Where do I get tin?

[Markbo]

All of my bullet casting so far has been pure clip on wheel weights. I have a couple hundred pounds of ingots from these. I will be casting bullets soon to load hotter than the 800-900fps .45 loads I have been shooting & casting .475 boolits that I have not cast before. FWIW the .32s I have cast from coww are shot up to max 1200fps and had no issues whatsoever.

Soooo...I think I need a slightly harder alloy for hotter .45s, .32s & possibly hot .475s. Filling the big molds out is a bigger consideration than hardness. So adding tin is the easiest way to go. Is that right? If so...where do I get pure tin and what form does it come in? If I am only going to be adding 2% or so it has to be in small pieces I am guessing.

So am I right and where do I get this stuff?

[lobowolf761]

You can try Midway USA. That's where I've always gotten mine.

[Gunslinger1911]

Hi Markbo.
To answer the question, the best for me is to get "super hard" from Rotometals, although they also sell pure tin.
Others will chime in also I'm sure. My experience is that pure clip on's can take some pretty healthy velocity, with the correct fit and right lube, maybe upwards of 1500 f/s.
I use Carnuba Red and can go upwards of 1100 f/s with range scrap that's softer than clip on's.

[jmort]

Most of mine has come from Ebay or members here. Retail is around $20 a pound but if you look you can get it for around
$10 a pound

[Markbo]

Hi Markbo.
To answer the question, the best for me is to get "super hard" from Rotometals, although they also sell pure tin.
Others will chime in also I'm sure. My experience is that pure clip on's can take some pretty healthy velocity, with the correct fit and right lube, maybe upwards of 1500 f/s.
I use Carnuba Red and can go upwards of 1100 f/s with range scrap that's softer than clip on's.

I thought of that but the benefit of smooth fillout on the big .475 mold is a primary consideration as well. The additional hardness of only 2% should be minimal.

[lobowolf761]

The last time I got pure tin from Midway it was in wafers (small pieces ). Made it easier to add just enough for fill out when I made up my last batch of #2 alloy.

[bangerjim]

COWW's are 0.5% Sn if you are lucky.

You do not need "pure" tin......just know the % Sn in what your are adding!

I get my Sn from local scrap yards. But I am very lucky according to what I read on here! I have over 475# of the stuff to date. Most is pure, some 75%, some 50%. All is good!

You can get Sn from different solders, pewter from junk stores (that is also luck!!!!), S&S section on here ( your best soruce!), rotometals, etc. I would never trust evilbay as to the content of anything.

If you are struggling with finding Sn, do not use more thatn 2%....more is not needed and just wasting it. Preheat your molds on an electric hotplate to full casting temp will get you good fill with lower Sn. And perfect drops from #1!!!

Good luck on your quest.

bangerjim

[lobowolf761]

Midway has it in stock now for $19.22 a pound in cut pieces. I believe this is what you are looking for.

[Beagle333]

Rotometals has it on sale too. $17.99/lb for small pieces. And they are a sponsor.

http://www.rotometals.com/product-p/tinhighgradepcs.htm

[Gunslinger1911]

I thought of that but the benefit of smooth fillout on the big .475 mold is a primary consideration as well. The additional hardness of only 2% should be minimal.

Correct. Tin for fill out - negligible hardening - 2% max. Antimony for hardness

[Vann]

Another easy way to get it it to go to Wally world an buy some lead free solder. It should be 95% tin.

[LAGS]

I have another member pick me up Pure Tin from SeaFab Metals in Casa Grande Az. down by where he lives.
Saves me the shipping, and it was about $16.00 a pound.
I get Antimony from California, a place called Conquest Industries in Santa Fe Springs Ca.
It was like $12.00 a pound, plus shipping, unless I pick some up when I am there visiting my family.
But for most of you, you cant beat Roto Metals when they have specials on it , and offer Free Shipping for certian size orders.
I buy Big, Get Free Shipping, then sell off what I wont use right away to my friends.

[boho]

I get the 60/40 solder drippings from my local radiator shop. It's a pain to clean up but its worth it.

[imashooter2]

Buying virgin tin for adding to scrap WW makes no sense to me at all. You can buy scrap pewter all day long on eBay for way less than virgin tin prices. You can also watch our Selling and Swapping section, solder and pewter come up pretty regularly already cleaned up and in small ingots.

[jsizemore]

Pewter will also work. You can find pewter pieces at the flea market, thrift store, or scrapyard. It gets sold in S&S on here for 1/2 the price of tin or solder.

[LAGS]

Pewter is good,
But when you are trying to blend a Specific Alloy, it is a shot in the dark.
Pewter is an alloy, and not always consistant, unless you are buying pieces that are High Grade, and I wouldn't want to smelt them down.
And you will probably be paying Tin prices tor that Pewter Pieces.
When I make up Linotype or Monotype from pure metals, I know just what I have , and then if I want to can Alloy it down to a softer alloy in the future.
You would be lost to try to alloy down a Pewter based hardened alloy to something softer without an accurate tester.

