Homage to Books Pewter Process

Evaluation of Making Process
For our making of this process we were given the task to choose a letter which related to our Homage project. We had to come up with 10 or more Calligraphy designs four our outcomes. We then had to choose the best design and create it using clay. We used clay because we had a lot more freedom with the shape and we could play around with the pattern. Doing this was quite difficult because the pieces we were going to create were quite small so we had to take care when making and to di it neatly, and have full concentration. I think this worked well because my shape was accurate and looked how I wanted it to. We then had to leave it to dry and harden so it would be suitable and substantial to pour the rubber mould onto. Then I used a pre-made wooden box to place the letter into. Then using a hand saw we creates a funnel so te pewter could be poured through. We had to create this at the highest point of the clay letter so that all the area would be filled and there wouldn't be any air gaps. This process worked well for me because all the area around the letter was correctly filled and once removing the rubber I had the shape I wanted. Once we were ready we mixed up the rubber with the hardener so the latex would set to form our mould. We did this by the ratio of 99% silicon and 1% hardener. While adding the rubber mixture we had to take care because it would expand. Also you are not able to get it off your clothing. Once we had poured enough we left it to harden for a week. We pealed our hardened rubber mould away from our clay template in the box. The next step was to create a way for the air to escape so it wouldn't affect our final outcome. We did this by carving in thin deep lines which weren't large enough for the pewter to seep through. We started heating up the pewter on a portable hob which liquefied it. The pewter was extremely hot so we made sure to wear protection like gloves and glasses. We carefully moved the unwanted layer of impurities in the pewter. On the mould there would be unwanted edges present and would affect where the pewter would go. We removed these by using a scalpel and gently carve away at them. We used wood to stop the pewter from leaking out to give the shape a flat surface. We wrapped wire around it so that the mould and wood were firmly held together. Then we placed it into the vice to give it extra hold so it wouldn't move anywhere. Next we poured it into our moulds which were pressed against the wood. We did this using safety gloves so that if we got it on our hand it wouldn't burn through our skin. We used safety goggles to protect our eyes just encase any got in. As the pewter was hot we left it to cool for a few minutes, to prevent burning ourselves, then removed the mould. Lastly we had to sand wet and dry paper and polish to get the pewter looking professional and neat.

My outcome for this project could have been better because I didn't sand down the pewter edges and face enough to make it look clean. If I did this my outcome would have been more successful because it would have looked professional. If I was going to do this again I would take more time to perfect my work. Also I would have chosen to create a bigger design so it wouldn't be as fiddly to make.