sources of tin

[original]

I have been reading posts that people say they add tin to the melt. Some said it helps fill out the molds. Does it help with the way a cast bullet will expand? What is a source of tin and is there a specific type to look for or avoid? Thanks for the replies so far, I had a member here suggest that I use the search function so I will do that instead of taking up peoples time. thanks

[kerreckt]

I get my tin and other alloy stuff from: http://www.rotometals.com/

[jakec]

solder is easiest to find for me. some people dont like rosin core but it dont bother me. dont think it helps expansion much. you dont add much.

[imashooter2]

Yard sale pewter is generally the lowest cost readily available source.

Tin makes the alloy more malleable, which is a good property in expanding boolits.

[jakec]

Tin makes the alloy more malleable, which is a good property in expanding boolits.
i didnt think it was enough to affect expansion just surface tension in the melt to help fillout.

[alamogunr]

I think the extent to which it makes the alloy more malleable would be more accurately described as less brittle. Depends on what you start with. I'm going mostly by what I've read. My shooting doesn't include analyzing expansion, etc. so take it for what it's worth(not much).

[dilly]

Tin is a hardening alloy, but it hardens to a much lesser degree than antimony. It will bring up the hardness of the boolits a bit, but very little when only added in the advised amounts.

[Yodogsandman]

I use 50/50 bar solder (lead/tin) available at any of your local plumbing supply dealers.

[hickfu]

Tin is good for expanding boolits because it helps keep the boolit together and not fragmenting. Like IMAShooter said, yard sale or thrift store pewter is a good source of tin.

[RogerDat]

Have seen roll and bar solder at yard sales and scrap yards. They will most often be a mix of lead and tin. Worth looking at the labels on rolls because some are mostly tin, others are only 20-30% tin. Still worth picking up if it's cheap. 1/2 pound roll of 30% will go nicely into 20 to 40 lbs. of COWW's.

[bangerjim]

Solder (know the % mix), pewter, pure......all are good sources of Sn. Solder from big box stores is a VERY expensive source of it!!!!!

Most on here are desperate for it. I just hauled 280# of it (yes TIN!) home the other day. But it is getting expensive many places.

You need it for good fill-out of your molds.....1-2% is all. Lowers the surface tension of molten Pb. Use Sb for hardness...Sn adds virtually none in the tiny amounts we use!

banger

[quilbilly]

If you want pure tin that is easy to meter into your lead, check the fishing tackle counter at your local Walmart. Most of the stores sell "lead-free" fishing weights that include pure tin splitshot. I find that mixing two size 7 splitshot into about 1-1/2 pounds of lead to be about right. Tin is a tad expensive this way but it certainly is convenient if you are not doing too many boolits in a sitting.

[GoodAlloy]

Hey I have a question.... Is real "tin foil" still used for anything?? Years past it was used for alot of different things.

[bangerjim]

TinFoil is a misnomer for the dark ages! The only place I have ever found real Sn was in foil form was on VERY (!!) expensive imported champagne. And I have not seen that recently.

Tin foil, tin roofing, tintype, tin plate.......all are NOT made of Sn.

banger

[cbrick]

Tin foil, tin roofing, tintype, tin plate.......all are NOT made of Sn. banger

Aw geez, don't tell me tin cans too . . . :veryconfu

Rick

[bangerjim]

Sorry, Rick! No ceeeegar. :violin: They used to be a looooooooong time ago.

I have some "tin" toys in my collection. From the bye gone days. Most are thin sheets of metal formed and then painted. I have never really checked, but I think they are "tin plated" steel plate. Pure Sn sheets would probably be too brittle to form.

Just like the "tin cans" of old were plated steel! When they 1st invented canned food, that was a god-send. No rust!!!!!!!

The metal scrap drives of WWII ridded the country of much of the old metal ware tin plate stuff. Those that still exist are now in the antique stores and museums of today.

banger

[Joe88XJ]

I found pure tin from old beer coolers at my local scrap yard...they called it "block tin"...5.00 per pound

[bangerjim]

They used to use Sn tubing in some food/beverage service devices (not sure why/where/when) but I found a "new" old 30# coil of it at a scrap yard for $1/# some time back. They thought it was lead covered cable!

Good luck scrounging!

banger

[Ken in Iowa]

Sorry, Rick! No ceeeegar. :violin: They used to be a looooooooong time ago.

I have some "tin" toys in my collection. From the bye gone days. Most are thin sheets of metal formed and then painted. I have never really checked, but I think they are "tin plated" steel plate. Pure Sn sheets would probably be too brittle to form.

Just like the "tin cans" of old were plated steel! When they 1st invented canned food, that was a god-send. No rust!!!!!!!

The metal scrap drives of WWII ridded the country of much of the old metal ware tin plate stuff. Those that still exist are now in the antique stores and museums of today.

banger

YEARS ago, I was a furnace installer. Most furnace ductwork was galvanized steel of course, but we would occasionally encounter aluminum and another odd material that we called 'tin.' It was soft, thin and usually painted. These installations were old, 1940s or earlier.

I now wonder what it actually was? We did not save it for scrap.

