One thing that would really love to have in my own home is an old fashioned range. You know, one of those huge kitchen ovens that heat the whole house and make all foods taste just so yummy!
Well I now have, but I had to make it myself, and, okay, I cannot cook on it but I love it just the same.
Take a look how I made it using pewter sheeting and metal embossing techniques…..
I made the range 90mm wide 35mm deep and 62mm high and visually sized the doors and drawer fronts.
Cut pewter a little bigger than each piece. Trace the card piece with a stylus/embossing tool.
“Bowl” out the shape about 4mm deep keeping the surrounding metal flat.
Backfill the “bowls” with wax. I use normal candles because traditional pewter techniques call for bees wax but when you melt bees wax the smell attracts bees and as I am allergic to bees, candle wax is safer. Also, we all have candles around in our homes. When the wax is set, place the card piece on top of the wax and then carefully fold the pewter over the card piece. I snipped the corners out to make neater folds. These pieces were secured to the “oven box” with metal glue.
The “oven box” was covered with pewter sheeting and I cut an opening into the front because I wanted a working door. I also put a card “shelf” just below the opening.
The “hot plates” are just two round pieces of card with round pieces made the same way as the front door. I fashioned a hinge from an offcut of pewter so that the hot plates lift up. The detail on the range was done with a ruler and my embossing tool. The handles and knobs are beads and tap on the water tank was fashioned from bits of pewter. Like I said, LOTS OF PATIENCE!!!!!
Then, of course, every range needs shelves, so I needing four hands for the job, Rhys and I cut and soldered bits of thin wire into a rack.
Not too bad!
