Tin

[rod.t.stuart]

I am just getting into casting and am looking for cheap sources for Tin. What do others do. I am using wheel weights, range lead and any other lead I can get my hands on.

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[David2011]

Old pewter found at yard sales and resale shops would be a good place to start. Be sure to read the sticky on pewter hallmarks. It will keep you from buying stuff that only looks like pewter. Babbitt is also a high tin alloy.

[NyFirefighter357]

I can't find any pewter around here, I do get a lot of solder though. Electrical solder, plumbing solder, the old body filling solder. It all has tin, mostly 50/50 lead/tin for plumbing solder & 60/40 for electrical solder. Hope that helps, Jay

[lightman]

David and Firefighter about covered it. New pure tin can be bought, but its pricy. I get good bullets with straight clip on wheelweights without adding any tin. Range lead can vary much more and may require some tin.

[OS OK]

When you do find a source for Sn, be stingy with it in your blends, make your cast call for it, don't just dump in a generous amount and call it good...I think we tend to overuse it around here!

[Dusty Bannister]

If you have access to scrap metal dealers, some will sell lead back to the public. If you find one, then check the plumbing scrap. Many will still have the wiped solder joints and if you are careful you can melt the solder off and keep that separate. It will be something between 30 and 50% tin. Then you can go ahead and smelt the lead scrap and have nearly pure soft lead for Black Powder or other needs.

I see you are new to the forum. Sometimes folks will help someone new to the hobby if they live nearby. When you decide to include your general location in your profile, that might allow someone nearby to help you get started with advise, etc. The archives are a good source of information and easily searched. That is located near the upper right corner of the main page. Also the swap and sell pages will provide members that sell and trade various items that are firearms and reloading related. Good luck with your search. Dusty

[runfiverun]

it has it's place in the pot and under some situations it enhances terminal performance of the bullet.
you need about 100 of those in your lifetime.

how we get tin is to find it anywhere we can get it.
when I was a sprink fitter I went around behind the plumbers at the end of the day and picked up their drippings.
I begged the last 4"s of wire off them.
stopped at yard sales and looked, checked 2nd hand shops.
asked radiator repair shops, anything I could find with tin in it was fair game.

[jmort]

There are cheap sourcces of tin out there for some. For most not so much. On this forum and on Ebay I have averaged around $10 a pound delivered. Retial is around $20. I have no problem using tin as I like a balanced alloy. Most here do not use a lot of tin due to cost. It is all up to you.

[mold maker]

Just because it looks like pewter or has a sticker that says so doesn't mean squat.
Just because that candle stick is marked pewter doesn't mean its weight is all pewter.
Read the other threads to save time and money before buying. I have a milk crate running over with worthless pieces that I thought were pewter bargains.

[Tripplebeards]

Just because it looks like pewter or has a sticker that says so doesn't mean squat.
Just because that candle stick is marked pewter doesn't mean its weight is all pewter.
Read the other threads to save time and money before buying. I have a milk crate running over with worthless pieces that I thought were pewter bargains.

I am learning the same thing in the last few weeks. Next time I need tin, I will buy tin and use my pewter for in no more than 2% increments to help fill out my HP molds which it works good for me.

[ncbearman]

Go to Craigslist in cities. Sometimes you can find some that has been for sale for a while. Buyer will ship sometimes. Try to stay in the $3 per pound range. $5 at most. Buy only "hallmarkrd" pewter

[Traffer]

I just got a bowl at goodwill for $.75. It said pewter and it is. 11.5 oz of pewter for under a buck. However the cheapest I could find the exact bowl for online was over $25. I am not going to melt it unless I have to. The same bowl was being sold on some sites for over $200 go figure. If you frequent second hand shops you will find it eventually. I have about 4 lbs of pewter since last year that I paid under $5 total for. Here is a bowl just like the one I got for 75 cents:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KIRK-STIEFF-...YAAOSwuxFYsvzG

[rod.t.stuart]

I just got a bowl at goodwill for $.75. It said pewter and it is. 11.5 oz of pewter for under a buck. However the cheapest I could find the exact bowl for online was over $25. I am not going to melt it unless I have to. The same bowl was being sold on some sites for over $200 go figure. If you frequent second hand shops you will find it eventually. I have about 4 lbs of pewter since last year that I paid under $5 total for. Here is a bowl just like the one I got for 75 cents:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KIRK-STIEFF-...YAAOSwuxFYsvzG

I checked out our Goodwill store here and they had a bunch of collector type plated about 6 to 8 inches. Had dust on them they wanted 15.00 each I offered them 5.00. The manager got snotty with me and said this is a business not a garage sale. I replied not really this is all the junk that does not sell at garage sales.

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[rod.t.stuart]

Go to Craigslist in cities. Sometimes you can find some that has been for sale for a while. Buyer will ship sometimes. Try to stay in the $3 per pound range. $5 at most. Buy only "hallmarkrd" pewter

Been doing that and facebook market place

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[rod.t.stuart]

I can't find any pewter around here, I do get a lot of solder though. Electrical solder, plumbing solder, the old body filling solder. It all has tin, mostly 50/50 lead/tin for plumbing solder & 60/40 for electrical solder. Hope that helps, Jay

Yeah I work a office job now dont get around those guys much

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[rod.t.stuart]

When you do find a source for Sn, be stingy with it in your blends, make your cast call for it, don't just dump in a generous amount and call it good...I think we tend to overuse it around here!

I have been. Just found a source for roofing lead. He is in construction and does a lot of older rehabs said he usually just tosses it. Said he would call and I just had to pick it up

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[rod.t.stuart]

If you have access to scrap metal dealers, some will sell lead back to the public. If you find one, then check the plumbing scrap. Many will still have the wiped solder joints and if you are careful you can melt the solder off and keep that separate. It will be something between 30 and 50% tin. Then you can go ahead and smelt the lead scrap and have nearly pure soft lead for Black Powder or other needs.

I see you are new to the forum. Sometimes folks will help someone new to the hobby if they live nearby. When you decide to include your general location in your profile, that might allow someone nearby to help you get started with advise, etc. The archives are a good source of information and easily searched. That is located near the upper right corner of the main page. Also the swap and sell pages will provide members that sell and trade various items that are firearms and reloading related. Good luck with your search. Dusty

Thanks Dusty. Have several friends helping out with advice. None want to help with spreading there sources lol

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[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I have a friend who does scrap and metal recycling as a part time business (for beer money). He will haul junk from house "cleanups"s and/or businesses that are closing/moving. He gets paid to haul the junk away...then he sells the metal scrap (once it's sorted) to the big metals recyclers. He comes across Solder and Block Tin, as well as misc Lead alloys all the time. He will sell me any of that stuff for the price the Big guys pay, which is usually pretty cheap.

Another source for Solder is a professional Radiator shop...there are still a few around, that will solder a new core into an old Radiator from a vintage car/truck. They will have solder drippings by the 5 gallon pail.

[OS OK]

I have been. Just found a source for roofing lead. He is in construction and does a lot of older rehabs said he usually just tosses it. Said he would call and I just had to pick it up

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A great source for the soft Pb...get a pair of foam ear plugs and stick them in your nose...that used flashing do make a stink . . .

[Bazoo]

Slightly off topic, however if you're just getting into casting You may not know that lots of folks, including myself have good success using wheel weights without any added tin. It depends on bullet complexity and mold temperature. I recently forgot how important mold temp was, and spent a while getting it figured out... again. Wont ever overlook that again.