Pewter and Solder at Yard Sale

[MN91311]

Yesterday I attended an estate sale locally. Conducted by a professional, everything is marked higher than I want to pay generally. After 12noon, all remaining items drop to half price. I then bought these pieces of pewter. Total price for all the pewter for me was $17.50. I want to just process it into small tin ingots for alloy mixes, but some of it looks too nice to destroy that way. (The 1.5 pounds of 50/50 solder was a box-lot throw-in from another yard sale.) For a retiree, early to rise is the way to go, at least on Saturday mornings.

[imashooter2]

Hmmmm... over a pound in the compote, 10 ounces net for the glass bottom tankard, probably 12+ each in the Revere bowl, porridger and the pitcher. The candlesticks are a toss up depending if they're weighted or not and I've no idea what that other thing is.

I call it over 5 pounds for $17.50. Good score!

[jsizemore]

The porringer appears to be a 4" Stieff Williamsberg reproduction. The thing on the lower right appears to be a creamer without lid and a coaster to prevent sweating on the linen. If they had a Williamsberg reproduction porringer then the small bowl to the right could also be a Williamsberg repro. There will be an oval stamp with a cross and the letters CWR. Colonial Williamsberg Restoration. I've given them as gifts to Colonial Home owners. I work on those kinds of houses.

[Boolseye]

Great score. my dad just gave me a rod of 60/40 solder that my Grandfather probably lifted from Raytheon when he worked there in the 60s. He'd be happy I was makin' it into boolits.

[Defcon-One]

Great price, but I agree, they may be too nice to melt for boolits.

Your call I guess!

[leadbutt]

I was at the flea market the other weekend and one lady asked me what i was looking for so i told her pewter items. She got happy for a second and told me she had some. As she was looking for it i explained what i wanted it for. She said she really didnt want to sell it to me to get melted down and that she wanted someone to get it that would take care of it. I respected that and went to the next table.

L. Bottoms

[fryboy]

I was at the flea market the other weekend and one lady asked me what i was looking for so i told her pewter items. She got happy for a second and told me she had some. As she was looking for it i explained what i wanted it for. She said she really didnt want to sell it to me to get melted down and that she wanted someone to get it that would take care of it. I respected that and went to the next table.

L. Bottoms

ummm i have thoughts about some pieces myself ..however ...for the ones i dont it pains me not to tell them that i am a artist ( and in a way we are ;) ) i do try to research some pieces before i melt them and most people will sell dented up pewter cheaper . but if worse comes to worse and i need'em there they are lolz , ,if it turns out to be worth more as a pewter piece then the money can always buy even more tin :P

nice score amigo !

[Boolseye]

My folks gave me their Pewter Mugs that they received for their years of service at their place of employment. They had zero use for them and would rather see me get some enjoyment from them. I wasn't gonna argue! My Pewter cache looks much like the one in the picture above, except that my bowl thingy is starting to get a little asymmetrical. With the prices I've seen for pewter these days, however, ya might do better to sell it and buy tin!

[waksupi]

You know, I'll be darned if I can figure out what the members here do with all the tin they scrounge up. I bet I haven't used a half pound in the past five years. If the mold isn't for a itty bitty boolit, I just really don't see the need for adding it to WW's. Can someone enlighten me?

[BruceB]

Ric....not much enlightenment, but I share your point of view.

I once made a very serious trial for some months, adding tin to my normal run-of-tire-shop wheelweight alloy.

Long story short, the tin added nothing but expense. The bullets didn't cast better, didn't fill-out better,and didn't weigh-out more consistently. Adding tin didn't contribute anything positive to my production. (The addition was usually on the order of 4%, occasionally running as high as 6%.)

Therefore, after a rather lengthy trial, I abandoned the practice of adding tin to WW alloy. I don't miss it, and my bullets are still just as good as ever.

[imashooter2]

You know, I'll be darned if I can figure out what the members here do with all the tin they scrounge up. I bet I haven't used a half pound in the past five years. If the mold isn't for a itty bitty boolit, I just really don't see the need for adding it to WW's. Can someone enlighten me?

Not everyone has WW to start with. Some that do have WW just like to add tin. Some just like to scrounge pewter same as others do lead.

The beautiful thing about living in America is you don't even need a reason. :)

[jsizemore]

If there's no such thing as too much lead then there's no such thing as too much tin.

I cast mostly for my 45acp. My kart barrel is chambered on the small side. My molds are on the small side. Since I shoot light target loads I don't develop enough pressure to bump up the boolits and get lead streaking in the throat with straight coww alloy or with 2% added tin to coww. I've cast with alloy temp from 625-750 and still the streaking. Changed the alloy to 50/50 co/soww and got less streaking but my base didn't fillout. Added 2% tin and the streaking went away. I've fired 250 rounds slow and rapid fire with ZERO leading. The tin has helped with fillout and the softer alloy allows the boolit to bump up at the pressures I'm producing.

I may be wrong with all this, but it works so I'll stick with it. I read about adding tin from a fellow member who was casting H&G #50's for revolver. He added tin till he got the fillout he was looking for. It got me to thinking, and my leading in the throat went away. Since I use pewter for my tin, it costs me about a quarter of a cent per boolit. So for 10 lbs of H&G #68's that's a buck. $4.50 instead of $3.50

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

You know, I'll be darned if I can figure out what the members here do with all the tin they scrounge up. I bet I haven't used a half pound in the past five years. If the mold isn't for a itty bitty boolit, I just really don't see the need for adding it to WW's. Can someone enlighten me?

most of my friends call me a hoarder.

