Pewter consolidation

[Mjdd23]

227093
Finally got around to melting down some of the thrift shop plates,urns, ash trays, goblets ect. Started out casting 255 grain boolits in a 2 cavity lee mold but was taking too long so i made nice heart shaped ingots instead. Much more manageable now. 10 pounds are out of the way. I thought it would be more than that when I started.

[William Yanda]

Nice stash. 10#=2% of?

[rancher1913]

lots of people on here use pewter cast as boolits for mixing but Im always scared that I will mix them up with actual cast boolits, so I use my potter molds.

[Mjdd23]

I started out casting them with the spru plate in its normal position then partly because I didn't want to mistake them for actual boolits and to also make them a little heavier I just cast them with the spru plate open and that worked out better. Two boolits with a rounded base without the spru plate weighs 1 oz. or close enough for me anyway.

[Mjdd23]

I would think that 10# of the pewter would help to sweeten 500# of lead. That's probably close to what I have on hand. The .45 boolits eat a lot of lead though. Got to keep scrapping!

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Some years back, I bought a large quantity of 99.9% tin. I, then, cast some tin boolits, I used a Lee 50 cal real mold...Honestly I don't know why I bought that mold? I had no use for it. But, I'll never mistake a Lee 50 cal Real tin boolit for anything else, LOL. I also kept the sprue puddles, as they are nice size to combine and get different weights.

But since that one big melting session years ago, when ever I come across some tin or pewter or solder, I melt and cast them in the Lee 1/2 ingots, and then only pour them 1/3 full. The ingots come out just a little larger then the diameter of a pencil.

[Mjdd23]

I am going to keep my eyes open for tiny molds. Maybe try some mini muffin tins. The hearts are cute but don't stack.

[lightman]

The aluminum Lee ingot mold works well for solder. I used the middle 2 positions that are half size.

[William Yanda]

I find the Potter 6 cavity ingot molds work well. I found them here, posted a WTB and a guy offered them for a specific Lee mold.
I ordered the mold from a vender/sponsor, had it sent to him and I got two Potter molds. The ingots are about 3 inches long and have a "P" cast in the bottom. Depending on fill level, 4 will make a pound.

[GhostHawk]

My wife brought me home 6.5 lbs of pewter, paid 11$ for it at the thrift store.

Most of mine were cast into "coins" in a muffin tin. Just kept them thin.

When I want a little tin I just dip a coin in until it is half melted, or drop the whole thing.

Simple, easy. I have cast 60/40 into large bullets. 300 grain, but as noted I always worried I would forget and load them. Which would probably never happen as ever other cast bullet in storage is lubed and in a container which is marked for caliber and weight.

[Mjdd23]

Since I started casting my own about a year and a half ago, I've yet to buy an ingot mold that was made specifically for lead. I have probably spent close to $100 on multiple muffin tins in all shapes and sizes. I could have purchased a few " Real " ingot mold for that price! I have a problem. Between buying scrap yard lead and thrift store/yard sale pewter plus the muffin tins my kids and girlfriend can see it too. I can think of worse addictions.

[kevin c]

Mini cupcake coins are what I'm planning for part of my stash. The first ones I poured are 0.8 up to around three ounces, good if I do in the casting pot batches of alloy of up to 20#. I can pour them thicker for bulk storage and to use when I mix big batches (up to 250# with my current propane tank pot).

[rodauto]

I have a bunch of pewter picture frames that I'm going to melt down. Problem is they have a lot of plastic or something on them for colour/ decoration. Wondering how much of a mess it will make of my cast iron melting pot?

[Mjdd23]

All of the pewter that I have melted has been except for a little of the clay mix the candle sticks have to weigh the bottoms down. That I just scooped out no problem. I would imagine that the plastic will smoke and stink pretty good but eventually will burn off. You should try to get as much off as you can before melting it down. Maybe if you sprinkle a little saw dust on it it will absorb and combine with the plastic and it will be easier to scoop out. Let us know how you make out.
Mark

[mold maker]

I've heard it called everything from lama spit to camel dung, but "plastic" sure sounds better. Remove any traces possible before adding to any pot. The smell will run you and the neighbors away from the job at hand, not to mention the mess left in the pot.
I wish I had a problem smelting pewter. Around here, sellers think pewter is between gold and platinum in value. If you find any, its priced like precious artifacts even if seriously bent and distorted.
Take a magnet with you to help determine the weighted content of such as candlesticks. Some use the "plastic" to hold heavy iron weights in place. It sure will fool you on the tin content.

[lightman]

Another thing to consider, I’ve seen post on here suggesting that non food service items such as picture frames and figurines have less tin than food service items. Just something to keep in mind.

[Mjdd23]

Also I would make sure it really is Pewter and not the cast junk that most of these frames are made from. Scratch a section of the frame and put a drop of muriatic acid on it and see if it bubbles. If it bubbles it has zinc in its composition. Try to make sure it's all real pewter before you melt everything together.