Not everybody has the equipment to melt aluminum, but pewters low melting point makes metal-casting available to everybody! Its melting point is so low, you can melt it in your kitchen.

Pewter is mostly tin, with a little bit of antimony and copper. Its use dates all the way back to the ancient Egyptians, but you don't need to rob graves for it. Its a common item to find in thrift shops! Cups, pitchers, bowls, plates, and candle-sticks can all be made out of pewter. Buying it at a thrift store is SO much cheaper than buying it online. Ive seen 1 pound ingots of pewter cost as much as $30 online. I was able to buy 3 pounds for $25 at goodwill. Each piece 1 - 3 dollars. Its also 7 times heavier than water. Holding a frying pan full of heavy liquid metal is a strange sensation.

Enough about pewter. The casting method I use is called "lost foam casting" Its a common technique. First, you create foam replica of the object you want, then bury it in sand. When you pour liquid metal into the sand the intense heat melts the foam, leaving metal behind.
A couple tips: The finer the sand the better. The finer sand will result in a smoother finish. Use a funnel or reservoir like I did. you need a constant flow of metal, otherwise the sand might collapse inside the mold.

Pewter is soft, and cant hold an edge. The sword looks cool, but realistically I could not cut anything with it.


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