pewter will ruin my pot?

[tking308]

I'm new to all this and I searched and couldn't find anything. In the Lee directions with my pot it says that pewter can NOT be melted in the pot. I called to verify and was told it would corrode the lining of the pot even in the small amounts we're using. Seems crazy to me since a lot of people use pewter as tin.

[Doc_Stihl]

Pewter will corrode the lininig??? Never heard of that. I know some solders are acid core and have the potential...

[lancem]

Pewter is a malleable metal alloy, traditionally 85–99% tin, with the remainder consisting of copper, antimony, bismuth and sometimes, less commonly today, lead. Silver is also sometimes used. Copper and antimony act as hardeners while lead is common in the lower grades of pewter, which have a bluish tint. It has a low melting point, around 170–230 °C (338–446 °F), depending on the exact mixture of metals. A typical European casting alloy contains 94% tin, 1% copper, and 5% antimony. A European pewter sheet would contain 92% tin, 2% copper, and 6% antimony. Asian pewter, produced mostly in Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, contains a higher percentage of tin, usually 97.5% tin, 1% copper, and 1.5% antimony.

How that can cause the lining to corrode beats me, personally I'd go ahead and do it and not worry about it.

[bangerjim]

The reason you could not find anything is because.................

..............that is insane! The components of pewter will NOT corrode/rust the Lee pot. Acid core solder as mentioned above WILL!!!!!

I melt lead, tin, pewter, bismuth, antimony alloys, etc all the time and none are detrimental to the Lee melting pots.

Too much information CAN be dangerous!

bangerjim

[Old Caster]

Pewter is mostly tin with a little lead and sometimes pure tin. Most everyone here has melted it in our pots so I wonder if they are referring to something else. I have also melted pure tin from other sources many times. I wouldn't worry about it. Many people wind up with aluminum that they think is pewter but it won't melt unless a lot hotter so I can't imagine this is what they are talking about.

[imashooter2]

I have melted and cast into ingots over 280 pounds of pewter in 2013 and I am here to tell you the information in the Lee directions is false.

[tking308]

thanks everyone. You all confArmed what I believed. It's a shame that Lee doesn't understand that. Below is a copy of the text from the email that they sent me. I emailed their support dept. to see if I got a different answer.


Pewter even in small doses, is corrosive and will dissolve the liner of the melting pot.

Thanks,

Andy

Lee Precision, Inc.
4275 Highway U
Hartford, WI 53027

[jmort]

As much as I love Lee Precision, I don't get that response.

[fryboy]

personally i prefer not to smelt anything in my casting pot as that's why i have a smelting pot , smelting in my casting pot is a good way to introduce various contaminants to it ( known or unknown ) i've found that "ol drippy" drips alot less this way

[OBIII]

If there is still any confusion, send it all to me so that you are not tempted to try it. I'll see to it that it is disposed of safely.

OB

[RogerDat]

personally i prefer not to smelt anything in my casting pot as that's why i have a smelting pot , smelting in my casting pot is a good way to introduce various contaminants to it ( known or unknown ) i've found that "ol drippy" drips alot less this way

$20 for a hot plate and $6 for a stainless steel 6 inch pot from salvation army would leave your Lee casting pot for nice clean ingots your casting into bullets.

[Bzcraig]

That is just bizarre

[imashooter2]

personally i prefer not to smelt anything in my casting pot as that's why i have a smelting pot , smelting in my casting pot is a good way to introduce various contaminants to it ( known or unknown ) i've found that "ol drippy" drips alot less this way


$20 for a hot plate and $6 for a stainless steel 6 inch pot from salvation army would leave your Lee casting pot for nice clean ingots your casting into bullets.

While good advice in general, turning pewter into ingots is not quite the same as melting scrap WW or plumbing drains. Pewter is pretty clean stuff to start with.

[myg30]

I've always mixed my pewter in my lee. Its still going and no rust or rott. Its much cleaner than my clean lead ingots really !

Mike

[lwknight]

An absolutely preposterous supposition.

[gray wolf]

Bull Turdies

[tomme boy]

Yah, ANDY told me that Bullplate lube would damage your molds too.

[osteodoc08]

Gosh, I guess I should run home to check all my pots that have been working for years with no issues......

Anyone care to send me their defective pewter. I'll be a nice guy and pay shipping

[tomme boy]

By the way. Andy watches this board. So whatever you post about how crazy his comments are, and how the QC is non-existent, he will read it.

[William Yanda]

There is an old account of a guy who's wife asked him to cut a ham in half so she could bake it. He told her that was not necessary. She replied;" That's how my mother always did it" He suggested they ask her mother why it was necessary.
The answer, because I didn't have a roaster big enough for a whole ham.
Perhaps this could be cleared up if LEE Precision informed us in detail of the source of this recommendation. They are the manufacturer, they make the recommendation. What would be helpful is to know why they believe this. Pewter melts at 450, lead alloys much higher. Tin is not especially reactive with iron to my knowledge.

How about it Andy?

[MTtimberline]

I bet Andy would also tell you that you must run all reloads through the lee factory crimp die too.

[lwknight]

Who in the cat hair is Andy?

[MTtimberline]

Thanks,

Andy

Lee Precision, Inc.
4275 Highway U
Hartford, WI 53027

^^^ That guy

[lwknight]

Oh, yea that guy. They are probably thinking about acid core solder. Probably don't even know what pewter is.

[mikeym1a]

I have used acid core solder in one of my lee pots, and it was rusty the next day. HOWEVER, after I used the wire wheel on a drill to clean it to shineyness, it was okay, and I am still using that pot. mikey

[lightman]

Good to know that it will clean up ok. Probably will still try to not get any ( acid core solder ) in my RCBS pot. I still don't see the problem with pewter. Lightman

[GT27]

Cow toots!

[wistlepig1]

Bull Turdies

What he said! Never had a problem.

[Boolseye]

Loves me some pewter in my pot!

[colt1960]

I guess Im glad I bought a lyman mag20. They dont say crazy things like Andy. HA HA!!!

[William Yanda]

I bet Andy would also tell you that you must run all reloads through the lee factory crimp die too.

Can't remember if it was in a catalog or where, but I have seen a statement that the Lee FCD is not required for die sets made after 19XX as the taper of the crimp section changed.

[SniderBoomer]

After 2 years of melting 'raw' Pewter and alloying lead with same, my Lee bottom-pour pot is fine.

I even run lots of 'raw Pewter-only' boolits, and pot and molds were not harmed.

Pure Pewter boolits are another story all of their own.

[leadman]

THe Lee die sets no longer have a seater die capable of crimping a case. Called "dead length seater" so if you need to remove the flare from a case you do need to use a FCD if using a recent manufacturer Lee die set.
I believe Andy is using 2 stroke oil now from the comments he has made during converstions with him. Not positive though.

Maybe Andy is a pewter collector and doesn't want pewter melted down?

[SniderBoomer]

Sorry I miss-read the thread title.

[Old Ranger]

I'm a pewter melting guy as well. My standard bullet alloy is WW plus 2-2.5% pewter added. Also I've melted at least 50lbs of pewter to cast into ingots over the last 2 years. This has been done in 3 different Lee pots. No bad affects what so ever.

[jsizemore]

An old timer told me that he read Guns and Ammo way back when that had an article that said wheelweights were bad to shoot in your firearms. I asked when he read that and it was from the 50's. I didn't say anything cuz that just meant more WW for me.

[Taylor]

Oh, yea that guy. They are probably thinking about acid core solder. Probably don't even know what pewter is.

That was my exact thought too.