The forend at this point has been inlet for the tapered octagon barrel, but not shaped.
The block of pewter was purchased from Track of the Wolf. The block comes with great instructions, so I'll just hit the high points. The cost is minimal, about 6 bucks as of today, so it's not tragic if a mistake is made. The first step is to prepare the forend. I like to leave a bit of wood for the pewter to grab on to and also to relieve the inside so the pewter can surround the tenon. I also wanted a design to show so once the tenon was cut. A 3/8" bit was used to cut a circular recess and I connected all of it with some simple inletting.
Once all of that was finished it was time to figure out how to keep it all in place without pouring the pewter all over the shop floor. The directions advise the the use of card stock but I couldnt figure out how to tape it in place and hold everything together. One thing I have plenty of is scraps, so it was a simple matter to make a sort of Rube Goldberg affair of wood and a bit of clay to make enough dams to hold the pewter while I poured it.
The pewter is heated with a propane torch in an old can, just make sure to rinse out all of the corn first. Once it's fully liquid, just grab the can with a pair of pliers and pour it in. The pewter melts at a low enough temperature that it won't scorch the wood. As you can see I poured in plenty. All that means is more time to clean it up. One thing you shouldn't overlook is a bit of cold blue on the barrel. The petwer won't stick to it.
Once the big nasty glob was worked to shape, i took a few minutes to shape the forend as well. The petwer is extremely soft and cuts like butter. Good thing as I poured in WAY too much. All in all it's just a couple of hours work to add a bit of detail that is sure to get a comment or two.
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