What is it

[RangerDan]

I have been given a large supply of an unknown metal that the former owner thought was lead. After melting some of it down and casting a few bullets it was apparent that it was not pure lead. So i sent a sample to RotoMetals and for analysis and it came back as 94% tin, 3.7% copper, .25% antimony and 2% lead. Is this a form of pewter or some kind of babbit? It alloys with wheel weight metal and makes nice bullets. I have approx 400 pounds of this and would appreciate any info.

[jsizemore]

That would be called pewter. I'd cast it 1 or 2 lbs of your former unknown to 100 lbs of COWW.

[toallmy]

I don't know what you would call it but it seems like a nice problem to have .

[RangerDan]

I have been using it as pure tin in my casting and have had great results. I cast from 22 cal up to 50 cal bullets and all in between. It seems that the copper in it makes for a slightly harder bulled without any brittleness. On my Saeco hardness tester they scale out harder than bullets cast with pure tin.

[Hossfly]

Wow 94% tin that my friend is a wonderful score I would be using it very sparingly. We are of course very jealous.

[jsizemore]

Most of the XRF tests of my pewter have been the same as yours without the lead. Older pieces of pewter had a bit of lead in the mix.

[toallmy]

There are a couple members that have experimented with copper tin alloy with interesting results . 400 pounds of pewter will literally alloy tons of lead .

[Traffer]

You have some very good Pewter there!
That stuff is worth nearly $10 per lb sir!. It would be a huge mistake to cast it into bullets. Lead= $.93 per lb Tin= $9.50 per lb
And tin with antimony and copper is even more valuable for alloying into bullets. Add about 2% to 3% of what you have to wheel weights and get great bullet alloy.
Edit...Many folks have been trying to get copper to alloy into their mix. It seems that copper is very desirable for toughness in bullet alloy. Makes the bullets hard but not brittle. Like they are tougher. That is ideal for higher powered bullets.

[RED BEAR]

i am a bit jealous. i have heard tell of people using tin but never been able to afford it myself.

[RogerDat]

You have a really tough situation there, and with 400 lbs. to dispose of it will take tons of lead so... out of the goodness of my heart and only out of concern for your well being.... I will let you ship a couple of 65# boxes to me. That way you won't run out of storage space trying to accumulate enough lead to alloy with that 400# of tin.

Isn't it great to have a community of casters looking out for you?

[RangerDan]

Thanks for the kind offer however my poor old back won't cooperate. Guess with the help of the Good Lord we do the best we can with what He supplies us with.

[Traffer]

You could pour some 1 lb ingots and sell that. I dare say though that you could supply every reloader on Castboolits with enough pewter for several months worth of casting with that much pewter. I wouldn't have any REAL ideas about how to market such a big chunk of stuff where such a small amount is needed.

[RangerDan]

I've had it for several years now and have cut it into smaller blocks. I have also cast up approx 200 pounds into Lee ingot molds and muffin pan ingots. Cutting it was an experience finally found a saws-all to be the most effective way but was a slow process.

[Tom W.]

The Babbit that I used to cast was almost that composition, but no lead at all. When I used it straight it made some beautiful but extremely hard boolits, so I made ingots of it to add to my COWW.

[Taterhead]

400 pounds. Wow. What a nice score! As others have said, that will enrich a LOT of lead. Could fetch some cash on the S&S forum when you get up to the requisite number of posts.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive had babit about the same too. 400 lbs!! heck at 8-10 bucks a lb you found the hen that laid the golden egg!

[mattw]

Holy ****! That is some good stuff! I scrounge a fair bit of pewter and thought I was good sitting on about 90 pounds. Bet it makes some pretty bullets, but they have to be really hard!

[Wayne Smith]

Oh Wow Dan. I'll be even more generous - PM me your Addy and I'll drive over and save your back by taking some of it off your hands!!

Seriously, congratualtions on a great haul. Have a lot of fun with it.

[RogerDat]

Without a doubt pewter is generally and easy sale in S&S forum. Good product for shipping. SFRB holds enough that the shipping isn't a big part of the purchase. You should be able to fit 10# of pewter in a SFRB and have enough form that sale to buy and ship about 65# of COWW from someone else. Figuring ~ $7.50 a pound +/- a bit for the pewter.

Myself I have sold a few 5# boxes from time to time. Mostly to purchase components or equipment. More people can spring for $45 on a 5# box of pewter than $82 on a 10# box. Since a little goes a long way 5# is a nice stash.

That works out to selling 100# of pewter and get back around 650# plus a bit more of COWW lead. Fellow can make a lot of bullets with 650# of lead and some of the remaining pewter.

[RogerDat]

Oh Wow Dan. I'll be even more generous - PM me your Addy and I'll drive over and save your back by taking some of it off your hands!!

Seriously, congratualtions on a great haul. Have a lot of fun with it.

Oh yeah but will you clean the leaves from his gutters and down spouts? Huh?

[Wayne Smith]

Nope, don't even do that on my house!