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Thread: Tin acquiring considerations

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by dondiego View Post
    If you know any other casters in your area, try to get together and split the costs amongst your friends.
    This might be the best way. Lot of casters and reloaders here join together to spread out the high shipping cost of hazardous materials. Splitting tin and shipping cost 3 ways makes it a decent amount cheaper.

    I think rotometals price is higher than $11 a pound for tin right now.

    Hmmm gift avoids tax/tariff wonder if anyone has an interesting mold like say corn mold or the cactus mold for making cornbread? Add a note saying how the seller "hope these paper weights are a gift that will remind you that you have a friend here in American" Just about any cool looking mold might do the trick to turn the metal into a "gift" also the vat or tariff on "paperweights" would be on lower price than it would be on price of tin itself.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

    Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat

  2. #22
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    More tin is produced closer to you than the US



    https://www.metalcentergroup.com/Pro.../Tin-bars.aspx

  3. #23
    Boolit Master

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    The man is in Finland. Those places appear to be Asia, China, S. America, Australia, and Africa. I don't see them being "closer" Finland. Is the "rest of the story" in the link? I didn't check that...
    If it was easy, anybody could do it.

  4. #24
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    Copy from the link information.

    "Metalcenter is based in Scandinavia – with 3 metal stocks in Denmark, Sweden and Finland – but also has stock-setup in Germany, and even in the US and China through our group partners in the Alumeco Group."

    Good information perhaps for those across the pond.

  5. #25
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    I say. At that price.....buy it all and hoard it!
    In the future you may be able to trade away small amounts for other precious (reloading) commodities.
    Several years ago I happened across a buy for electronic solder (96% tin 4% silver) at a price that almost made it worthwhile to reclaim the silver.
    I bought one batch which for me will be a lifetime supply. when I realized what I had the rest was already sold. (hits head) STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!
    Should have bought it all!

  6. #26
    Boolit Bub CeeHoo's Avatar
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    Thanks for the input, fellows. I made the decision and ordered that tin box of 25 kilograms. Will post you more information when it arrives.

    Quote Originally Posted by RogerDat View Post
    Hmmm gift avoids tax/tariff wonder if anyone has an interesting mold like say corn mold or the cactus mold for making cornbread? Add a note saying how the seller "hope these paper weights are a gift that will remind you that you have a friend here in American" Just about any cool looking mold might do the trick to turn the metal into a "gift" also the vat or tariff on "paperweights" would be on lower price than it would be on price of tin itself.
    People seem to play this "gift card" fairy often, I suppose. It is not that easy for customs officier to tell the true value of objects that are not widely used. In unclear situation they will, however, demand the recipient to prove that it's not more than 45€. For handmade or vintage items proving the value isn't straightforward. They're worth just as much someone is willing to pay.

  7. #27
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    I could make a guess which company you used to order that box.... I think that custom fee goes over 20€ worth of shipment. Or do i remember so wrong...?

  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by CeeHoo View Post
    Thanks for the input, fellows. I made the decision and ordered that tin box of 25 kilograms. Will post you more information when it arrives.........

    ...... People seem to play this "gift card" fairy often, I suppose. It is not that easy for customs officier to tell the true value of objects that are not widely used. In unclear situation they will, however, demand the recipient to prove that it's not more than 45€. For handmade or vintage items proving the value isn't straightforward. They're worth just as much someone is willing to pay.
    There are molds used to bake cornbread batter in the shape of an ear of corn, or into the shape of a cactus with arms like this one https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L5CP3-P...ct_top?ie=UTF8 A fair number of casters buy these molds used as lead molds.

    The "paperweights" would just be cast in the shaped cornbread mold. They would literally just be a pair of metal cactus. The paperweights would clearly be worth less than the 34 Euro limit. Unless you considered the metal they were made from. Most people wouldn't consider tin as a valuable metal. Not silver or gold so...

    It's like the joke about a fellow who left China to work in Hong Kong every day. When he came back they searched him, his lunch pail, his bicycle and never found him smuggling any contraband. Eventually he retired and one day at the bar ran into the border guard also retired. The guard said "I know with your lifestyle you must have been smuggling or doing some business on the side. Now that we are both retired can you tell me how you smuggled stuff past the border?" The workman replied "I never smuggled anything unless you count lunch pails and bicycles".

    Show them a chunk of metal of no particular value with felt on one side and it's a cheap paperweight.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

    Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat

  9. #29
    Boolit Master
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    Clever thinking.

