How I Pour A Pewter Tip On A Horn

[Tim Crosby]

 I hope I am not out of line here (The question was asked over on Brian's 1st Horn Of The New Year thread) but this is how I pour a pewter tip on a horn. First I reshape the tip where the pewter will be making a cylinder shape maybe 3/8 to 1/2 wide and maybe 1/2 to 3/4 long,  there should be a step from the cylinder to the horn maybe 1/16-3/16, all sizes will depend on what you have to work with. To keep the pewter on take a small half round file and file some little groves in the cylinder maybe 5 or 6 alternating them top and bottom.
  Make a slightly tapered dowel, use hard wood, that will fit in the hole in the horn, just a slight taper to make it easier to get the dowel out after pouring. (Large end OUT)  I make the dowel about four inches long and leave about 2" sticking out the top of the dam your are going to make. Take a lead pencil and cover the entire dowel with lead, then smoke it up real good over a candle flame. This maybe overkill but it helps in getting the dowel out. It needs to be a TIGHT fit so pewter does not get past it.  
 Now with the horn shaped and the dowel in make a cylinder of thin cardboard, I use file folder, that will fit around the horn just below the step. The length of the cylinder depends on how much tip you want, make it a little longer than you want , you can always trim it off later. It is easier if you wrap the card board around something that is almost the size of the horn, the cardboard should overlap about 1/4' or so.
  Once you have the cylinder made and fit to the horn tape the bottom of the cylinder to the horn tightly, put more wraps of tape than you think you need and press it tightly. While taping the cylinder to the horn try and keep the dowel centered, remember it should be about 2" above the top of the cylinder.
 Secure the horn in a vice or cradle of some sort with the lip of the cylinder as level as possible and the dowel centered. Melt more pewter than you think you will need, I use a large stainless serving spoon with the bowl bent up on both sides to form a pouring spout. It helps if you steady your ladle with a stick, kind of like a sign painter uses to rest his hand on.
BE SURE AND WARE SAFETY GLASSES, gloves may not be a bad idea either, make sure the floor beneath the horn is clear and pour away,make it a smooth process, no stops and restarts. Let it cool COMPLETELY, it will make getting the dowel out easier. Tap the end of the stick in a little to get it moving, it may take some work but it will come out. If it doesn't you can carefully dill it out but I have never had to.  
  You can shape the tip with rasp, file, scraper or a knife and sandpaper. Use some Super Blue to color it, put it on let it sit, rub it down with 0000 steel wool and repeat, maybe 5 or 6 times, then put some paste wax on it, it will darken up more once the wax is on.  
 This process will give a smooth transition from tip to horn. If you want a step the horn can be wrapped with tape and the cone taped to the wraps of tape.
 I am sure there are other ways to do it but this one has worked for me. If something doesn't make sense let me know and I will try and make it clearer.

 Tim C.

PS: Over in the Tutorials there is a write up on making a separate pewter tip.TC

[Tim Crosby]

Thanks for the response, Tim.  I had asked the question.  Do you have any pix of pewter tips you have done?

 No, I do not, they came before the age of Digital cameras. I will do one in a week or so and try and capture the steps.

 Tim C.

 PS: The process is very similar to casting a mouth piece on a pipe hawk.TC

[G. Elsenbeck]

Great job Tim, I was able to follow along very well.  Appreciate you putting this together and sharing with us.
Gary

[Trkdriver99]

Tim, Excellent instructions, thanks for posting. Just about same as pouring knife bolsters. I would have had to drill out the dowel cause I would not have tapered it.

Ronnie

[T.C.Albert]

When pouring nose caps or knife ferrules etc..covering the surface of the area to be poured over with pencil graphite seems to "flux" the pour a bit, helping to eliminate big voids. Im wondering if this helps with horn as well?
TCA

[Tim Crosby]

When pouring nose caps or knife ferrules etc..covering the surface of the area to be poured over with pencil graphite seems to "flux" the pour a bit, helping to eliminate big voids. Im wondering if this helps with horn as well?
TCA

   I use it when pouring a nose cap or when casting inlays on hawk handles and think it really does improve the flow. Although I think the temperature of the pewter has a lot to do with it also. I don't use it on the horn since I want it to stick to the neck area, on the horns I use it mainly as a release agent.

 Tim C.

[mill creek trading]

What temperature do you want to reach before you pour your pewter?  Also there is a high temperature electrical tape that is white and has like threads running thru and it isthat is great for sealing the edges of the form you put around your horn or knife handle.   Dennis

[Tim Crosby]

 Unfortunately I have no idea what the temp is. I have poured so much stuff that it is more of a look/feel process.
 I think somewhere I read that a match stick put into the ladle should scorch but not burst into flame.
I do know that you can get it to hot, it will bubble when poured causing voids, it will also stay hot long enough to burn the horn and make the tip loose. (A Pin or so will help that)
 I would advise a couple of trial pours before the real thing. (I will add this to the first post)

 Tim C

[mill creek trading]

Thanks Tim, I will experiment.   Dennis

[sonny]

I made a penny knife an wanted to put pewter inlay in handle.I first cut the enlay an undercut the bottom edges so pewter would hold it there.I melted some pewter an pored it on enlay an vough"la.........it made a tear shaped pewter spot an never filled the enlay.It looked like when there is a water bead on your car........kinda raised an not filling in the cutout.I got the pewter hot enought to scorch the wood hadle of the knife????If i did that to a horn it would melt the horn an not fill in the horn/pewter edges where thay mate...........what did i do wrong???....sonny

[10thumbs]

 Yeah. What DID he do wrong? Surely by now someone has an idea.

 

[Tim Crosby]

 If he had put a small Brass screw in the inlet the Pewter would have been held in place by it. See if this helps, a little different but the same ides.

 The Two show the holes that were drilled in the antler and the screws that were put in to anchor the Pewter.





 This one shows how the dams were made that the Pewter was poured into. On a handle a dam can be made out of bake able modeling clay that surrounds the inlay hole. Once poured the excess can be filed away.



 After the pour.

[10thumbs]

Ahhh! Sneaky! You sure won't pull that out.
More questions: What is pewter, and where do you get it?

[Tim Crosby]

Ahhh! Sneaky! You sure won't pull that out.
More questions: What is pewter, and where do you get it?

 I think it would be easier if you did an internet search rather than trying to explain it here.

  Tim C.

[T*O*F]

I think somewhere I read that a match stick put into the ladle should scorch but not burst into flame.

The instructions that come with Track's pewter say you should be able to hold a toothpick in the molten pewter and it should not start to smoke for 5 seconds.

[doggoner]

Ahhh! Sneaky! You sure won't pull that out.
More questions: What is pewter, and where do you get it?

FWIW  Roto-metals #2 babbitt alloy is VERY close to the %'s of pewter. A 1lb bar is about $20.00 or so. 

doggoner

[Not English]

Sonny, Try preheating any metal  that will come into contact with the pewter. Rub a pencil on any wood surfaces if you're having troubles getting the pewter to flow. You'll also need to figure a way to keep the pewter anchored to the wood.