Pewter

[WildmanJack]

I picked up 7 3/4 lbs of Pewter today off Ebay. Sometimes I wonder if I'mmelting down stuff worth more than the tin>>> Anyone have an opinion??

Jack

[Longwood]

So far in my searches, I have found one piece that weighed a little over a pound for $3 and about 20 pieces that were priced much closer to $100.

[WildmanJack]

Longwood, I bought three pitchers, a couple of candle sticks a vase, and a small bowl off Flebay for $10.50 and the shipping was about the same. Guess I lucked out. Total weight was 7 3/4 lbs. after I cast it all into little ingots.. I was really cranked...
Jack

[lwknight]

Wildman , you did luck out. Most of that stuff is really thin and candlesticks are weighted with only a little pewter in the skin.

[fryboy]

smelting pewter with a conscious ... yes i have mulled it , some pieces have hysterical value ( ok ok historical if you must ) sometimes that value isnt easy to figure and more often than not harder to get , i have a small collection that i'll smelt only in desperation and hope i find more before i need too !! as you note from your Ebay purchases unless an item is really hot there's not alot of demand , wizards, dragons and the like i have no qualms melting and unless a really choice piece i wont even research it , belt buckles almost always say "limited edition # XXXX of XXXX" [shrugz] i would indeed feel awful if i realized i just smelted paul revere's last tankard or the like however , even some mangled stuff could be worth more than readily apparent , i suppose the line we draw will always be our own ...

[cajun shooter]

Hey Jack, My wife has a collection of Wilton Pewter. It is not pure pewter but a alloy of seven metals that is forged in Pa. It is very expensive with a plate selling for over $60. If you ever come across any of it, sell it as it is way too hard to smelt and is worth more to the collectors.The pure type of pewter is very easy to bend and my problem is when I find it, I don't know if it is valuable and like you posted, I may melt the wrong thing.

[imashooter2]

Wilton doesn't sell petwer at all. Their stuff is a proprietary blend of metals and not of any value to a boolit caster.

The stuff I buy from the local Goodwill is beat up trash, so I don't much worry about it being valuable.

For the OP, if you bought it from eBay, it wasn't worth more or there would have been someone to outbid you.

[mold maker]

I cast large slugs of all I find. Makes it easy to add small known amounts to the mix.

[bearcove]

I just buy tin or solder then I KNOW what it is. Pewter stuff is all over the place in composition.

[imashooter2]

I just buy tin or solder then I KNOW what it is. Pewter stuff is all over the place in composition.

I'm pleased that you are so prosperous!

I'll keep looking for cheap pewter when I can find it. I KNOW it is all close enough to add to boolit alloy as pure tin.

[littlejack]

The only WILTON stuff around here looks way too much like cast aluminium.
It is very easy to tell it from pewter.
Jack

[cajun shooter]

I am very aware of what Wilton sells and has. I have a few thousand dollars of it in my kitchen cabinets. I was posting to inform Jack who is a friend that many people call it pewter and to stay away from it.

[a.squibload]

If I'm sure it's pewter I don't ingotize it, just cut it up in pieces
to add to the pot.

[bearcove]

I'm pleased that you are so prosperous!

I'll keep looking for cheap pewter when I can find it. I KNOW it is all close enough to add to boolit alloy as pure tin.

Traded 50lbs of WW for 10lbs solder. The WW were free so that makes it cheaper than buying pewter.

[imashooter2]

Traded 50lbs of WW for 10lbs solder. The WW were free so that makes it cheaper than buying pewter.

I love to banter!

You traded WW worth $50 American for 10 pounds of what mix solder? 50/50, 63/37? Did it come on the reel or with certs? If not, how do you really know it is what it was represented to be?

[bearcove]

OK I'll play.

63/37

Traded with a member

[imashooter2]

$5 a pound for 63% tin makes my $3 or less a pound 80% or better tin seem like a pretty sweet deal.

But at least a trade with a member gives you reasonable assurance that it actually is what you paid for.

[lwknight]

Tin at $5.00 per pound is still cheap.

[imashooter2]

Tin at $5.00 per pound is still cheap.

Well, since it was only 63% tin, the per pound price was more like $7.93. And I doubt that 50 pounds of lead got to the solder trader for free, so better add on another $1.59 a pound for the flat rate box.

Now, you can still say that $9.52 a pound is better than commodity prices for virgin tin and you'd be right.

But $3.75 a pound for tin from scrounged pewter beats that price with a stick.

[bearcove]

You use that funny math.

Free WW plus $10 shipping got me almost 12lb of solder. That is about 7 lb tin with 4lb lead. And I didn't spend any gas money looking for it. Thats closer to $1.50/lb