Pouring a Pewter Nosecap

[Erzulis boat]

I am going to incorporate a poured pewter nosecap on my current rifle.

I have never done it, and would like some input.

:thanks:

 

[prd0036]

The way I did mine was I drilled a couple of small holes in the end of the stock to hold the nosecap in place after molding. I then used cardboard to make a mold and held it in place with masking tape. After poring the mold I shaped it with a file and sandpaper.

 

[Liver eatin’ Johnson]

This should fill in some of the details for you:


Pouring a Pewter Nose Cap

 

[Zonie]

Another Post about casting nosecaps.
CAST NOSECAP POST

 

[Erzulis boat]

Thanks Zonie-

You answered my question completely, real inside knowledge.

The pour you did looked perfect.

Cerrobend will definitely work, and it has a great color, more like sterling silver than pewter.

:thanks:

 

[Erzulis boat]

Zonie-

It looked like you got some grief about not using pewter, so I did some research.

Cerrobend contains 50 percent bismuth, 26.7 lead, 13.3 tin, and 10 percent cadmium.

Lead free pewter contains 92 percent tin, 7.75 antimony, and .25 percent copper.

Cerrobend melts at 158 degrees, while lead free pewter flows at 525 to 625 degrees.

So, basically to get the pewter to flow at a temperature that would not char the wood would require some adjustments to the alloy. At that point, your "pewter" might not be pewter at all! Tin by itself melts at 425 degrees.

While it may not be "pewter" Cerrobend is A-Ok in my book.

Also, if you subjected the rifle with enough heat to melt the nosecap, the cap would probably be the least of your worries. Also the heat would have to absolutely saturate that mofrack.

TOWT sells a kit, do you have any experience with it? Rabbit03 had some trouble with it on his awesome Vincent.

:thanks:

 

[Zonie]

The Cerrobend I was using comes in several different temperature ranges. This alloy melted at 178 degrees F.

I guess it is because it melts at such a low temperature, it is easy to go past that temperature when heating it.
That doesn't seem to hurt it, but be awair, if you use it you will need some REALLY tight dams which can stand it sitting in a molten condition for a while.

The first time I tried this, my dams leaked resulting in Cerrobend all over the kitchen floor.

It's been on that rifle for over 5 years now and looks as bright as it did the day I finished it.

You will see the same material on my Schuetzen and the Pistol I'm currently working on.

The nice thing about using Cerrobend for the grip cap is I could make a plaster of Paris mold for it without worrying about retained moisture in it blowing up.

 

[Bear Rider]

Zonie,

Your discussion of cerrobend just gave me a wild hair idea for another project that I have been working on.

Do you know of anyone who has made grip panels for pistols or revolvers from cerrobend, and if so, how did they turn out? I know very little about the mechanical properties of the material, so any information would be of use.

 

[Zonie]

Cerrobend is heavy, and fairly soft.
You can leave a mark in it with heavy thumbnail pressure.
I would say it's quite a bit harder than solder but it would be better if it was harder.
The Real Pewter has a lot of Tin in it so I think it's much harder.

When it hardens, it has a fairly rough finish so it will need to have about .015-.030 of it removed to get a nice smooth surface.

When casting a nose cap, I sanded the wood and Cerrobend at the same time to remove this rough finish and keep the area of transition between the wood and the Cerrobend smooth and even.

The Pistol grip cap presented a little more difficulty because I didn't want the change the shape of it and I didn't have a mold which would cast it with extra material for "clean up".

Careful sanding and taking my time seems to have produced a cap that will work alright but it would have been easier if I had cast it oversize.

By the way, I bought some "pewter" from somewhere (I've forgotten where) and it turned out to be mainly lead making it about the same hardness as solder.
If you decide to buy some pewter from a supply house, ask them what it is made out of. It should be mainly Tin.

 

[CrackStock]

While I cast my own bullets and balls, I think that I do not wish to sand lead into shape or handle it more than necessary. I think that I would prefer some other metal for a poured nose cap.

Just thinking with what few cells I did not waste in my ill spent youth.

CS

 

[thehorn]

I know of several fine eastern PA gunmakers who use wheel weights rather than pewter for casting nosecaps and knife fittings.

 

[CrackStock]

While it might be done or have been done, I think that it is not a good choice. Lead is necessary for use in bullet and ball making. There are other good metals for gun furniture. Lead wears too easily and is then part of the dust on your hands. :m2c:
It is also pretty toxic stuff.
Why do this?

CS

 

[F.G. Ford]

Zonie,
That is a mighty fine looking pistol, and rifle. Great work.

Old Ford

 

[Bear Rider]

I did a little research and found that there are some alloys that are lead free, being mostly bismuth. Sadly, the smallest amount that I can order is ten pounds -- far more than I need for suitability testing.

 

[kentucky bucky]

My first pour was with the TOTW pewter. It went well. I heated it until it would just "cook" a toothpick but not char it. I undercut all of my edges a bit and drilled air holes and anchoring holes varius places. You will get better flow if you coat the surfaces with Number 2 pencil lead. The only thing I could add is when you tape the Aluminum foil around your ramrod, make sure it isn't scotch type tape. It bubbles and makes voids in the ramrod channel. Don't ask me how I know. :redface:

 

[Zonie]

I did a little research and found that there are some alloys that are lead free, being mostly bismuth. Sadly, the smallest amount that I can order is ten pounds -- far more than I need for suitability testing.

Cerrosafe is about the same thing, and is available from Brownells.
Follow this link to find out more:
Brownells CerroSafe

 

[Scota4570]

I can add a few tidbits from my casting a tip on a TC. Linotype works great. Aluminum foil makes good dams. Smoking the barrel with the soot of a map gas torch helps the metal flow around the barrel. Hope that helps someone.

 

[triplefg]

I wanted to try to pour a pewter bolster on a knife I was making... Rather than using some second-hand pewter of doubtful composition, or waiting for some to arrive in the mail, I bought a quarter pound of lead free solder at the hardware store. Tin, silver and copper - very shiny stuff. I melted it in a ladle with a propane torch, and poured it into my tinfoil dams. It worked great - didn't scorch the antler at all. It may be worth considering for nosecaps.