PEWTER CRAFT FOR BOYS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 70, 23 March 1935, Page 4 (Supplement)

PEWTER CRAFT FOR BOYS.

HOW TO MAKE A BOWL. ARTICLE IV. This week we ai - e going to continuo applying pewter to wood. It ie part; of the fascination of this craft that each new undertaking calls for planning and scheming before it can finally lie carried through.

The bowl shown in our illustration is decorated with half a dozen shapes with email heart forms interspersed, while the rim is one continuous strij) joined at the ends. To lit the shapes in correctly it is a good plan to wind a strip of paper round the top of the bowl and set the length out on a larger sheet; treat the base in a similar manner, and also measure the depth of the curved contour. By dividing the circumference of the top and also of the base into six equal parts, we obtain the correct proportions of the decorative unit to be applied, while its length is that of the curved contour.

When the shape is decided upon, a paper pattern should be cut and fitted to the bowl in order to ascertain whether it is correct in size and

shape. The pattern will, of course, not lie as closely in contact with the form as will the pewter later on, but it will be near enough for the purpose. When the pattern has been fitted satisfactorily, it is laid upon the pewter, and the contours marked thereon with a hard point. When the first piece has been cut, it is wise to fit it to the contour of the bowl, as closely as possible, in order to discover whether any alterations

are necessary before cutting the rest. As previously stated, pewter can be manipulated to lie in much closer contact thin paper, because it is more amenable to treatment, stretches further, and remains where it is placed more docilely. The other shapes can be cut from the first one, if it be necessary to make any alterations. The heart forms are also cut from that pattern previously designed to lit pleasantly into the spaces allotted to them. The rest of the procedure has been explained in previous articles. It is as well to note before leaving this particular section of pewter craft that articles suitable for adornment with pewter are procurable. They are made mostly of white wood, and this is an advantage, as it can be stained any desired colour.