Build your dams and the form.  Heat pewter in a suitable ladle. Stir with a fairly thin piece of pine split off a 1x2 etc. When it scorches tan with just a few seconds stirring pour. Dark tan is maybe too hot. Just be SURE your cutout in good and the dams to hold the metal in place are good. Pour. Its going to bubble as the moisture in the wood is forced from the wood as steam by the heat.  Let cool. Remove all the forms and the barrel, might have to trim the Pewter. Cut to length. Holes appear? Heat a copper or brass punch/rod 1/4-3/8 dia to solder them shut. If too horrid melt it off with the punch and repour.  DO NOT get any flame close to the wood while doing either of these. The second pour will have very few or not bubbles.
Dan

[Dphariss]

I make molds from aluminum foil folded many times to get a bit of thickness.  You have to get the metal hot enough to remain liquid during the duration of the pour or you end up with "layers".  The aluminum foil helps transfer heat.  I use 63/37 bar solder for my pours

Card stock 50 pound paper or better, 2-3 wraps works good. Lead bearing solder pours great but it looks too much like lead. I used to use 50-50 but decided when I went to doing a lot of them I went to lead free plumbers solders. But some of these do not pour well in my experience.  The Tin/Copper/Silver alloys are much whiter and do not corrode darken is a few weeks in the gun safe. And they produce no lead dust when sanded.

Dan

[Dphariss]

Setting on the couch some time later I just remembered that I usually did 2 wraps of DOUBLED card stock so you want 4 layers of card stock in the form... Have not done one in probably 3 years so....

Dan

[Darkhorse]

I use Pewter ingots bought from TOW and double layers of cereal box for my forms. I also use some kind of hobby, nonhardening white clay I bought from Walmart. I'm not sure of the exact name as it's outside in my shop. But it worked great for me.
After initially heating the barrel, then putting it back in the stock and building the dams and form, I heat a 4" bolt and put it in the bore to try and reheat the barrel somewhat.
If pouring something like a chevron nose cap be certain that you have cut your design in deep enough that when you finish the forend, you don't end up filing or sanding all the pewter off down to bare wood.

[Turtle]

I used the muffler cement on my dams  because I had trouble with my dams leaking.
                                                  Turtle