Norman Brooks
45 Cal.
Has anyone poured pewter end caps on chunks of deer antler that has been cut off square?
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Question on poured pewter
- Thread starter Norman Brooks
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Norman Brooks
45 Cal.
Yes Compressorguy. Did you do it? If so what is the procedure?
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What is the brown between the antler and bolster?
Yes this is one I made back in April. I don’t have any pics of doing the cap but I do of the bolster which is pretty much the same procedure. What I did was cut/filed a square groove all the way around the antler to give the pewter some overlap and I believe it gives a better result (no gaps) and more bite. It is more work than just leaving it flush and may not be necessary, just what I did.
I then added several wraps of tape just under the groove to increase the diameter of the poured pewter. This will “build out” the pewter and give you more room to work any errors. Then make a tape “well” around the antler to hold the pewter. Because of the wraps you made under the groove/shelf the poured pewter diameter will be larger than the antler diameter now. Hope this makes since by the photos below.
NOTE: one thing I did different for the cap was to drill several holes down in the end if the antler with a 5/64” drill bit at random/opposing angles. The pewter will flow down into these holes and give it much more bite and secure it to the antler. The opposing angles will fight the cap from coming off. It’s very secure!
Notice how the pewter diameter is larger, the more you wrap under the groove /shelf the larger the it will be. But you’ll have to file/sand more so there’s a trade off.
NOTE: one thing I did different for the cap was to drill several holes down in the end if the antler with a 5/64” drill bit at random/opposing angles. The pewter will flow down into these holes and give it much more bite and secure it to the antler. The opposing angles will fight the cap from coming off. It’s very secure!
Notice how the pewter diameter is larger, the more you wrap under the groove /shelf the larger the it will be. But you’ll have to file/sand more so there’s a trade off.
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Then file and sand down to the antler diameter. This procedure gave me a great result!
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The finished result. Hope this helps. I wish you much success on your project! Be sure to post pics. We’d love to see them.
Norman Brooks
45 Cal.
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Just curious.
Those look very nicely finished. Did you pour them on the antler or cast them and install them? Did you drill “pin” holes into the antler end to help secure them?
That is one nice looking knife. I might have left the over pour on the front and refined the shape. What finish did you use on the antler?
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Muzzleloading, not just a hobby but a life all of its own. pouring powder down a hole leads to so many other things!
both of the projects above are splendid!
i lucked into 10 lbs of pewter and now my brain sees unlimited uses!
Thank You, it’s finished with Fiebings Med Brown leather dye and some Renaissance paste wax
Norman Brooks
45 Cal.
Poured them. Removed about a 1/4" of the pulp, drilled 3/16" pin holes in opposing angles. Hope it works. Thanks for the info.
TexiKan
40 Cal.
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Good job and sound procedure and recommendations. I wanted to add pewter inlays and cap to a pipe tomahawk handle and my initial efforts were unsuccessful. I, too, encountered a some pewter burn to the wood. With a little more effort and practice, I should get better at it.
Very nice workmanship
