1st trying to buy pewter...did I score or strike out?

[RogerDat]

Weighted pewter should say "weighted" someplace, often in really small print. Common for candle sticks, and stuff is like a horse hoof glue, or petrified Yak excrement. Hard as a rock, often hard to peel the pewter off of and man you can almost throw out the pan if any of that stuff gets melted in it. Or maybe set it on a bon fire of pallets. Stuff is really hard to clean out once it gets melted. Plus the pewter covering it is as thin as aluminum foil. Heavy duty aluminum foil but still pretty thin.

You should be able to gouge pewter with a thumbnail (on the back where it won't show) I have every so often found a picture frame or other small item that isn't stamped pewter but is a tin/pewter alloy of some sort. If it is cheap enough I'll give it a shot, I can gamble $2 on possibly getting a pound of pewter, or just another knick knack. More and more I am seeing picture frames that look exactly like pewter on the front BUT are a rough texture on the back and too hard to even mark with a finger nail. If it doesn't say pewter it is a gamble, now if you are buying $60 worth you don't want it to be "might be" pewter. But a couple of $1 picture frames at Salvation Army? Sure, why not. Either a good find or a cheap chance to educate yourself on what not to buy.

I should mention that really large metal tray that once I was "sure" was pewter wouldn't melt when hit with a propane torch, can't bend it, and won't scratch so to this day I dry tumble lube bullets on it covered with wax paper.

Has been said before but bears repeating. Take the time to determine if any of that stuff has collector value before making it a puddle. Lot of places over price pewter but some pieces do have a high value. Black pewter (has lead content so ages to a more black color) is usually from the 70's or before. Worth a quick check of prices for sold ones like it on eBay or look up the pewter mark online.

[PBaholic]

A good test for Pewter is to "tink" it against something.

Pewter will have no ring, just a dull thud.

Beware of Weighted Pewter. Most of the weight is Rosin inside the sealed section. Makes a mess!!!

[FlyfishermanMike]

Scrounging pewter, fun times. You quickly get the feel and sight for it. If it doesn't have a hallmark I usually don't buy. Then it has to pass the bend and sound test. I've only found one picture frame that was actually marked pewter. At times I've had more pewter then lead.

Here's some helpful tips I found when I first started:

Pewter Tips

Hallmark will say pewter, zinn,
No rivets, welds, screws, bolts, etc.
Handles are soldered on, not cast
No cast lines
Sticker that's says pewter usually isn't pewter
If bent will not return to shape
Is not magnetic
WILTON or ARMETALE or PEWTEREX on the bottom, or RWP is not pewter!
Melts @ 450°
A b.m. stamped on plated stuff indicating british metal which is tin.
Pock marks

1. Pewter vessels (mugs, urns, pots, etc) aren't cast. When pewter is cast (plates, for example), it isn't done in sand. When you see the pebble texture from the sand mold, it's likely aluminum.

2. Pewter can be polished up to look nearly like silver. Polished aluminum is "whiter" than silver, which is "whiter" than polished pewter. Pewter is not often highly polished, at least the stuff I have seen in my travels. It has a burnished look from being formed by turning and using wooden shaping tools.

3. With experience (and not a whole lot is needed), you'll be able to identify on sight and then use other things to confirm. In the beginning, stick to looking for "pewter" stamped in the bottom. On German pieces, you may see "95% Zinn" (Zinn is German for tin).

4. Oxidized pewter is a deep gray, not black like tarnished silver or silver plate. It can also have sort of a "waxy" feel to it that doesn't scrape off with your fingernail.

5. Aluminum and pewter can both be treated with chemicals that blacken the metal. With pewter you see this most often in figurines. Sometimes on commemorative plates.

6. If pewter has been poorly stored, you might see patches of corrosion (from other metals being in contact with moisture present) or white scale deposit (usually as spots)

7. As said before, small parts of pewter are joined by soldering. Steel is joined by spot welding. Aluminum is joined by riveting. Pewter is relatively weak (compared to aluminum and steel). I often roll platters and plates into a tube by hand before smelting. Can't do that to steel or aluminum.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[308Jeff]

I, too, have a Daily Bread in my collection.

Lived and learned.

