Botched pewter forend pour....

[GANGGREEN]

So I tried my first pewter pour with mixed results.  Honestly, it went fine, but I made the mistake of not having enough in the first pour and I poured more on top of that.  Obviously the second pour didn't take and in this case, the first pour didn't completely cover my wood frame.  As you can see from the photo, I filed down to the profile of what pewter I had and it looks OK other than the fact that wood can be seen at the tip of the forend.  My question becomes, can I just drip some pewter onto the end with a soldering iron?  If I do that, will be thick enough to allow me to file or sand it down to final profile and shape? 

This is a .45 that I'm building for my 19 year old son and I'd like it to look nice for him.  He's never had any real interest in hunting, but he claims that he wants to hunt deer this fall with bow and muzzleloader and I'm hopeful that this may ignite something inside.  The second photo is where I'm at now, the stock is mostly or completely finished and I now have to attach the under-rib and the pipes, then install the sights and touchhole liner before finishing everything. 

Extra credit to anyone who can tell what species of wood that the rifle is sitting on.  Be specific......





new upload photos

[Dennis Glazener]

I hate to tell you this but I suspect you will have to cut the pewter back all around the cap and repour it. I never had any luck dribbling or partial pouring a nose cap.

It looks like slab sawn white oak but that's too easy so I suspect its not that.
Dennis

[JNG3]

Looks like Euro beech to me. Sorry I know next to nothing, maybe less than nothing, about pewter nose caps.

[GANGGREEN]

I hate to tell you this but I suspect you will bee to cut the pewter back all around the cap and repour it. I never had any luck dribbling or partial pouring a nose cap.

It looks like slab sawn white oak but that's too easy so I suspect its not that.
Dennis

I almost tore the whole pour off and re-started, but I didn't have the heart, not that soon (keeping in mind that this was my first pewter pour and it took a while to get up the courage). 

Not white oak (slab sawn or otherwise) and not Euro beech.  Keep guessing.

[Tim Crosby]

 You could leave it like it is, just Square it up, round the outside edges and stain the end, once the barrel and rib are in there won't be much to see.

   Tim C.

[oldtravler61]

  Looks to me like beech. Looks a lot like the stocks I have for a couple of fowlers I'm working on.
  As for the pewter no expert but if you want to fill the end. You might want to redo it like Dennis said. Otherwise follow Tim's advice.  Oldtravler

[Rolf]

I did the same mistake when pouring this tin nosecap. To add more tin, I reattached the cardstock mold, fluxed the cast tin With tin solder fluxpaste, heated everything up as hot as I could get it With a hot air gun, and poured in molten tin. Stuck solid. No visible seams. Sorry, didn't take Pictures of the repair process.




Best regards
Rolf

[GANGGREEN]

You could leave it like it is, just Square it up, round the outside edges and stain the end, once the barrel and rib are in there won't be much to see.

   Tim C.

Ha!  That's the advice I wanted to hear.  Actually, I suspect I could put the rib on and show it to 20 people and maybe 1 of them would notice, but if they were builders themselves, I suspect that they'd all notice. 

Thanks for the input about the repair Rolf.  In the heat of the moment I wasn't sure if my "repair" would take or not, but I suspected not (which has now been confirmed).  At least I learned something from it.

By the way, no, not beech.  Keep guessing.  This might actually be fun, though I suppose a lot of board members won't open this thread.

[Rolf]

Found a better picture of the repair.


 Best regards
Rolf

[GANGGREEN]

Found a better picture of the repair.


 Best regards
Rolf

That looks great.  After doing this and realizing that it's nothing mystical, I think I'm going to do something similar to yours on an upcoming fowler build that's next on my bench.

[T*O*F]

I held mine with the tip down and melted it out with a very small flame on my torch, starting from the bottom and working up.  There was very little charred wood to deal with and it was easily sanded off when refinishing the new pour.

[GANGGREEN]

I held mine with the tip down and melted it out with a very small flame on my torch, starting from the bottom and working up.  There was very little charred wood to deal with and it was easily sanded off when refinishing the new pour.

I thought about doing that before I began filing, but now it's too late.  I was too concerned that I'd end up with a horrible mess and I presumed that the mess I did have may have been fixable.

[Top Jaw]

How about Sassafras for the table wood?

[GANGGREEN]

How about Sassafras for the table wood?

Negative......

[T*O*F]

butternut?

[Mike Brooks]

butternut?

Ditto.

[Dale Halterman]

Can't really tell from the picture, but is there a gap between the ramrod hole and the underside of the nose cap? Have you checked how the under rib mates up to the cap? Maybe it is just the picture, but it looks like you may have a gap there.

Dale H   

[GANGGREEN]

Can't really tell from the picture, but is there a gap between the ramrod hole and the underside of the nose cap? Have you checked how the under rib mates up to the cap? Maybe it is just the picture, but it looks like you may have a gap there.

Dale H

Nope, just soldered the rib on and it looks pretty good. 

[GANGGREEN]

Excellent guesses by T*O*F and Mike Brooks, but still no.....You are getting closer though and this hint might seal the deal for someone who has the nerve to suggest it.......

[Ray Pennington]

Hickory??
Maple?

[Cades Cove Fiddler]

  ... maybe you had access to some old chestnut planks...
 

[oldtravler61]

  How about birch wood?  Oldtravler

[GANGGREEN]

... maybe you had access to some old chestnut planks...
 

HA!  Leave it to the guy from Cades Cove to come up with Chestnut.  That said, no, not old planks.  In fact, I had a very large native American chestnut growing on my property.  It was confirmed a few years back by the American Chestnut Foundation as being a native tree and was at that time the second largest confirmed living tree in the state of Pennsylvania.  Since #1 already had the blight and was said to be dying, I presume that my tree actually made #1 for a short time.  Sadly, it also succumbed to the blight and I harvested it last year, had it milled and kiln dried and have had several pieces of furniture made from it.

Here's a photo of the tree before harvest, it was @20" DBH.  Also a photo of a hoosier that I had built for my wife.  You'll see some birdseye maple accents, but most of the cabinet is American chestnut.







how to upload photos from

[Cades Cove Fiddler]

  ....back just a few years ago there were still large chestnut logs laying dead in the woods here in the mountains .... all the ones that were handy were snaked out and sawn......probably some still in hard to get areas... ....I thought maybe you had torn down an old barn and planed the lumber ...... on my grandfather's farm, there was a 12' wooden gate made of some of the prettiest black walnut planks you have ever seen .....BTW .... pretty furniture ... !!! 

[GANGGREEN]

....back just a few years ago there were still large chestnut logs laying dead in the woods here in the mountains .... all the ones that were handy were snaked out and sawn......probably some still in hard to get areas... ....I thought maybe you had torn down an old barn and planed the lumber ...... on my grandfather's farm, there was a 12' wooden gate made of some of the prettiest black walnut planks you have ever seen .....BTW .... pretty furniture ... !!! 

Yeah, still a fair number of old buildings and barns around and you see reclaimed chestnut for sale, but typically it will be filled with worm holes (I actually like wormy chestnut).  Mine even had a few worm holes here and there, but was primarily clear.  It's a shame that the old monarchs are dead or dying, but at least I have something to remember the tree by.