Pewter Primer: a cheat sheet for all those fun questions
So you have fallen in love with pewter, who wouldn't! Here is some quick information to help you get started. Please reach out if you ever have any questions via this website or my linked Instagram account.
So you have fallen in love with pewter, who wouldn't! Here is some quick information to help you get started. Please reach out if you ever have any questions via this website or my linked Instagram account.
- Suppliers:
- Atlas Metals: 12 x 24” sheet
- Contenti: 6 x 12 sheet and wire
- Riogrande: Pewter solder and Stay Clean flux
- H&N Flux: Superior Number 30 Supersafe Paste Flux
- Helpful Books
- Pewter Studio by Lisa Mandel
- Pewter Designs and Techniques by Fleur Grenier
- Words of Warning:
- Pewter has a shockingly low melting point. It loves silver and they play well together under about 500 F. Over 500 silver and pewter can alloy, creating a bond that attacks silver and causes pitting. To this end, avoid cross-contamination whenever possible. DO NOT use the following tools on both pewter and silver:
- Bench pins
- Files
- Soldering pads
- Sandpaper
- Rawhide or plastic hammers
- Urethane pads
- Saw blades (I mean, shouldn’t you break them too fast for this to be an issue)
- Any wood tools/stumps
- Steel tools with lots of pitting or heavy textures
- If you are sharing a desk between pewter and silver you can put down paper any time you work on pewter. Any time I use silver on a common tool or desk I use it as an excuse to clean. Clean, wipe, and wax surfaces so that you remove pesky dust. Let’s be honest, the studio needed a cleaning anyway.
- Pewter has a shockingly low melting point. It loves silver and they play well together under about 500 F. Over 500 silver and pewter can alloy, creating a bond that attacks silver and causes pitting. To this end, avoid cross-contamination whenever possible. DO NOT use the following tools on both pewter and silver:
Handouts
These handouts are free to use and download, but please provide artist credit.