[imashooter2]

They're just the right size and depth to hold a wet sponge for cooling molds...

[RogerDat]

That stained glass stuff might well be pure lead with solder joints. The twisted pieces I have found have been lead. Stained glass lead framing or channel is called lead "came". Really large pieces can have a stiffener of zinc in it. Have not seen it in the small decorative pieces.

Dear wife has a whole collection of dried flowers and dried leaves in leaded glass., not going to fight her for modest amounts of lead

[Tripplebeards]

[QUOTE=RogerDat;4096120]That stained glass stuff might well be pure lead with solder joints. The twisted pieces I have found have been lead. Stained glass lead framing or channel is called lead "came". Really large pieces can have a stiffener of zinc in it. Have not seen it in the small decorative pieces.

Roger, makes sense. It was as soft as solder vs the pewter was a lot harder.Any tin it what so ever? Guessing not? I won't buy any more and did mix it in with the others when melting. Wasn't a lot anyways. I was thinking solder was soft and was guessing it mixed the same.

Has anyone made 100% pewter bullets? I know it's not cost efficient, but with $ not in the equation how would they do?

[imashooter2]

They fill out really nice and are as beautiful a shiny silver as you will ever see. They are also way light. I never shot any, but I would think that shooting solder bullets would exacerbate any leading problem you might have.

[mac1911]

Just keep looking...pewter does not turn up often in my area when it does it's a generally priced high as the places it shows up in no the value of the alloy.
One antique shop often has pewter. Although not much in the ways of "scrap".
They do how ever mark their prices down every few weeks. They actual put the date and price drop amount on the tag. They will not hold anything for you. So you just need to beat the buyers at the price your willing to pay to the next price drop.
It's all fun. I just scored a small pitcher.

[Tripplebeards]

I picked up 3.25lbs today at the thrift stores in town....and I bought two RWP plates that I found out were 10 different metals again.

The cenex plate was the big score at goodwill. $1.99 for a 1.5 plate! Candlesticks were $1.49, I couldn't find the Pewter stamp last Friday and found it today so I grabbed them up. The flower vase was $1.99, the little tractor was free, and I took one for the team and spent $2.99 for the circular design. Oh, and the duck has no markings on it but I saw it in the 60 page pewter postings so I gambled and bout it for$1.99...is it pewter???

Attachment 199514

The cenex plate...

Attachment 199517
Attachment 199515



The vase...

Attachment 199516

[Tripplebeards]

I googled the duck. It says silver plated and then I found a silver plated brass and a copper. I'm guessing a solid no. I polished it up with mothers and it looks like chrome. It's light weight which is telling me it's not. My dad wants it so he's getting a late Father's Day present.

[imashooter2]

Cenex isn't the maker of the plate. They are a company that engraved their logo on it, probably as an award of some sort. The real touch mark is the 2nd picture.

Plates and trays are good finds. Weight goes up quickly with small increases in diameter. Congrats on the new additions.

[jsizemore]

Anything past 10% tin in your alloy stands a good chance of putting tin in your bore and you'll play hell getting it out. There's an old thread that covers getting it out of a mold (which is easy to get at) and it ain't fun.

[Tripplebeards]

Attachment 199726

I made a trip to iowa and hit three resale stores. In 25 min I ended up with these. All $2-4ea accept for three of them. The two large items in back...the coffee pot and piture were $8ea so I let my sis buy them. The canteen was $6 and I grabbed it since it was pretty heavy. I'm guessing 1.5lbs. I'm going to hold on to it for a while. I was trying to research it and it looks like its worth a pretty penny if its not a reproduction.

[Nose Dive]

Hmmmm reread.... Post from ...FlyfishermanMike..... will help you save some bucks.

Nose Dive

Cheap, Fast, good. kindly pick two.

[Tripplebeards]

Hmmmm reread.... Post from ...FlyfishermanMike..... will help you save some bucks.

Nose Dive

Cheap, Fast, good. kindly pick two.

I did, he never responded.

[Tripplebeards]

Attachment 199850Attachment 199851

Found some more today. First pic all a $1 each or less. The plate was $4

[Tripplebeards]

Attachment 199885

I melted some of the frames and plate tonight...