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Note that I’m somewhat changing the format of posts like this to one more applicable towards A&S entries. I’m doing this not because this is for a A&S entry but to get people used to reading “documentation.”
What did I do?
I made pewter tokens for Honor Feast; these were “Site Tokens” used for admission. Pretend they’re like pilgrim tokens or some other badge, a site token is a SCA artifact.
They’re based on a Viking coin shape (of a viking ship).
… http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/vikings/vikings_at_sea/
They’re made out of pewter.
Vikings cast pewter “things,” and pilgrim tokens are fairly common.
…. http://www.warehamforge.ca/pewter.html
…. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrim_badge
…. http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe/p/pilgrim_badge_depicting_st_geo.aspx
Information about my project:
Penelope came and asked if I’d make site tokens. She needs “100-150.” Dafne has said that she can usually get 100 tokens per pound of pewter, so I ordered two pounds of my usual stuff (the a/c with the copper). I’m a little under the gun right now with work, clients are literally breathing down my neck (one is flying to town to work with me directly). So … I tried to use the plunge router and the sanding wheel to make the basic shape. Big mistake. While I secured the soapstone with some 2x4s, I did not secure the router and it drifted. See image.
So, instead, I used a blank circle, traced around it a few times, then used my engraver and my screwdriver and hacked at it for an hour. Then I sanded it up, and here’s a test casting
They’re a little larger than a quarter, but that’s OK. Penelope and I both like the idea of a viking ship, since Alfric’s device has … a viking ship. And with a name like Alfric he’s gotta be viking.
She showed me a couple of examples of viking coins (http://www.pinterest.com/pin/328481366545244811/ ) , the ones with ships. I like those, they’re pretty simple looking. And in addition, underneath them there are a couple of little humps I can replace with three mountains. And if I have room, I can carve (in runes -and backwards-) “Honor” and “Alfric” and “VI” since it’s the sixth honor feast.
After getting such a nice cast on these today, I’m feeling pretty good about the project. She needs 100-150 by Oct 4, so I’d like to start casting before the 27th (Arts Gathering) so I can deliver them to her before she needs them (I won’t be going to Honor Feast.)
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I cast a pound of pewter the other night. Got all the way through the pound. After about 15 tokens I had to use some wood blocks to hold the soapstone, that stuff got hot. One pound of pewter gave me about 30 tokens (31 in image, a few sprews melted back into pot, there was some pewter in pot to start with). Which means that I’ll need a total of four pounds of pewter to get about 120 tokens. Ordered more pewter.
It’s also possible that I could sand the mold down some. I didn’t use register pins (lazy) so that part’s not an issue. If I sanded the mold down a very little, they’d be thinner. Right now they’re about twice the thickness of one of Dafne’s raven tokens. I asked Dafne what she thought about sanding down the mold and here’s what she had to say:
There are 2 major problems I see with sanding down the stone: 1 is that once you take that stone away, you can’t put it back, and 2, it may seem odd but it is hard to make the stone level when trying to sand down the depth after you’ve carved the mold. I think that has to do with fear of pushing too hard and not keeping even pressure on the stone while sliding it over the sandpaper.
So, since the deadline for this is before Oct 4 (and preferably before Sept 27, but I can deliver before Oct 4), I’m going to forge ahead with casting the 4 pounds of tokens. After I get those done, smoothed, and delivered, I’m going to try carefully sanding the soapstone. I’m sure I can use the practice recovering.
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Ooh I’m an idiot. A bona-fide idiot. My membership card is in the mail. This is Honor Feast SEVEN not Six, now I have 100 tokens to recast and a mold to scratch a new line on (hurray for roman numbers). So… I was at 100, and after a couple of nights I’m back up to 60.
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I turned over the tokens to the event steward Friday evening. Job done.
Conchobhar Ua Muirchertaig 