One of the brochures we picked up at the visitors center was for this pewter company in town that offered tours twice a day. Getting to see how pewter is made into serving pieces, jewelry, metals, and so on, seemed really interested to us so on our last touring day in Fredericton, we decided to learn about pewter.
welcoming entrance
Probably the best know bowl shape is a Revere bowl made famous by Paul Revere in Boston.
Revere bowl
Clinton met us at the door and was delighted that we wanted to learn more about how they made pewter items. He put on his blue lab coat and started talking and walking.
Clinton with us. He’s worked here less than 6 months but knows so much already. His previous experience as a tour guide in another industry made him perfect for leading us around. Thanks, Clinton!
shaping bowls
He started our tour by pointing out this goblet so he could show us how this “bowl” was made.
First they start with a flat circle of pewter. Pewter is an alloy of various metals. Early on, lead was added so the pewter would flow better. Pewter workers—whitesmiths who work with metal rather than blacksmiths—in the late Middle Ages had already figured out that lead in their dishes and cups wasn’t a good idea, and their items have been tested and found to be really low in lead. Today’s pewter has no lead.
The flat circle of pewter is put on this machine, and slowly the whitesmith shapes it around the mold that’s to its right.
Better view of the bowl that the pewter is being shaped to.
using molds
For using molds, they start out with these pewter ingots.
The pot on the right is full of melted pewter kept at a very high temperature so it is always ready to be added to the pot on the left that was the temperature needed for the molds.. When Clinton added an ingot to the really hot pot, it melted quickly.
Adding an ingot that melts so fast in the already melted pewter.
When they have too much pewter in the hot pot, they scoop some out . . .
and pour it into this mold.
Then they can take the harden pewter from the mold and add it back to the temperature-controlled pot whenever they need more heated.
This is one of the molds that has been created by the designers. They design 1 piece and then replicate it by machine to make the mold. The design and making the mold of multiple pieces takes a long time, but once the mold is made, they can make multiple pieces.
The top and bottom of the molds are put together.
The mold is tightened down in this centrifugal machine . . .
the lid is closed, and the pewter is poured down through the top. It spreads throughout the mold. Temperature and speed are crucial at this step.
If everything goes well, the pewter has flown smoothly through all of the design, and the whitesmith can remove all the parts. If any of the pieces aren’t perfect, they can be dropped back into the hot pots to be melted down and used again—easy recycling!
The framework is like that of a model plane kit with all the pieces held together by plastic parts. In this case, the individual pieces can be separated from the framework. The edges will be rough, and that’s the next step we’ll look at in a bit.
samples of pieces that have been
made this way
This workbench is for making the molds for the individual pieces. The pieces are put on the rubber mold.
and this pressing machine transfers the design to the mold
This is the piece that came from the previous mold.
Molds are stored here, read for the next time they’re needed. Often the whitesmiths make notes on the top of the molds for best temperatures to use and optimal spinning time.
Upstairs is where the designers work.
finishing work
Making the pieces is only the first half the process. Then comes the finishing work.
buffing wheel
first pass at the buffing wheel
different buffing wheels for different buffing tasks
2 different buffing compounds
This tumbler uses beads of steel for different polishing.
more polishing tumblers
This tumbler uses ceramic chips for polishing.
drying rack – notice the different finishes
engraving services
engraving room (and office)
Engraving machine traces setup and machine engraving follows the pattern.
Engraving setup; they can only set up 2 lines at a time, and it’s like old-fashioned typesetting.
And here’s the engraving: Thank You Matt 2019
gift shop
gift shop
2 finishes: shiny and muted
And Barney encouraged me to buy these lovely pewter earrings.
politics
On the outside of the building was a sign for the headquarters of the conservative woman running for their legislature. Since we had heard the term “progressive conservative” when we were at the assembly building, I decided to ask someone at the headquarters to explain the term.
What I was told was that the party was progressive in the province’s social issues and conservative in its fiscal stance. Still don’t understand how these two stands could work together, but it must work for them. Seems like they have to make a number of agreements to make a ruling party, much like they do in England.
