O'Neille makes Pewter Kilt Pins

**O'Neille** · 4th September 06, 11:24 PM

After contacting many pewterers to make me some kilt pins, and receiving numerous rebukes I decided that labor day would be devoted to.....Pewter casting. I've mastered the techniques and achieved good results that will only be better when I finish my production investments for the pins and buckles and broaches. I really like the look of real BMK pewter with silver. I've tried Brittania in the past and it just doesn't quite have the shine factor of BMK. Here are some pictures of my labors of Labor Day.

Here is the quick investment I made today. Just poured the molten pewter it 10 seconds before picture.

Pour it and crack it open, Nice and hot.

Here is a shot before cleaning it up.

And with a little cleaning up. A little more cleaning and buffing and it will be up to my standards. I made about ten of them before running out of pewter in my pot and stopping to post this.

The final O'Neille kilt pin will be much different than this experimental run. Kind of a meaty Claymore with a simpler shield and still some fine detail that looks great in pewter. I'm going to make a belt buckle sometime this week. I'll post it when I get time. I'm working on a cap badge positive that should be real cool. I'm glad I don't have to be dismissed by other pewterers anymore. Now I can just make what I want. O'Neille

**pbpersson** · 5th September 06, 06:42 AM

Hey.....do you do brain surgery? I want to be smarter.....

I mean.... you seem to know how to do everything so I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask...

**mkmound** · 5th September 06, 07:20 AM

WOW!! That's neat . . . did you create the mold from an existing pin, or did you sculpt it yourself?

**Planopiper** · 5th September 06, 07:26 AM

Ok, you've got my attention. Is this as easy as it looks? It looks like you get some kind of malleable plastic for a pattern, mold it around a form, remove the form, add a hole for air to escape, and pour in some molten pewter. How do you melt the pewter? Can you do it on a stovetop? Where do you get the pewter and the plastic for the mold? This could be an easy and fun home craft. I cast something in aluminum with a sand pattern once for school a long time ago, so I’ve been introduced to the concepts, but didn’t know there was something I could do at home without special equipment.

**Kilted KT** · 5th September 06, 07:57 AM

Great looking pin...

got a favor to ask, I'm building an additional room onto my house, you think you can swing down and knock that out in an afternoon? the only things you HAVEN'T made are a sgain and a caber, but I am sure those are to come!

KT

**O'Neille** · 5th September 06, 09:37 AM

Originally Posted by mkmound

WOW!! That's neat . . . did you create the mold from an existing pin, or did you sculpt it yourself?

Very smart, thou art. Yes I used an existing antique pin with lots of detail to see what I could expect from my materials and technique. I'm more mechanical than artistic, so I'm struggling with my design for the O'Neille pin. The experiment was with my Polymer mold technique and the silver pewter alloy. I am happy that the details are not a problem so I've decided to incorporate fine detail in my master carving. O'Neille

**Pour1Malt** · 5th September 06, 09:42 AM

excellent work!

guid oan ya!

**starbkjrus** · 5th September 06, 09:50 AM

Very very nice. I must keep my eye on this thread to see when you go to production.

**Woodsheal** · 5th September 06, 09:52 AM

Originally Posted by Planopiper

Where do you get the pewter and the plastic for the mold? This could be an easy and fun home craft. I cast something in aluminum with a sand pattern once for school a long time ago, so I’ve been introduced to the concepts, but didn’t know there was something I could do at home without special equipment.

Pewter by the pound:

http://jas-townsend.com/product_info...roducts_id=202

**O'Neille** · 5th September 06, 09:54 AM

Originally Posted by Planopiper

Ok, you've got my attention. Is this as easy as it looks? It looks like you get some kind of malleable plastic for a pattern, mold it around a form, remove the form, add a hole for air to escape, and pour in some molten pewter. How do you melt the pewter? Can you do it on a stovetop? Where do you get the pewter and the plastic for the mold? This could be an easy and fun home craft. I cast something in aluminum with a sand pattern once for school a long time ago, so I’ve been introduced to the concepts, but didn’t know there was something I could do at home without special equipment.

I spent some time researching and acquiring the materials. It's not as easy as it looks, yet it is not rocket science. Remember pewter was a material people worked with around campfires to make adornments. I won't give information on how to do it as it can be very dangerous if you don't know how to handle the materials. The mold impression material is a proprietary elastomer that I have devised that is heat resistant enough for repeated detailed pours of pewter. It is not plastic that would just melt and catch on fire. The mold you see here turned out 10 identical pins w/o degradation. Remember that molten metal is very dangerous so make sure you're using the correct safety equipment. Pewter can be melted at about 500-600 degrees depending on the alloy. If it wasn't for the liability I'd get my polymer out for use, but there are commercial (expensive) ones available from jewelry supply houses. The pewter ingots are available from many sources also. O'Neille