Pewter Help please!!!

[woody13]

Ok I am still learning so I ask. When out looking for lead at the swap meets what else can I look for. Like pewter how is that good? Is it all able to mold? Is it like you look for the beer mugs? What? Any help I can get while out looking is knowledge I would love to have so any advice please. I saw some mugs but did not take them because I was unsure to really what they were. Also is there a way to tell.....

[454PB]

Pewter is mostly tin, which is expensive and is valuable as an addition to boolit alloy for the "fluidity" it adds. However, you shouldn't use it straight for casting.

[bumpo628]

You want to look for hallmarked items that clearly say "pewter".
Take a look at this thread to get you going: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=127929

When you use it to alloy with your lead, treat it like pure tin. A little goes a long way (1% to 2% will work for most cases).

[woody13]

Thanks guys but also when you melt lead and do you just drop a small amount in and it mixes in or what. I know its all about hardness but its still a learning curve to me....

[454PB]

Hardening an alloy with tin works, but not very well. Antimony is the what adds inexpensive hardness to a lead alloy. Tin melts at a lower temperature than lead, so I melt the lead (or lead alloy), then drop the tin into the mix and flux the mixture.

Most of us casters use somewhere between 2% to 5% tin in the mix, but if you're going "old school", you may want to go as high as 10% tin to pure lead. Any higher percentage of tin and you'll end up with a soldering effect.

[woody13]

Thanks a lot guys this helps me move forward a lot and I will keep eyes open for pewter now to add to my range lead....

[GT27]

You can usually find pewter picture frames at Goodwill stores,(thrift stores) on the cheap!Think grandma's ole picture frames !Just a FYI!GT27

[Gliden07]

I found one of those beer mugs at a Goodwill for $1.49! Thought it was a good deal?

[imashooter2]

I found one of those beer mugs at a Goodwill for $1.49! Thought it was a good deal?

Pewter glass bottom mugs are generally about ten ounces net. Solid bottoms are about 12 ounces. Either way, your per pound price is well under $3. Hard to be real bitter about that...

[Iron Mike Golf]

Woody, as mentioned previously, 1-2% tin added to your melt will lower the surface tension of your alloy. That makes it easier for your alloy to completely fill out the mold cavity. It will also lower the melting point of your alloy, letting you run the pot cooler. That reduces the oxidation rate.

Tin also adds toughness (opposite of brittleness) to your alloy if you harden by adding antimony.

I and my wife always keep our eyes peeled when flea marketing: mugs, tea/coffee sets (pots, creamer, sugar), candle sticks, plates, platters, bowls. I take a postage scale along when shopping. I try to stay under $6 a lb.

[Cowboy T]

Another way to reduce surface tension is to run your melt temperature at about 700 degrees. I typically run between 700 and 750 for my moulds and get very good fill-out as a result.

Pewter, if you can find it cheap, is also good stuff.

[woody13]

Thanks guys for the info. I want to ask you guys one more thing. Most of my lead has come from the birm and in molding some it looks good is relatively hard, does not scrape to eashy, and when tapped by a hammer slitely it feel stiff. So is it still recommended to add 1-2% of pewter to the mix. Will it hurt if I dont? I ask not because I am unwilling to just wondering if range lead is pure enough or if it needs a bit added. Whats good to do or not do on all this since it is a learning curve for me.... Thanks guys for all tha advice.....:lovebooli

[imashooter2]

My range scrap casts just fine with no additions whatsoever. If your scrap has commercial cast in it, it probably already has a fair bit of tin.

[StratsMan]

If the lead from the berm is mostly melted out of copper jackets, then it won't have much (if any) tin in that lead... As I understand, jacketed bullet cores are nearly pure lead with some antimony added to harden them a little... If that's accurate, then a little tin could go a long way to help fill out the mold...

On the other hand, if you're recovering a lot of cast boolits from the berm, then you should be pretty good-to-go, just as IMASHOOTER2 pointed out....

[woody13]

Its currently all coming out of the berms. I do have some ww and some dive weights but I have not cast from those yet only my berm stuff to melt it down and cast some. Thanks guys it seems I am on track and doing well and I feel my cast are coming out well but I will be looking for pewter now.

[ronz]

Is there an easy way to tell what is pewter or are most items just stamped “pewter”
the wife and I went looking for some and it was like the blind leading the blind she would pick something up and ask me if this is pewter I didn’t have a clue then I would pick something up and ask her
Finally after about 4 thrift stores I found a couple small cups stamped stieff pewter pso on the bottom
Would I just cut off a piece and toss it in the pot if it melts right away its pewter (tin) if not skim and toss it or would I need to worry about massing up the whole pot if I put something that wasn’t really pewter

[imashooter2]

Here you go...

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

Look at the form of the pieces shown. You can't go wrong buying hallmarked pieces (like your Stieff cups).

[ronz]

Thanks imashooter2
Read that one before our first pewter hunt reread it though always gather more insight after some experience that reminds me I still need to read from ingot to target again
I suppose with pewter being a more valuable material the makers want to be sure you know it
so they stamp it as such
During our little scavenger hunt “is this pewter” must have been said at least 100 times
None of it was stamped as pewter so probably didn’t leave a pile of cheap pewter behind