[Ken in Iowa]

When we refer to solder, the terms 50/50, 40/60 etc. are used.

Is that tin/lead content or lead/tin?


Also, I found some rolls of OLD solder laying around. One is marked rosin core another acid core.

I am certain the rosin core is fine to use, but what about acid core?


From what I recall from my younger days, solid core solder was typically used for plumbing and general soldering, rosin for electrical, and acid for sheet metal.

[bangerjim]

Back in the day when Sn was cheaper than the "new" technology of electro-galvanizing steel, sheet tin was used in stuff. There is also Sn coated steel! Always have your magnet at the ready. I remember seeing it as a kid in the scrap yards I scrounged relays, tubes, resistors, and capacitors from! Had no interest in it then.

Last year I ran across a "new" old roll of pure 1/4" ID tubing in the Pb bin at a local yard. About 30# of it......for the price of Pb. They though it was Pb covered wire. I have heard it was used in the early days of refrigeration for potable liquids? Nice stuff.

banger

[GLL]

When we refer to solder, the terms 50/50, 40/60 etc. are used.

Is that tin/lead content or lead/tin?

The bar solder we have from KESTER such as 63/37 or 60/40 always refers to 63%Sn/37%PB and 60%Sn/40%Pb.

Jerry

[alamogunr]

When we refer to solder, the terms 50/50, 40/60 etc. are used.

Is that tin/lead content or lead/tin?


Also, I found some rolls of OLD solder laying around. One is marked rosin core another acid core.

I am certain the rosin core is fine to use, but what about acid core?


From what I recall from my younger days, solid core solder was typically used for plumbing and general soldering, rosin for electrical, and acid for sheet metal.




The bar solder we have from KESTER such as 63/37 or 60/40 always refers to 63%Sn/37%PB and 60%Sn/40%Pb.

Jerry

Correct! The first number is always tin percentage.

The solder alloys that Ken in Iowa mentioned are the solder alloys that I have. More 40/60. From what others have posted, this is somewhat uncommon, where the alloys that Jerry posted are more common.

Acid core solder works just like any other. I would not melt it down by itself to cast into ingots. That much acid(or rosin) makes a mess(IMHO, ask me how I know). Better to just snip off what you need for the pot and then use sawdust if there is too much left on top. There shouldn't be a need for the sawdust.

[imashooter2]

I would rather slam my di... hand in a drawer than put acid or rosin core solder straight into my casting pot.

[C. Latch]

When I started casting I found 95/5 solder (which is 95% tin and 5% antimony...practically pure tin) on sale for $10/lb at a local hardware-type store. I only bought two rolls. Should have bought all they had - but it did quite nicely until I found a source of pewter here in the S&S forum.


I am still amazed at how people in some parts of our nation can find truckloads of pewter at less than scrap prices; here (meaning a large swath of a three-state area) I can go through thousands of square feet of junk stores and never find a single pewter piece, or if I find one they want $20 for a half-pound of material.

[alamogunr]

I would rather slam my di... hand in a drawer than put acid or rosin core solder straight into my casting pot.

I hope you have more choices that that.

[bangerjim]

When I started casting I found 95/5 solder (which is 95% tin and 5% antimony...practically pure tin) on sale for $10/lb at a local hardware-type store. I only bought two rolls. Should have bought all they had - but it did quite nicely until I found a source of pewter here in the S&S forum.


I am still amazed at how people in some parts of our nation can find truckloads of pewter at less than scrap prices; here (meaning a large swath of a three-state area) I can go through thousands of square feet of junk stores and never find a single pewter piece, or if I find one they want $20 for a half-pound of material.

I am the same way. Pewter is non existent in most junk stores around me. Only "collectable" garbage they want too much $$ for. And my time much too valuable to be roaming 2nd hand stores every day looking for a lousy pound or two of pewter.

I get my Sn at scrap yards. Just hauled home over 280# of it..............at Pb salvage prices!

banger

[Ken in Iowa]

I would rather slam my di... hand in a drawer than put acid or rosin core solder straight into my casting pot.

From what I have read about the rosin core solder, this is pine rosin. Isn't that used as a casting flux? I'm thinking of just using a computed amount to increase tin content as alamogunr suggested. The amount of rosin would be negligible.

It appears that the acid core solder uses Aniline hydrochloride. I think we should forget about that one. :)

[John Boy]

Tin - $15 per pound v RotoMetal at 20 bucks a pound
John Walters
500 N. Avery Dr.
Moore, OK 73160
Phone: 405-799-0376
Email: thetinwadman@cox.net

[imashooter2]

From what I have read about the rosin core solder, this is pine rosin. Isn't that used as a casting flux? I'm thinking of just using a computed amount to increase tin content as alamogunr suggested. The amount of rosin would be negligible.

It appears that the acid core solder uses Aniline hydrochloride. I think we should forget about that one. :)

Your choice of course, but I don't put dirt in my casting pot. Clean metal goes in, clean metal comes out. The rare fluxing that might be required is done by stirring with a paint stick.

[slohunter]

Watch garage sales, I just picked a 25lb roll of 95/5 for 20 bucks.