Village Squire, 1979-12, Page 8George works on finishing a handle after it comes out of the
mold.
Most of the more solid parts of pewterware are made by the
casting method. The case and stem of a goblet for instance will
be made this way as will the handle of a dish. The dish itself and
the bowl of the goblet will be made by a spinning process.
Once the mold is made it is put on the casting machine.
Casting is carried on by the use of the centrifuge technique. The
top and bottom rubber disks that make up the molds are
mounted on the spindle of the centrifuge. A top is put over the
tub -like machine and a funnel is lowered into the centre of the
hollow spindle. The molten pewter is poured into the funnel and
through the force created by the spinning of the machine the hot
metal is forced outward through the little channels that lead from
the centre of the mold to the casting molds where it settles in the
intricate nooks and crannies of the design.
One of the things that makes pewter good to work with is that
it is a metal that requires a relatively low heat to melt. It becomes
liquid at a temperature of only 250 to 300 degrees celcius. This of
course allows for the use of rubber molds because some metals
are so hot at their melting point that tney couldn't be poured into
rubber molds. This also means that by the time the centrifuge
has stopped spinning the pewter is usually cool enough to be
broken out of the mold. The various pieces in each mold are held _
together with star -like ribbons of pewter that radiate outward
from the centre of the mold through the tiny channels that
carried the pewter to the impressions. The pieces desired are
broken off and the rest is thrown back in the melting pot for later
use. In that way pewter making is very efficient in the re -use of
wastes.
6 Viliage Squire, December 1979
BAECHLER
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Kitchen Planning by Bill McKee
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