Poured a pewter nose-cap.. Success!

I finally got the nerve to pour the pewter nose cap on my Vincent Ohio Rifle.
Things on this build have not normally gone right the first time, so I am pleased to say that this went off without a hitch.
I spent about 2 hours yesterday attempting to build the cardstock dam and was never happy with the results. There was always a gap where the fore-end met the barrel.
Today, I made a plug for that small gap by using the fore end and attached barrel as a backing for sandpaper. I then sanded a small square piece of wood to fit the gap on each side, then sanded the other side to fit the cardstock dam.
That seemed to work and I had no leakage.
The pewter filled the counter sunk support holes I drilled in the stock perfectly, and I don't think I have any voids so far.
The barrel came out easily after cutting away a bit of excess pewter.

I thought that this was going to end in disaster, with pewter down the ramrod channel and everywhere else. Phew!

Just so happy I had to post of course!

Cheers,
Chowmi

hotoSmile:

Yup, I know it needs a photo. I'll throw some on Flickr and post a link.

Just in the middle of a celebratory libation!!

Congratulations. :thumbsup:

As you found, the key to doing this successfully is all in the preparation.

Once you start pouring, you can't stop if a leak occurs.

If you do stop pouring, you will get what is called a "cold shut" where the material starts to solidify and then the newly poured hot metal never really bonds to it.

Here's a some links to photos of the nose cap. I have not done any trimming or filing yet, so this is as it was poured.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/chowmi/22764446309/in/album-72157659063354325/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chowmi/23168344411/in/album-72157659063354325/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/chowmi/22738269667/in/album-72157659063354325/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/chowmi/22738278767/in/album-72157659063354325/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/chowmi/23132439485/in/album-72157659063354325/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/chowmi/23106343526/in/album-72157659063354325/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/chowmi/23106353246/in/album-72157659063354325/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/chowmi/23168397511/in/album-72157659063354325/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/chowmi/23106369736/in/album-72157659063354325/

Kids play clay makes nice dams

Zonie,
exactly right. Fortunately, I have cast loads of 520gr bullets and familiar with pouring lead.
I was surprised at how quickly it poured and filled the dam I made. It ended up quite a bit longer than I expected because I poured it out of a pot and it went quickly. I was lucky not to over-fill it.
I have some filing to do in order to shorten it...

I wondered about play dough. Didn't think it would hold up to the heat. Guess I should have asked beforehand!
The wood fillers for the dam didn't take as long as I thought they would, and I was pleased with the results.

I'm not sure I ever want to make a pewter nose cap again, but if I do, I'll try the kid's clay idea. much simpler.

Thanks to Spikebuck for teaching me how to post pictures off Flickr.

IMG_3312.jpg by chowmif16, on Flickr
IMG_3315.jpg by chowmif16, on Flickr
IMG_3318.jpg by chowmif16, on Flickr
IMG_3320.jpg by chowmif16, on Flickr
IMG_3321.jpg by chowmif16, on Flickr
IMG_3324.jpg by chowmif16, on Flickr
IMG_3326.jpg by chowmif16, on Flickr

molding clay works great for this.

Fleener

Nice work. I think it calls for at least two libations. Make it three, one for making the pics show on here. :thumbsup:

Brokennock,
I had to get help to get the photos on here!

I cut and filed away the excess today, and got it mostly shaped to the form of the fore-end. It's looking pretty good.
I'll post some pictures of my progress.

I haven't decided yet whether to leave it square on the muzzle end, or to round the profile on the top and bottom when looking at the rifle from the side. The plans show an original with a rounded nose and a bit of light outline engraving. I might try to mimic that profile.

I also managed to fix a problem with my barrel pin. It went in a bit slanted (higher on one side than the other). I plugged the hole and redrilled it with much better results. That was a success.
My efforts at inlaying a star between the cheekpiece and the butt are proving less successful.

Win some, lose some!

Cheers,
Chowmi

looks great.

as to the clay, do I understand correctly that play-dough works well for dams, as well as 'plasticene' (the grey modeling clay)?

these can handle the heat?

good to know tricks!!

I have never used play do, but have used molding clay on several rifles. No issues with handling the heat. The pewter sets up quickly.

I had a rifle I was trying to see how thin of a cap I could pour. Ended up pouring it quite a few times.

Fleener

plasticne will deteriorate under even a little heat. leave some out in the sun and see what I mean. its a petroleum based product and may end up staining the wood. stick with the playdoh

eggwelder, thank you ... it hadn't occurred to me that the plasticene would leave a stain

:slap: :cursing: :slap:

We used to use plasticine to simulate C4 for explosives training back in the day in the army. i`m sure its still used. on a hot day the stuff would melt like butter. it will also stick to the leather in the back seat of a cadillac. don`t ask how i know.

I bet that was an expensive lesson!