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How to Repair a Bent Pewter Beer Stein Lid

Pewter is an alloy, or mixture, of metals including tin, bismuth and antimony that may also contain gold or silver. This soft, malleable alloy is safe for food use and resistant to the components of beer, so it is commonly used to make lids for ceramic beer steins. A pewter beer stein lid can bend at the rim, or at the top after repeated use, because pewter is softer and easier to shape than other metals. This softness also makes it possible for you to repair a bent pewter beer stein lid with a few simple, improvised tools.

Things You'll Need

Screwdriver or awl
Small cooking pot
Heat-resistant work gloves
Small ball peen hammer
Metal rod
Fabric or leather
Block of wood about the width of the stein lid's interior
Pewter polish
Soft, dry cloth

Instructions

- 1
  Remove the pewter lid from your ceramic beer stein with a screwdriver or awl, depending upon whether it is held to the lid bracket with a screw or a pin. Fill a small cooking pot or saucepan about halfway with water and boil the water.
- 2
  Immerse the pewter lid in the water and allow it to remain immersed for about 20 minutes. Remove the lid with your gloved hands and place it on a flat work surface.
- 3
  Try to straighten the bent lid with your gloved hands. This should be possible if the bend is around the rim of the lid.
- 4
  Wrap leather or heavy fabric around the end of a metal rod if you are unable to remove the dent by hand. Lay the wrapped end against the inside of the bent surface if it is bent inward, or the outside if it is bent outward. Tap the wrapped end of the rod lightly with a ball peen hammer and check your progress after a couple of taps. Continue to tap the bend out of the lid as you see progress, but do not tap too hard or too many times.
- 5
  Cover one end of a wooden block, about the width of the lid, with leather or a heavy fabric. Place the lid on the covered end with the bend facing up. Place leather or heavy fabric on top of the bend and tap gently with a ball peen hammer to finish straightening the bend.
- 6
  Polish and buff the pewter lid with "all-metal" or pewter polish according to the instructions on the product package. Re-attach the lid to the beer stein.

Collecting Memorabilia