I'm not sure if they intend it as derogatory or not,
but it's ME they come to when they are looking for stuff :mrgreen:

A recent score from a scrapper of "block tin" definately put
my Tin stash over the top. When the tin prices climb again,
I may be selling some.
Jon

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/100_2224reduced.jpg

http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/100_2229reduced.jpg

[btroj]

You know, I'll be darned if I can figure out what the members here do with all the tin they scrounge up. I bet I haven't used a half pound in the past five years. If the mold isn't for a itty bitty boolit, I just really don't see the need for adding it to WW's. Can someone enlighten me?

I have some bars of auto body solder. I have aout 10 to 15 pounds of it left. Haven't used any in quite some time.
Range scrap seems to cast fine by itself. I have a bit of monotype I can add if needed. The extra tin just never seems to be needed.
If I had WW they would be used as is or cut with rang e scrap. Tin would not be added.

[fryboy]

eh it only takes about 3 pounds of tin along with 48 pounds to make 16 to 1 ( in 51 # lots ) 5 pounds of tin and 100 pounds of lead makes 105 pounds of 20 to 1 ... and big 45-70 boolits eat up a bunch lolz , i also like to make a #2 alloy for some rifle shooting , i find way more pure erm soft than i do ww's , when metals took a hit lately ( silver went from $40 to 30 ) my tin stash ( as little as it is ) also lost 1/3 of it's value , in some ways that's a bummer but ... it's a good thing for those whom need to purchase it !!

nice score jon !!! and from grody to glitterin' ( love that part !! )

[a.squibload]

My Redhawk used to always lead up near the cylinder using WW boolits.
Half & half COWWs and soft lead with a pinch of pewter, same size boolits,
showed no leading.
I add pewter to a small batch for casting, next batch I'll leave it out as a check.
If I don't need to buy pewter or tin, that would leave more $ for lead.
And beer.:drinks:

[onesonek]

You know, I'll be darned if I can figure out what the members here do with all the tin they scrounge up. I bet I haven't used a half pound in the past five years. If the mold isn't for a itty bitty boolit, I just really don't see the need for adding it to WW's. Can someone enlighten me?

I can see and understand your thought here,,,,but.
I look any thing in the line of alloy for boolit making as having value, and not a bad idea to have on hand. Specially if gotten for a reasonable price. I started scrouging for pewter, before I had the need for added tin, with not knowing what need may arise.
As of late I came into a bunch of lead pipe. Now I could blend that with the lino, coww's, or iso I have on hand, but say I just want a 16 or 20: 1 Pb/Sn mix for other options. That's considering what I have heard theat Pb pipe is nearly pure???? And yes, I know pewter can have other metals in it, but minimumally, so not much concern there,
I haven't melted only but a couple pounds of the pewter I have aquired, but the rest looks pretty good sitting in the wifes hutch waiting the need. And then too, it may become bartering stock down the road. Just one never knows what the future holds, and or what wants or needs may be. I just don't think one can be over prepared, in any instance.

[leadbutt]

When you see like 5 pounds of asst pewter for a buck whats it hurt to just buy it?

L. Bottoms

[WILCO]

The beautiful thing about living in America is you don't even need a reason. :)

Amen Brother, Amen!

[Suo Gan]

Don't melt the pitcher.

[Ausglock]

G'day All.
Went garage sale hopping yesterday.
Picked up 4 Pewter goblets for a $1 each.
They were solid base and heavy.
They were Golf trophies due to the inscription on them.
When I told Old love what I was goint to do with them, she almost had a heart attack. She said her late husband (winner of the trophies) hated guns.
I figure it is poetic justice.
My wife slapped me up back of the head when we got back to the car for winding the old girl up.:mrgreen:

I got 7lbs of pewter...Nice...

Is pewter harder than tin?
One alloy listing I have says Pewter is 23BHN
where Tin is a lot softer.

Anyone know?

Thanks.

[imashooter2]

G'day All.
Went garage sale hopping yesterday.
Picked up 4 Pewter goblets for a $1 each.
They were solid base and heavy.
They were Golf trophies due to the inscription on them.
When I told Old love what I was goint to do with them, she almost had a heart attack. She said her late husband (winner of the trophies) hated guns.
I figure it is poetic justice.
My wife slapped me up back of the head when we got back to the car for winding the old girl up.:mrgreen:

I got 7lbs of pewter...Nice...

Is pewter harder than tin?
One alloy listing I have says Pewter is 23BHN
where Tin is a lot softer.

Anyone know?

Thanks.

Modern pewter has a few percent of antimony in it and possibly a bit of copper as well. It would be harder than pure tin.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive used many many lbs of it in the past to sweaten ww but most do it because i had so much. Now that im down to about 150 lbs of tin i seem to rarely need it anymore ;) thing is too most of my alloys have a bit of lineotype in them so i really get enough tin from that. that to is getting a bit scarce around here and ive cut back on it too. Bottom line is straight ww will take care of 95 percent of all casting duties. But how long will we have wws too!!!!
You know, I'll be darned if I can figure out what the members here do with all the tin they scrounge up. I bet I haven't used a half pound in the past five years. If the mold isn't for a itty bitty boolit, I just really don't see the need for adding it to WW's. Can someone enlighten me?