[Yodogsandman]

I've used 50/50 plumbers bar solder (50% tin/50% pure lead), it's certified and available at any plumbing supply house. Same for 63/37 bar solder. Also available on evilbay. Be sure to buy it in it's original bar form.

Pewter is another great source of tin, at least 92% Sn composition on hallmarked items. It also contains about 6% antimony and 2% copper, both good for boolit alloy making. Composition varies but, the amount of tin just goes up from there. Check the S&S section often, it sells out quickly at the prices asked by members here.

Wallymart fishing split sinkers are also a source, for smaller amounts.

Radiator repair shops will sometimes give away their 63/37 solder slag or sell it to you very cheaply.

Watch yard sales for partially used solder rolls, the composition is marked on the rolls end label.

Came, used for stained glass windows also comes on rolls or can be found used at the scrap yards. Composition is about 60/40, tin/lead.

Organ Pipes, the big church sized ones. Careful here, some have a high tin content, some are zinc.

Linotype, monotype or foundrytype.

[imashooter2]

Pewter is good,
But when you are trying to blend a Specific Alloy, it is a shot in the dark.
Pewter is an alloy, and not always consistant, unless you are buying pieces that are High Grade, and I wouldn't want to smelt them down.
And you will probably be paying Tin prices tor that Pewter Pieces.
When I make up Linotype or Monotype from pure metals, I know just what I have , and then if I want to can Alloy it down to a softer alloy in the future.
You would be lost to try to alloy down a Pewter based hardened alloy to something softer without an accurate tester.


If you wish to buy all virgin metals and alloy up something specific then all that gets hurt is your wallet.

But trying to make specific alloys starting with scrap components is a pipe dream. The OP wants to use his COWW. Scrap WW are not an exact alloy starting point. Way too many folks like to pretend that they are.

[dragon813gt]

If you wish to buy all virgin metals and alloy up something specific then all that gets hurt is your wallet.

But trying to make specific alloys starting with scrap components is a pipe dream. The OP wants to use his COWW. Scrap WW are not an exact alloy starting point. Way too many folks like to pretend that they are.

The only way to know would be to melt and blend your entire stash and then have it analyzed w/ an XRF gun. Anything else is just guesswork. When I was making my own alloys I used solder rolls. Had plenty of them left over from work. And was able to pick them up from yard sales cheap. If I was going to pay for pure tin I would just order from Rotometals.

[lobowolf761]

The OP just wants to find out where to get some tin to add to what he has to just get proper mould cavity fill. We all know it doesn't take much tin % to achieve this. The cut pieces will work fine for this. You can make up a pretty large batch of alloy with just 1lb of tin added in.

[lightman]

You don't have to have virgin metal or an exact alloy for what we do (cast boolits). Good clean new alloy is nice, but we just don't have to have it. Most of my tin is in the form of solder. If I did not have solder I would buy pewter out of the S&S section on this site. You also see solder for sale there occasionally. I have scrounged most of my solder for free or cheap, but pewter is scarce in my part of the country.

[John Boy]

where do I get pure tin and what form does it come in?
At the Goodwill store ... any metal item for sale cheap that is stamped 'Pewter'. Pewter is 85% tin (Sn)

[P Flados]

The OP does not sound like he needs super precise control over alloy content. He said he is working with clip on wheel weights (COWW), which is not real precise anyhow.

Pewter is a great choice for making COWW cast better. I have cast COWW and COWW + SOWW blends without tin added. Some of my molds would cast low reject rates, others were a PITA. Skipping tin addition was foolish on my part.

If you like scrounging for pewter, there is plenty of guidance on this site. I scrounge some stuff, but the pewter search just did not seem like my cup of tea.

I just went to the worlds best source for "good deals are possible, but be ever so wary" shopping. Got 7.4 lbs pewter for $50 delivered in 3 days from Ebay.

Added 2% pewter to a 2/3 COWW, 1/3 SOWW mix and it was ever so easy to get great fill out. I will probably try backing off to 1.5% assuming there is some tin in the COWW.

Just search for "tin ingot" and "pewter ingot" and you should be able to find some of good tin for blending at around $10/lb delivered. If you are willing to shop for a few days, you can probably do better.

[RogerDat]

Go to the cast boolits swapping and selling forum. Go to Wanted to Buy. Post that you want to buy some tin/solder/pewter. Should have several offers in no time. I know some folks don't mind eBay but I would rather deal with folks here. Easy enough to check them in the straight shooters and dead beats thread and the folks here will tend to know what they have and how it applies to casting. eBay somewhat luck-of-the-draw as to what the metal your getting is.

I just sold some pewter and foundry marked 50/50 solder so I could buy some things, several other members with tin ingredients to sell. I'm tapped out for now or I would send you a PM with an offer.

[Markbo]

Roger that! ;)