"Shay" <sha### [at] nonenone> wrote in message news:48c3e9c2$1@news.povray.org...
> St. wrote:
>> I would make it out of pewter <snip> This is something you could
>> do yourself and you wouldn't need a kiln, just a propane tank, the
>> right torch and some Delft Clay:
>
> Sounds extremely reckless for the inexperienced. I'm in!

     Hehe, :) not as reckless as you may think, and thinking about it, you 
wouldn't need propane, (that's me, I'm propane mad!), you could just use a 
butane canister, or camping stove to melt the pewter. Find yourself an old 
soup ladle from some junk shop somewhere to melt and pour your pewter, and 
while you're there, ask the shopkeeper if he/she has any old pewter kitchen 
equipment, like teapots, coffee pots, or even old beer mugs. Should be much 
cheaper that way. (Although, I think it's fairly cheap to buy new anyway).

>
>> How many components are in this image?
>
> Many. That' why I think this one is best made from wood. I could cut out 
> the components with the laser engraver in a couple of hours. I do want to 
> try pewter, ceramic, and resin, however, with some more appropriate 
> designs.

   I envy you. You're about to set sail on a road of discovery that you will 
really enjoy. Oh, and I'm here to help if I can in the metal department. :)


>
> Could I pour the plates out of pewter and then fold them over a rounded 
> corner?

    Sure. Pewter is great for that. All you would need is either a nylon or 
rawhide mallet (preferably nylon like on that site in the products section, 
because a rawhide mallet might leave a texture) to 'gently' tap it around a 
dome. If you've ever played with lead, then that's how flexible pewter is 
depending on its thickness of course. I say 'gently' because it is a soft 
metal, and will easily distort if hit hard, but if you want a section of a 
sphere, then that's the way to go. I'm not sure what you would dome it on, 
It would depend really on how big the end product would be. But, think 
glass, (large marbles, solid crystal balls of varying sizes which are *very* 
strong, and won't chip), think brass and steel, (engineering scrappers, 
rejects, i.e., spherical bearings and bushes). I use all of these except for 
crystal balls.

     Good luck Shay.

         ~Steve~



>
>  -Shay

Post a reply to this message