Casting lead soldiers

[Patrick L]

Here's one a bit different, but I figure this would be the place to get information.

An uncle of mine called me and told me he has a set of molds for making lead soldiers, like they used to make years ago. He said he would like to give them to me, more for my 12 year old son than anything else. He said that he realized that, knowing what we know now, lead was no longer a good idea for making things we give to children. He wondered if there was something else I could use to cast the soldiers out of.

What do you all think ? Any other viable alternatives?

[wills]

Bismuth, perhaps. There are some low melting point alloys, which might be an added advantage.

[imashooter2]

Tin or pewter.

[floodgate]

Patrick:

That was how I got started in casting; back in 1943 or -44 a neighbor (we were both 12 or 13) got one of those "tin soldier" casting kits, and when we ran out of the little ingots (tin???) that came with the set, we used fishing sinkers. (Dumped a pot full over his mom's cookstove and had a heckuva time cleaning it up before she came home.) A few years later, I was "into" making model airplanes, and we used to buy a couple of the little cast bombs, machine guns, wheels, etc., you could buy in the hobby shops, set them into a match box half full of plaster-of-paris, let it dry a bit, smoke the face and pour the box the rest of the way full, break the mould open, cut a sprue-way and cast pretty good copies of the original. (I first met the "tinsel fairy" when I got impatient and poured into a "green" mould.) Our furnace was 18" of flue tile up on a couple of bricks, with an access port bashed into the front, and a pot of stove oil for heat. In a pinch, you can cast duplicates of a sample bullet that way still, and they'll be at least "pretty good".

Our metallurgy guru, Bill Ferguson at <www.theantimonyman.com> offers a lead-free pewter that is just what you want for "tin soldiers"; in fact I need to order some up to make duplicates of some missing "pot metal" parts from my old Lyman Tru-Line SENIOR (a real "kloodge" if there ever was one!).

Geez; I'm showing myself up as a real "old fud" ain't I?

floodgate

[45nut]

As usual you have shown yourself not as a "old fud" but as a value to this board.

Hey,,could cerrosafe be considered an alternative? low melting point and all,,it might be safer....

[Dale53]

Why would you pay $13.00 a lb for "lead free pewter" when you can buy tin (minimum quantity 12 lbs) from the "Antimony Man" (Bill Ferguson) for $9.50 per lb?

That would seem to me to be the best way to go. Personally, I would try a local source for tin. We have refiners in this area (most metropolitan areas probably do, also). It has been four or five years (at least) that I bought direct from a local refiner. I was required to buy 25 lbs but got the tin for $4.50 per lb. in that quantity. Boy, am I sure glad that I have that... The price has sky rocketed of late.

Dale53

[imashooter2]

You can buy any number of pewter plates, goblets, mugs and figurines on eBay for under $9.50 a pound delivered. Each and every one perfectly suited for melting down and casting soldiers. Just low ball every auction that comes up with an object of substantial weight. One will come home in short order.

[carpetman]

Buffalo chips??

[andrew375]

Bismuth, perhaps. There are some low melting point alloys, which might be an added advantage.

Woods metal is a very common alloy, melts at around 120degrees C. Model railway enthusiasts use it for casting parts. You can also get bismuth based alloys that can be melted in boiling water.

In actual fact lead soldiers were made from pewter, not pure lead. One of my sister's ex boyfriends was a figure designer for a war gaming company; which is how I know. The risk of lead poisoning from pewter is minimal, if you are worried about it just give a thought to the amount of Mercury in your mouth.

Here at work we are casting with both pewter and lead free solder in moulds made from MDF. The moulds for casting the war gaming figures were made from rubber.

[VTDW]

floodgate,

I think you are Mel Gibson incognito. The Patriot comes to mind.:drinks:

[trooperdan]

Someone here mentioned Cerrosafe as a subsititue; unless I am badly mistaken (It has happened before! :) ) Cerrosafe is much more dangerous than lead as it contains cadmium! This is off the top of my head; I'll do some more checking on that but Cadmium is BAD!

[kywoodwrkr]

Have you tried to buy old pewter or tin goblets at a local flea market?
Original price online is okay, but shipping sometimes eats us alive!
I think I remember seeing these in a bunch of different booths at local flea market.
Just a thought.
And yes, I'm pretty sure buffalo chips are hot enough. :-?
And also, when the chips are down-the buffalo is empty.
DaveP

[Leadmine]

Why not just use wheelweights and coat them with a good epoxy coating (or something of a similar nature). They will probably be painted too. As long as coverage is complete the lead is encapsulated.

[floodgate]

VTDW:

"I think you are Mel Gibson incognito. The Patriot comes to mind."

Hmmm.... was that a compliment or a slam? Haven't seen "The Patriot".

Doug

[AZ-Stew]

I'd avoid the Wood's Metal, also. It contains both lead and cadmium.

Check this web site for lead-free, cadmium-free alloys. Scroll down, read descriptions.

http://www.hitechalloys.com/hitechalloys_002.htm

I think my "tin soldier" casting set actually used tin. I wish I knew what happened to the moulds after I left home. Tin is safe for kids to handle, but get them in the habit of washing their hands thoroughly after handling ANY castings, and not to eat or put fingers in mouths, etc until they've washed..

BTW, the "tin" I got from The Antimony Man was marked with number stamps 30:1, which leads me to believe that there is some residual lead in the ingots. No big deal for bullets, but keep in mind that kids will be handling the castings.

Regards,

Stew

[GLL]

Talk to Art Green here in Los Angeles. He sells many different alloys to the jewelry casters.

He has an ad in Handloader.

Jerry

[Hunter]

What about lead free solder. I am a plumber and we use it to solder copper and brass. It is 95% tin and 5% antimony. Has a low melting point and is not very expensive. If done right the solder will have a really clean look to it and it very safe.