General discussion > Accoutrements Tutorials

Making Pewter Buttons

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Tim Crosby:

--- Quote from: rich pierce on June 06, 2018, 05:51:04 PM ---Cool!  Did you have some old pewter laying around?

--- End quote ---

 Yes I keep quite a bit of it around, I buy old stuff so I can see the color it gets with age, find it cheep at yard sales and flea markets. Cold Blue or Brass Black will turn it dark, and can be adjusted with Steelwool. I will shape the tabs as needed and drill. After looking at them I will probably  thin them down a bit making them a little flatter.
 Necessity; The Mother of Invention.

  Thanks, Tim

Percy:
Very nice! Thanks for sharing.

Percy

Martin S.:
Slight thread drift...

I have an old plate from my father he no longer wants.

It was a keepsake for work he did in Indonesia in the 60's.

It looks like it could be pewter, or maybe coin silver, hand pounded out to a mold, it is very primitive.

It has some sort of engraving on it, so would not be useful as a plate at rendezvous.

It has no historical value, so I thought I might be able to repurpose it for gun building.

How do I tell if it is pewter or coin silver?

It has some tarnish that I would associate with coin silver, but how can I be sure?

Thank you, I have learned so much on this forum.

P.W.Berkuta:
Take it to a jeweler and ask him ;).

Hungry Horse:
 I have a button mold made the same way, except mine is made of pipe stone from Minnesota. I got the idea from an exhibit in a museum. These molds were often found in the camps of the American rebels during the American revolution. I guess buttons got lost, and broken on a pretty regular basis. The original was soap stone, and had a tapered iron pin that created the hole, without drilling.
 I have found that modern lead free pewter mugs, and flagons, are often engraved as trophies, which makes them pretty hard to sell at the local junk store. You can usually pick them up for almost nothing.

  Hungry Horse

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