Identifying Pewter

[TCLouis]

I was in a junk ship today and they had two large coffee table dust catchers.


They seemed heavy for their size so I was guessing leaded metal or some version of pewter. NO identifying marks but they appeared to sand cast then smoothed where needed.

They are too heavy to be aluminum.

SO

HOW to identify pewter????

[MtGun44]

Pewter is VERY soft. Sand cast is possibly aluminum. Try a white flake or two of Draino (non of the metal flakes)
on the back and add a drop of water. If aluminum, it will boil vigorously (I'm pretty sure) and with pewter it
should do little or nothing. I haven't done this test, but I think I know the chemistry well enough to predict
this. Might be wrong - both may just sit there, but I am pretty sure that aluminum will react strongly with a
stong base, which Draino is. If you have flakes of lye (sodium hydroxide), that would work, too.

Bill

[imashooter2]

Thick plates that appear cast are never pewter.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=127929

[1Shirt]

If it says made in England & Pewter, it is pewter, and you can most easily bend it by hand. If it is not stamped as such, there is a very high probability that it is not pewter, and who knows what if any tin content there may be.
1Shirt!:coffee: