Today's Pewter

[308Jeff]

Found a thrift store that I'd never been to before. A few nice items.

Melted and fluxed it yielded 3.85 lbs at a cost of $5.75/lb. I got to melt something, and it was a decent deal. I'm happy.186655

[lightman]

Nice score! Pewter is hard to find where I live. I depend on solder when I need tin. Envious of you guys that can find pewter!

[TexasGrunt]

Bah. I hate ya.

Finding pewter around here is pretty tough. I've only found two thrift stores that even display items that might contain pewter. Headed to one today. The Goodwill stores around here are worthless.

[308Jeff]

You need to go the thrift stores near any retirement areas. Those seem to be the ones that have it most often.

[TexasGrunt]

Most of the thrift stores around here don't even have stuff like that for sale. I've been to about a dozen and only found pewter at two. Goodwill here doesn't even have used cookware out for sale. I've about given up on Dallas area thrift stores and finding pewter.

My wife suggested First Monday but I think anything I find there is going to be way too expensive.

[OS OK]

There prolly should be a conversation about blending with pewter to sweeten up the Sn content to help with fill-out.
I think it increases hardness quicker than pure Sn.
I tried to sweeten some roofers Pb just a tiny bit with what I thought would be a .5% Sn content when I added pewter.
I weighted it carefully by doing the math but was not aware at the time of the Cu in the blend.
Anyway . . . long story short, my blend that targeted an 8.0 BHN ended up at 10.4 BHN and increased another full point over the next 2 weeks.

This made my low-velocity HP metal I was blending too hard. It was perfect for say a magnum platform and made pretty boolits but I was amazed at how quickly it increased the blend.

It made me gun-shy on the next pot blend and I used RotoMetals pure Sn at the same percentage by weight/volume...that worked out fine.

It would be interesting to follow someone in a thread who could lead a discussion on the use of pewter and present their personal experience and empirical evidence at the same time.

Just mentioning something...not hijacking your thread...nice find and nice work there Jeff.

[lightman]

You may be onto something. I never find pewter so I can't comment from any experience. Pewter contains a few % of harder elements that pure tin or solder don't have. Going by memory here, but I think pewter may contain copper, antimony, bismuth, silver or maybe a few others. All should be good in a bullet alloy in small quantities.

[308Jeff]

This is good to know.

I have a lot of roofing lead, but I haven't attempted to alloy anything yet. I've just been collecting, melting, and ingoting (is that a word?) while I learn on here.

I'm glad to hear that a little pewter may go a long way. As expensive as it is, the math (if I'm doing it right) of combining it with pure lead quickly adds to the cost of the lead I get for free.

-Jeff

[William Yanda]

"I weighted it carefully by doing the math but was not aware at the time of the Cu in the blend.
Anyway . . . long story short, my blend that targeted an 8.0 BHN ended up at 10.4 BHN and increased another full point over the next 2 weeks." OS OK

Thanks for the report. I believe Cu is only a fraction of the SB in pewter, although there are a multitude of recipies for pewter. Leads me to believe pewter might be an even more economical choice for alloying with lead since less might get one to the goal with regards to hardness.

[308Jeff]

Found a place today with a lot of pewter. If this plate turns out to be pewter, and I'm 87% sure it is, I did really well. And particularly well on that plate.

Should I feel guilty about melting any of this?

[brassrat]

I wouldnt melt maybe all of that

[Tenbender]

I have found, if you stick with wheel weights and leno there's no need to waste money on tin ? Just my observation ?

[imashooter2]

Found a place today with a lot of pewter. If this plate turns out to be pewter, and I'm 87% sure it is, I did really well. And particularly well on that plate.

Should I feel guilty about melting any of this?

I've melted way "better" stuff than that. Look at eBay completed auctions and see how much of that sort of stuff actually sells, and if it does, what it sells for after fees.

[308Jeff]

I have found, if you stick with wheel weights and leno there's no need to waste money on tin ? Just my observation ?

I would agree, except a get quite a bit of pure lead for free. The economics make sense for me.


I've melted way "better" stuff than that. Look at eBay completed auctions and see how much of that sort of stuff actually sells, and if it does, what it sells for after fees.

That's exactly what I did this morning before I tossed it all in the pot. :-)

[308Jeff]

The plate DID turn out to be Pewter. 2.3 pounds for $5.25

One of my best scores.

[TexasGrunt]

:x

You're killing me!

I did manage to score a candle holder that I wasn't too sure of. It was $1.99 and thick as can be, but if I pressed on the edge of the base it had give. Turns out to be some kids shop project and is pewter. Weighs 6 ounces.

I guess I'm going to have to put the clamp on my pecker and take my wife up to the north area of Dallas and hit some thrift shops.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

that sounds horrible, I am so sorry

[308Jeff]

:x

You're killing me!

I did manage to score a candle holder that I wasn't too sure of. It was $1.99 and thick as can be, but if I pressed on the edge of the base it had give. Turns out to be some kids shop project and is pewter. Weighs 6 ounces.

I guess I'm going to have to put the clamp on my pecker and take my wife up to the north area of Dallas and hit some thrift shops.


Happy hunting, buddy.

Hope you feel better soon.

[TexasGrunt]

Yeah, I gotta call the doctor this week and see if I can get it. IMHO I shouldn't be leaking as much as I am right now.

I'm just hoping it's something simple and that I don't need a new cuff. I really don't want another surgery right now.

[308Jeff]

Yeah, I gotta call the doctor this week and see if I can get it. IMHO I shouldn't be leaking as much as I am right now.

I'm just hoping it's something simple and that I don't need a new cuff. I really don't want another surgery right now.

Hope it'll be a simple fix!

[308Jeff]

Found a new thrift store today. They had a couple of pieces, and everything was 50% off! 2.25lbs for $6.00187321

[308Jeff]

Here's every I left behind at another place.

Apparently they think it's gold, and not pewter.

[308Jeff]

Well....

Today's score turned out to be anything but.

Lessons I just learned:

1) I'm sure some of the veteran Pewter guys on here already know those handled candle holders aren't pewter. In spite of looking and feeling like pewter (other than I couldn't bend any part of them), and every website I went to listing them as pewter, they're probably aluminum. I didn't pay much for them, so lesson learned. No harm, and no big money lost.

2) While I fully expected the clearly labeled "weighted" pewter candleholder to have some sort of non-pewter insert, I did NOT expect it to be something that would nearly instantly ignite into a sooty black smoke and charred mess producing moment of slight panic. As soon as it started popping, I knew it wasn't going to be good... Luckily I was outdoors, the flames were well contained, and I had a box fan nearby to blow the smoke and soot away. I'll bet there's a sticky on here warning against this, but I definitely overlooked it.

I think I have a few ounces of actual pewter SOMEWHERE in that pot of mess, I just need to dig it out. Ha ha.

[imashooter2]

LOL! 2nd post in the pictures and hallmarks sticky shows the resin inside the weighted candlesticks. I've seen plaster and steel as well. As for the other pieces, everyone gets burned occasionally. FWIW, the 2 chalices in your passed up pics don't look like pewter either.

[308Jeff]

LOL! 2nd post in the pictures and hallmarks sticky shows the resin inside the weighted candlesticks. I've seen plaster and steel as well. As for the other pieces, everyone gets burned occasionally. FWIW, the 2 chalices in your passed up pics don't look like pewter either.

LMBO. I saw that pic, just didn't know it was something exciting! :lol:

I've had those chalices in my hands 3 times now. You could very well be right, though. I'll snap a pic of the hallmarks/writing next time I get by that place.

[brassrat]

Those chalices have a seam? seams are bad,

[308Jeff]

Those chalices have a seam? seams are bad,

Thanks for the reminder. I stopped by the store that has those and they are aluminum. You and Imashooter2 are correct. Thankfully I didn't buy them, they have a no-return policy.

I did pick up a mug and a pitcher there though. 2.5125 lbs for $8.00

The plates are now 50% off, but still too expensive to be economical.

[308Jeff]

So the two candlestick holders in the back of this pic are marked "Fuller Craft, 40A". Every google/bing search I've done claims they're pewter.

I had previously given somewhat of an attempt to melt them, but gave up. Today I put them in a cast iron skillet on top of the turkey fryer burner and had at it. Was about to give up, in fact I turned off the burner, when they started to melt. I turned the burner back on and they completely melted. Other than the fact that they have a pretty significant mass, I'm not sure why it took so much heat to get them going. Or, they're not pewter at all. But if they're not, I'm wondering what I have on my hands. I'm fairly sure the turkey fryer burner can't get hot enough to melt aluminum? The good news is I access to XRF, and I'll get them tested along with a few other "unknowns" I've melted and ingoted.

Thoughts?

187870

[dbosman]

All the pieces appear to be pewter. The tall candle holder probably has some sort of weight to bulk out the bottom. Don't melt that until you pry off the bottom and get that out. Some are strange plastics. Some are sand.

[308Jeff]

All the pieces appear to be pewter. The tall candle holder probably has some sort of weight to bulk out the bottom. Don't melt that until you pry off the bottom and get that out. Some are strange plastics. Some are sand.

The short one in the middle had a resin insert. I found that out the hard way... :oops:

Now that the ingots have cooled, they're way to heavy to be aluminum. I compared a comparable sized ingot of lead to what I had just poured; 24.51oz for the lead and 15.13 oz for the (pewter?).

Edited to add:

Using some online tools and calculators, comparing the similar volume of lead to the (pewter), I came up with a density of about 7000 kg/cu.m for the pewter, which puts is squarely in the realm of tin. Good news, but I'm going to get it XRF'd anyway.

[jsizemore]

Pewter is about 60% of Pb.

[dbosman]

Wikipedia is handy.
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.

[jsizemore]

Guess I should have been more specific. Pewter is about 60% the weight of Pb.

[dbosman]

Been there, done similar.
Recently I pasted in J word data for a lead bullet. Fortunately someone immediately caught it.

[RogerDat]

For awhile I beat the edge of the weighted base on concrete to break the petrified dung out of the base, then tried to dig all the remaining stuff out of the shaft. Then I got lazy, or smarter and started just snapping the holder part off and tossing the rest. That glue gunk is an unholy mess to clean out of the pot. I spent too much time trying to get all of out and failing so some almost always got into the pot with weighted stuff and made a mess. Maybe pound and get the base empty, break that off, then break the unfilled top off, then toss the filled shaft.

I dry tumble lubed bullets on a "pewter" tray I bought that wouldn't melt and wasn't pewter. As you say live and learn.

Pewter is really a sweetener not a general purpose hardener. Takes too much of that expensive tin alloy to create lead with the hardness of wheel weights you can buy already as ingots for $1 a pound in swapping and selling. Or in some cases 70 cents a pound for wheel weights at scrap yard. I think a pound of pewter will dress up a whole bunch of 50/50 wheel weight and plain. Linotype sold in swapping and selling is cheaper and because of it's high antimony will go a lot further to harden a batch of plain lead. A couple percent of antimony will do what 10% tin will.

Pewter shines at making a tougher bullet, copper even < 1% gives the lead less of a tendency to break up so works well to keep a hunting bullet together and in the right amount helps a hollow point mushroom without breaking into pieces. Too much and it won't mushroom.

Unless one melts all the pewter into a large batch it can and will vary in composition from batch to batch. I use the alloy calculator but recognize that my pewter might not be an exact match for default pewter. I have had everything from 88% to 94% tin from a batch of scrap pewter. Never adding more than a small amount to a big pot so that minor difference was not usually significant. I did have to re-melt and adjust to cut an over hard alloy as was mentioned above. Guess that batch of pewter was higher in antimony.

[TexasGrunt]

I managed to score 7 lbs of Pewter for just a hair over $20 delivered to my door. At least they claim it's all pewter. We'll see in a few days.

[308Jeff]

For awhile I beat the edge of the weighted base on concrete to break the petrified dung out of the base, then tried to dig all the remaining stuff out of the shaft. Then I got lazy, or smarter and started just snapping the holder part off and tossing the rest. That glue gunk is an unholy mess to clean out of the pot. I spent too much time trying to get all of out and failing so some almost always got into the pot with weighted stuff and made a mess. Maybe pound and get the base empty, break that off, then break the unfilled top off, then toss the filled shaft.

I dry tumble lubed bullets on a "pewter" tray I bought that wouldn't melt and wasn't pewter. As you say live and learn.

Pewter is really a sweetener not a general purpose hardener. Takes too much of that expensive tin alloy to create lead with the hardness of wheel weights you can buy already as ingots for $1 a pound in swapping and selling. Or in some cases 70 cents a pound for wheel weights at scrap yard. I think a pound of pewter will dress up a whole bunch of 50/50 wheel weight and plain. Linotype sold in swapping and selling is cheaper and because of it's high antimony will go a lot further to harden a batch of plain lead. A couple percent of antimony will do what 10% tin will.

Pewter shines at making a tougher bullet, copper even < 1% gives the lead less of a tendency to break up so works well to keep a hunting bullet together and in the right amount helps a hollow point mushroom without breaking into pieces. Too much and it won't mushroom.

Unless one melts all the pewter into a large batch it can and will vary in composition from batch to batch. I use the alloy calculator but recognize that my pewter might not be an exact match for default pewter. I have had everything from 88% to 94% tin from a batch of scrap pewter. Never adding more than a small amount to a big pot so that minor difference was not usually significant. I did have to re-melt and adjust to cut an over hard alloy as was mentioned above. Guess that batch of pewter was higher in antimony.

Thanks for the info!


I managed to score 7 lbs of Pewter for just a hair over $20 delivered to my door. At least they claim it's all pewter. We'll see in a few days.

Great score!

[RogerDat]

Ironic is paying $2.50 for a heavy 4# plate labeled "zinn" and $5 for a 1# container labeled "pewter". Since I read here that zinn is Dutch/German for tin or pewter I knew they were both the same material, the person selling the stuff didn't. Had the same thing at a thrift store that generally wants more for pewter than the tin is worth, but every once in awhile a "zinn" item comes in and they are none the wiser, sell it for the same price as aluminum or steel items.

Once I just had to ask if they realized that the item was weighted which meant filled with glue and the total thickness of the pewter was about like heavy duty aluminum foil. And it was made by the "Kmart" of pewter companies who is still in business. Oh and it's dented in a couple of places. They offered to reduce the price on that candlestick for the dents from $8 to $7.50 . I suggested they search eBay in the sold section not the Buy It Now section. Since they were over priced even compared to the local antique mall and should be concerned that if people did buy it they would probably feel cheated when they found out the value.

I'm not their favorite customer. :-)

[RogerDat]

You can scratch a line in pewter with a thumbnail (on the back) none of the aluminum based look a likes are that soft. Also watch for EPBM stamped on back which is pewter with electro plating, the plating just becomes dross you skim off. Google Electro Plated Britannia Metal for more info. I left a pile of that in a scrap lead bin at $1 a pound, was gone when I went back early next morning. Was bummed but now smarter. Or at least have another fact of potential use.

[308Jeff]

Ironic is paying $2.50 for a heavy 4# plate labeled "zinn" and $5 for a 1# container labeled "pewter". Since I read here that zinn is Dutch/German for tin or pewter I knew they were both the same material, the person selling the stuff didn't. Had the same thing at a thrift store that generally wants more for pewter than the tin is worth, but every once in awhile a "zinn" item comes in and they are none the wiser, sell it for the same price as aluminum or steel items.

Once I just had to ask if they realized that the item was weighted which meant filled with glue and the total thickness of the pewter was about like heavy duty aluminum foil. And it was made by the "Kmart" of pewter companies who is still in business. Oh and it's dented in a couple of places. They offered to reduce the price on that candlestick for the dents from $8 to $7.50 . I suggested they search eBay in the sold section not the Buy It Now section. Since they were over priced even compared to the local antique mall and should be concerned that if people did buy it they would probably feel cheated when they found out the value.

I'm not their favorite customer. :-)

Hahaha!

I get what you're saying. One of the places I frequent calls me the "Pewter Guy" when I come in.

Today they asked me how many pieces I have. Instead of telling them it's "HAD, not have", I just said "quite a few". LOL.

Scored the biggest pitcher I've ever found, and a nice small pitcher today. Didn't have my scale with me, but I'm hoping they're a little over 3lbs combined. I'll find out when I get home tonight.

[RogerDat]

Hahaha!

I get what you're saying. One of the places I frequent calls me the "Pewter Guy" when I come in.

Today they asked me how many pieces I have. Instead of telling them it's "HAD, not have", I just said "quite a few". LOL.

Scored the biggest pitcher I've ever found, and a nice small pitcher today. Didn't have my scale with me, but I'm hoping they're a little over 3lbs combined. I'll find out when I get home tonight.

There is a guy who reported not being welcome at a store because they noticed him taking the stuff out and crunching it to save space. Discretion is better part of valor in cases of what happens to those "lovely items" you are buying.

However if married it can be smart to kick it from the car to the garage to make sure it's too dented for her to want. Or at least drop the box of it a few times. Not actually something I would ever do [smilie=1:

I let wife have her pick of anything before I melt it, she puts an occasional piece out someplace as a decoration, gets tired of it, I find it stacked in front of my "tin" shelf in a couple of months. She knows I care, I get the tin in the end... classic win/win

[308Jeff]

You can scratch a line in pewter with a thumbnail (on the back) none of the aluminum based look a likes are that soft. Also watch for EPBM stamped on back which is pewter with electro plating, the plating just becomes dross you skim off. Google Electro Plated Britannia Metal for more info. I left a pile of that in a scrap lead bin at $1 a pound, was gone when I went back early next morning. Was bummed but now smarter. Or at least have another fact of potential use.

Sorry I didn't see this earlier. Great info! Thanks!



There is a guy who reported not being welcome at a store because they noticed him taking the stuff out and crunching it to save space. Discretion is better part of valor in cases of what happens to those "lovely items" you are buying.

However if married it can be smart to kick it from the car to the garage to make sure it's too dented for her to want. Or at least drop the box of it a few times. Not actually something I would ever do [smilie=1:

I let wife have her pick of anything before I melt it, she puts an occasional piece out someplace as a decoration, gets tired of it, I find it stacked in front of my "tin" shelf in a couple of months. She knows I care, I get the tin in the end... classic win/win

I laughed out loud. Good stuff! :lol:

[lightman]

While I envy you guys that can find pewter, I do have mixed feelings about melting it down. It seems like a shame to destroy the craftsmanship that went into it, but on the other hand, most of that craftsmanship has little value. Like I said, mixed feelings! Since I never find any, I guess it don't matter!

[RogerDat]

While I envy you guys that can find pewter, I do have mixed feelings about melting it down. It seems like a shame to destroy the craftsmanship that went into it, but on the other hand, most of that craftsmanship has little value. Like I said, mixed feelings! Since I never find any, I guess it don't matter! Don't worry about it you can have an opinion. After all old married guys have an opinion on sex right?

[308Jeff]

While I envy you guys that can find pewter, I do have mixed feelings about melting it down. It seems like a shame to destroy the craftsmanship that went into it, but on the other hand, most of that craftsmanship has little value. Like I said, mixed feelings! Since I never find any, I guess it don't matter!

I wasn't finding much either until I started hitting thrift stores other than Goodwill. Although I did get lucky and found a 2lb plate at Goodwill a couple of nights ago. It was brown tagged 80% off so I got it for 3 bucks. One of my best scores.

[TexasGrunt]

I managed to score 7 lbs of Pewter for just a hair over $20 delivered to my door. At least they claim it's all pewter. We'll see in a few days.

Well the package arrived today. I managed to get around 4-5 lbs of pewter. There were three large pieces and one of them probably isn't pewter. It's from Ikea. We shall see tomorrow.

[CastingFool]

A couple of days ago, wife and I went to the local goodwill store. She was looking for an used book. I helped her look for a while and then went looking for pewter. Found two weighted candle stands for $3.99 each, passed them up. then, I turned to the other shelf and spotted two glass bottomed mugs, both marked pewter, for .99 each. they came home, and yielded 15.5 oz of pewter.

[308Jeff]

Well the package arrived today. I managed to get around 4-5 lbs of pewter. There were three large pieces and one of them probably isn't pewter. It's from Ikea. We shall see tomorrow.

You still did well! Nice. :-)


A couple of days ago, wife and I went to the local goodwill store. She was looking for an used book. I helped her look for a while and then went looking for pewter. Found two weighted candle stands for $3.99 each, passed them up. then, I turned to the other shelf and spotted two glass bottomed mugs, both marked pewter, for .99 each. they came home, and yielded 15.5 oz of pewter.

Nice score. I had one of those mugs in my hand today for $2.99, but I passed. Hoping it'll still be there next week at 50% off.

[RogerDat]

I have one of those mugs on my bench (not sure what is in it) and one on my tin shelf that I use to store loose pewter ingots (small bars run about 5 ingots to the pound) for adding to batches so I don't have to dig for them. I figure I don't need the tin bad enough to melt either one but if I did.... puddle time.

I have a feeling one thrift store I hit has new help, they used to price the stuff reasonable, now I don't see it AND the one pitcher I did see they wanted more for it than the antique store ($17) I would have gone $4 as tin and been thinking crack smoking was responsible for any price above $12 in the antique market. On the other hand I once bought 14# box for $10 so... you have to fish in order to catch fish.

[jsizemore]

I've made connections for pewter at my local flea market. I've got a half dozen vendors that buy from auctions. They save everything for me that they can't sell for more than my price that's better than the scrapyard price. I collected 20 lbs yesterday. It's taken me years to find these folks and teach them the difference between pewter and ???? I in turn have learned the various types of collectible cast iron, flatware, and chotski in general.