Tinworks News

Guy Kawasaki: The American West, 150 Years Ago

Sun, 27 May 2012 02:42:23 -0400

Guy Kawasaki: The American West, 150 Years Ago

We are adding a bunch of new products over the next few weeks!...

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 14:56:34 -0500

We are adding a bunch of new products over the next few weeks! Here is one of our first.

The Miniature Oil Lamp is our smallest oil lamp. Despite the small size it holds enough fuel to burn for 50 hours. It makes a great accent piece as well as making a very useful lamp for power outages.
More Info Here: http://bit.ly/dYEG70

Thanks to a great photo and a shout out from trot.org we noticed...

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 08:02:23 -0500

Thanks to a great photo and a shout out from trot.org we noticed a sudden increase in sales of our Saddlebred Cookie Cutter. Much appreciated!

Stock Availability Update

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 11:50:10 -0500

Today we have changed the way we show our product availability. We hope this new method will provide...

As part of our 20 year anniversary we are marking our pieces...

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:50:12 -0500

As part of our 20 year anniversary we are marking our pieces with a new stamp! PTW of course stands for Pietersma TinWorks. This is the first in a number of ways we are celebrating!

Finished a little custom cookie cutter project today for the...

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:34:34 -0500

Finished a little custom cookie cutter project today for the National Ballet of Canada. This is the second such project. We made these cutters for them last year of a dancing rat and bear for the Nutcracker.

One of my favourite items to make, the Fireman’s horn was...

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 11:19:08 -0500

One of my favourite items to make, the Fireman’s horn was used by the captain of a fire hall to call order over the din of a fire.

Hammers! Metal work and hammers are almost synonymous. Unlike...

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 22:54:23 -0400

Hammers!

Metal work and hammers are almost synonymous. Unlike blacksmiths or coppersmiths, Tinsmiths use hammers infrequently. Tinplate is a very soft mailable metal, most of the forming does not require the brute force of a hammer. Using a metal faced hammer must be done with great care so as not to mar the surface. Often I will choose a soft face hammer like a rawhide mallet of a rubber mallet to work the material to avoid this from happening.

This photo shows my most used hammers which hang in a rack just above my bench.

My favourite hammer is a Peddinghaus planishing hammer ( 4th hammer from the right). It has a flat face and ball face. I love the weight and feel. It is almost like I can feel the material through the hammer. This is a high quality hammer. When I need to do some delicate work I always reach for this one.

The first hammer from the right is a heavy cross pein hammer I use for any blacksmith work or to drive a hollow punch through some tinplate.

The next hammer is a tinner’s hammer or a setting down hammer. This a hammer specific to tinsmithing and is used to set down a double seam on a bucket or wash basin. This is my second favourite hammer!

The 6th and 9th hammers from the right are raw hide mallets made from rolled up cow hide. I use these mallets a lot! They wear out eventually - especially if abused. Older raw hide mallets I relegate to being used to driving piercing punches. I like the weight and the size of the face of a rawhide mallet for this job.

A great source for hammers is http://www.centaurforge.com/

More photos of my tools to follow! Let me know if you have any questions.

A dozen scooter cookie cutters in production.

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 16:40:29 -0400

A dozen scooter cookie cutters in production.

This photo shows some of the hand tools I use. The blocks are...

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:21:00 -0500

This photo shows some of the hand tools I use. The blocks are organized by task. The 2 on the left hold tools for punching holes. The middle block has tools used in soldering and assembly. The next block contains tools for seaming. The block on the right holds tools I use in layout and cutting.

Made a couple of large pierced lanterns this week. Here is a...

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:45:19 -0500

Made a couple of large pierced lanterns this week. Here is a close up of one the side panels.

Collection of beer steins just completed! http://bit.ly/5sPcQ

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:57:08 -0400

Collection of beer steins just completed!

http://bit.ly/5sPcQ

Small batch of scooter cookie cutters. http://bit.ly/hcKPn

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:05:44 -0400

Small batch of scooter cookie cutters. http://bit.ly/hcKPn

Just completed a batch of Small Pillars - more info here...

Sun, 31 May 2009 14:57:13 -0400

Just completed a batch of Small Pillars - more info here http://bit.ly/Uxjat

Introducing our Pierced Night Lights

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 23:49:43 -0500

Introducing our Pierced Night Lights: .style2 { font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;...

All set up at the CNE.

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:11:10 -0400

All set up at the CNE.

Today’s Project Glengarry Hurricane

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:16:05 -0400

Today’s Project Glengarry Hurricane

I Don’t Bake Cookies But My Customers Do!

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 00:36:59 -0400

I Don’t Bake Cookies But My Customers Do!: My customers are very creative! I love getting...

Texas Star Suncatcher

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:19:18 -0400

Texas Star Suncatcher: Our newest product. Fast becoming a favourite! This 8″ star is based on the...

Bringing back the Wooden Match Box Holder

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 23:30:00 -0400

Bringing back the Wooden Match Box Holder: MatchBox Holder Every year I have done gift shows I have...