    I am another one of those who doesn't think outside the box very well. I'd probably get nailed trying to run it in as contraband in a speed boat...

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teemu View Post
    I could make a guess which company you used to order that box....
    Yeah, I guess there are not too many possibilities. Well, earlier I contacted another supplier and he asked me if I'm looking for 50kg or 5000kg. When I said 50 he hasn't replied ever since. LOL.

  11. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by CeeHoo View Post
    Yeah, I guess there are not too many possibilities. Well, earlier I contacted another supplier and he asked me if I'm looking for 50kg or 5000kg. When I said 50 he hasn't replied ever since. LOL.
    Yup. It ain't easy when circles are quite small as here in Finland. I managed get my Sn supply full just this summer. Big part is pure Sn and probably about 5 kg is solder 50/50 Sn/pb ratio. All came trusted yank jard but price was quite high. Well no need to think Sn problem never again.

  12. #32
    Boolit Bub CeeHoo's Avatar
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    Good for you. Perhaps junk yard prices were at least somewhat cheaper?

    Here are some pictures of the box. Danish stuff. Alloy number is HQ000 which according to MSDS should be 99.85% pure tin. For what it's worth, I've read from some old metallurgy books that you should recognize pure or nearly pure tin from crackling sound that becomes more distinct the purer alloy is. If I bend these sticks next to my ear I can't hear anything. Well, perhaps Boliden knows better than me. LOL.

    http://www.boliden.dk/datablade/pdf/ta002_gb.pdf






  13. #33
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    Looks like they will go into the melt easy enough.

  14. #34
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    I usually think that a tin bar if bent will have what is called "tin cry" which is the crackle sound you are listening for. But I have never tried it with this thin wire product. I would also look for a sort of golden hue to the surface of the product. If you care to, you might cut one wire into four pieces and lay them side by side and melt together to form a thin bar. Then when cooled and allowed to set a day or so, see if that will give you a crackle sound.

    Are these wire pieces easy to bend as solder would be, or are they rather resistant to bending? I would expect them to be correctly marked and perhaps just not in the usually expected form that most of us run across. It does look like a very convenient form to add to a casting pot once you determine how much to add to a given amount of alloy in the casting pot. Dusty

  15. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by CeeHoo View Post
    Good for you. Perhaps junk yard prices were at least somewhat cheaper?
    It wasn't cheap, no not at all. Pure Sn was about 18€/kg... Can't remember what 50/50 was, but little bit cheaper. But i didn't want hunt Sn anymore so I take it what i got.

    That cracking sound it is true. At least all my pure Sn which i had/have makes that sound when you bend it. I don't know why yours doesn't make a cracking sound....
    Last edited by Teemu; 12-03-2018 at 03:27 AM.

  16. #36
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    there is always the question of can I hear the sound of tin crying anymore? I can barely hear it in a heavier bar, and then only in one ear.

    Now OP just needs some COWW's lead or super hard and you will be well set.
    Scrap.... because all the really pithy and emphatic four letter words were taken and we had to describe this source of casting material somehow so we added an "S" to what non casters and wives call what we collect.

    Kind of hard to claim to love America while one is hating half the Americans that disagree with you. One nation indivisible requires work.

    Feedback page http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...light=RogerDat

  17. #37
    Boolit Buddy Teemu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by RogerDat View Post
    there is always the question of can I hear the sound of tin crying anymore? I can barely hear it in a heavier bar, and then only in one ear.
    Thats true. That should be safe buy when use places like CeeHoo did. Cracking or not...

  18. #38
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    If you don't need a lot of tin, just enough to "flavor" a couple pounds of alloy that needs it, you can just go down to the local Walmart's fishing tackle section. The local stores around here have packages of 100% tin spltshot sinkers. Two size 7 tin splitshot is about enough for about 20 oz pure lead. This route is a bit spendy but it is certainly convenient if you don't need much.

  19. #39
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    Have the Finns been invaded by Wally World too? I suprised they haven't declared war on us for violation of their sovereign territory by a foreign state.

    Still, good for us statesiders to have options. How do Sn sinkers stack up against lead free solder for price per pound?

  20. #40
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Although you spent a lot of money you got a good price. It will not deteriorate and probably will not get cheaper. With the lack of affordable scrap you probably did the best thing.

    A lot of guys around here can find pewter but its scarce where I am at. I mostly depend on odd pieces of scrap solder for my tin needs.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check