"SHIPPED IN SEALED TIN CONTAINER"... now have about 20 or so...

[Nose Dive]

Good Morning gents.... Well, the shop needs a bit of spring clean up. Over the past few years when ordering MILSURP rounds for just about everything I shoot, I have been saving the 'SEALED TIN CONTAINERS'. Some are indeed of dubious quality and when delivered to my door, on occasion, rounds have dropped out of the 'sealed' container onto the porch. But, made in Greece, (and 'other' places) in the late forties, one can only expect handling and age to take there tole. I had to keep these little darlings hidden as my better half only sees them as 'trash shipping containers' and she would have disposed of the 'clutter' post haste during one of her hormonal scourges of the shop. Did I say she found my shop key hideout location?

Ok, enough history. My plan, reasonable or not, is to attempt to smelt this things down and use them as "TIN alloy" for my boolits. All are soldered at the seams and still have the 'pull tab with wire' for the opening devices. These will be pulled and removed, containers will be cut up, dumped in the smelt pot with no other boolit alloy or mix, and slowly brought up to temperature. Will flux heavily with saw dust two or three times while mixing with wooden dowel. Might even top off with a final flux of wax... Then, hopefully will make 'cup cake' ingots for later alloying efforts.

Examining the containers, there are no marking on really what these things are other than boolit data as to the contents.

So gents, there is the material, there is the process and here is/are the question(s) to you all.

1. Are the TIN containers 'really tin'?
2. Other than fun, is this really worth the time and gas?
3. Has anyone else tried to reuse these containers? If so, what were your results?
4. Anyone have and history and/or data about these old ammunition containers?

Later today, while engaged in this recycling effort, I will snap some pics of these things and post up here. Most are just shiny old metal boxes with very sharp edges. I can't remember any of them being painted.

Thanks for any feed back.

Nose Dive.

Cheap, Fast, Good. Kindly pick two.

[btroj]

Bet they are steel. How would one solder tin?

Got a magnet?

[DLCTEX]

Tin containers is tin cans, same as a can of beans from the store. Test with a magnet, pure tin/lead is non magnetic.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

just like "scotch tape" isn't made from scotch or scots,
"tin cans" aren't made from tin.

like what was previously stated, "got a Magnet?"
Jon

[Alchemist]

As a former "tinner" i.e. sheet metal worker...you most likely have containers made of galvanized steel, which are then painted. "Tin" cans, roofing "tin" etc, is usually something other than tin (SN). I'd say at most you'll get a small drizzle of solder, and won't be worth the time or bother. Sorry to rain on your parade.

[383]

I thought a bunch of Christmas cookie tins I found in the garage were tin until I found that a magnet stuck to them quite well.:cry:

[Curlymaple42]

I made Gypsy Soup the other night but i couldn't find any Gypsy's around here. Luckily the neighbors rooster got hit by a car so after i wacked it in the head so it didn't suffer anymore, i cut it up and threw THAT in the soup! Lol!

Bummer about those steel cans...

[Grump]

Yeah, historically "tin can" really meant a mild steel (or iron???) can plated with tin. I think it was usually only on the inside. Rust preventive, the tin was.

Resulted in nasty-tasting food and beer and whatnot after a few years or months, with a, you guessed it, "tinny" flavor.

Let us know if by chance aggressive corrosion prevention goals and allocation of some country's sacred tax dollars resulted in real TIN being used...that would be a nice historical footnote for us.

[Defcon-One]

....mild steel can plated with TIN....

That is the answer, possibly Tin plated, but more likely galvanized (Meaning Zinc plated!). Sorry, but you probably won't get any TIN.

[fryboy]

i have found some made of zinc , yes it seemed softer than steel "tin" cans and even smelted ...did i mention i threw away the smelt pot in disgust ?
the name "tin can" comes from the fact that loooong ago steel cans rusted quite bady and usually in short order , it was found that several things that coated them tin seemed to be the "food safe one" , and from the words "tinned food" came our usage of the misnomer "tin cans" , nowadays the umm tin cans are usually coated in some kind of plastic that i just happen to think that gee wally ye olde tin coating was more than likely better for our health than the ingredients in the new fangled plastic type coatings ( which also do not smelt very well
of note - many old squeeze tubes were indeed tin ( i have one full of fomoco lubriplate ) such as toothpaste and various ointments, today they are usually plasticized aluminum
all that leads me to suggest if you do find one of your cans to be softer than steel ( and non-magnetic ) to smelt it in something you dont care about , smelt it by it's self and then test the ingots for zinc with muratic acid ( or equivalent ) before attempting to alloy it etc

[Grump]

Yeah.

What Fryboy said.

[captaint]

Real Sn is WAY too expensive for anybody to package anything in it anymore. I had a roofer once tell me "man, I can get you all the tin you want"... Man, that's great. Wait a minute - you're talking about sheet metal, right ?? Yeah, of course. Oh, well.... Mike

[Nose Dive]

Thanks gents... Definitive and superstitious comment alike. I pulled all those puppies out and gave them the magnet test,,, and, yep... about 1/2 were magnetic... Waste Management handled all those for me yesterday....but,,bout 1/2 didn't react to the magnets and those were by the markings on them, the old set...or...older than the iron set... So...will cut'em up and smelt,,,mix with a bit of sulfur and see what happens. Will follow ole fryboy's suggestion and keep all this mix separate from the known, usable alloys.... Will ingot in cupcake pans and see how they behave.

I have access to a lab and just might ask 'Joe Bob' to test an ingot just for grins. Might be wasten time but,,, we will see... thanks again...

Nose Dive

Cheap, Fast, Good. Kindly pick two.