The directions say to use talcum powder in the rubber molds to allow the molten pewter to flow well.
Attachment 59554
I blow the excess out with canned air so an even film remains.
Attachment 59555
The fuel tank on the camp stove needs to be pumped up.
Attachment 59556
With the flame going, it's beginning to melt.
Attachment 59557

Now it's mostly melted.
Attachment 59558
And the molds in the gas grill are up to about 200 degrees F.
Attachment 59559
We scrape the scum on the surface to the side.
Attachment 59560
And here, I'm pouring into my mold. It was too busy for an action shot. The loops wanted to float up on the surface, and also I realized the grill is not level.
Attachment 59561

I went first and used most of the pewter, so we added some more and melted that.
Attachment 59562
My son scrapes scum to the side.
Attachment 59563
And he pours his into his mold.
Attachment 59564
He made a different style of loop, and I have to admit it looks better.
Attachment 59565

But his loop really wants to float on the surface of the molten pewter. He has to hold it down with a spoon as the pewter cools a little and solidifies.
Attachment 59566
Here's his loop in the pewter.
Attachment 59567
And mine had hardened by now,
Attachment 59568
So I popped it out. Not bad, but one area didn't flow properly and there is a crater.

Attachment 59569

I wanted to give it another try. The rubber mold is still in great shape, so I melted some more pewter.
Attachment 59570
I leveled up the wire screen rack I made by bending one of the legs so it wasn't as tall.
Attachment 59571
It looks much better and more even in thickness.
Attachment 59572
I jammed my wire hoops in place.
Attachment 59573

My son also wanted a second shot at making his. So he pours another.
Attachment 59574
And my second try had cooled enough, so I popped it out of the mold.
Attachment 59575
Anticipation...
Attachment 59576
The wire loop pokes through the face a little bit, but other than that, it's much better. I plan to coat the background in black ink or paint, and I think the hoop will be hidden.
Attachment 59577

So I experimented with black spray paint wiped off immediately with a paper towel. That was on the crater one. It's OK, but not great.

So with the second one, I put a heavy coat of black paint on it an allow it to dry.
Attachment 59578

It's drying now, and I'll go down later to sand the high spots down to bright bare metal. I'm hoping it will look really good with the contrast between black and bright shiny metal.

Attachment 59579

Hopefully more soon...

Bravo!

this guy does some cool stuff with foam , you may want to try , lamguage is a bit "Shopish " so be ware

and yes he finally got it

You're getting the hang of it but you have to streamline the operation before you go into full production for national distribution. :haha:

I started by placing a sheet of sandpaper on my flat table saw and trying to sand off all the high spots in the same plane to make it look really crisp.

But it didn't look great. Some of the letters were shallower than others and didn't get polished up.

So I switched to a dremel with a little abrasive bit and traced the tops of the letters. The dremel produces different facets, so it doesn't shine for the camera shooting from a single point. But it looks pretty good in person when you have two eyes and see it from different angles.
Attachment 59581
And I folded the loops back a little flat to grab the neckerchief securely. I gave it the hop up and down test, and it stayed put.
Attachment 59582
I'm pretty happy with it.
Attachment 59583

I love AvE! Subscribed to him a while ago.

You ought to get a badge for that. :thumb:

Nice work. Try a maroon scotchbrite pad with a hard backer. That should help smooth the facets and not go into the black, depending on how deep it is.

Yeah, AvE is great fun.