Tin/Pewter

[Chris C]

Okay..................I get it. If I put in enough personal time and effort, I can get all the lead I want from scrounging the auto dealers and tire shops. But what's the trick to finding tin and pewter? We don't have that many yard or garage sales around my area..........and when we do it's mostly children's stuff or kitchen ware. I live in the country and most people don't get rid of stuff. So where do I go to find pewter or tin? The last time I bought tin it was in pure bar stock at $15/lb. I can't afford to do that and continue to cast.

[00buck]

I find it at yard sales, flea markets and thrift shops

[Chris C]

No such luck in my area!

[Beagle333]

I get mine on the forum here. Several folks sell pewter but I got most of mine from imashooter2.
'Great fellow to deal with.

[Chris C]

Thanks for the lead. I'll check with him.

[imashooter2]

Pewter stashes are built just like lead stashes. You search a lot, come up dry most of the time, score a taste here and there and every once in a while you trip over a deal. Never drive by a thrift shop or yard sale without stopping in. Put up and peruse Craig's List ads. Or you can trade cash for time.

Thanks for the kind words Chuck! You were a pleasure to deal with as well!

[rwadley]

Solder is often on sale on the S&S board, too.

[imashooter2]

And you really don't need to find a bunch right away. 5 pounds will get you 2% in about 250 pounds of alloy.

[Chris C]

Thanks, guys............I'll just keep lookin', I guess. (always been an impatient bloke!)

[toallmy]

I am going to get some from a member hear name is butternuts when I need more . But since I have been using 50/50 coww and plumbers I have found that I can get away with no additional tin .

[Chris C]

Just got home from hittin' 3 thrift shops.............no pewter. Oh well, I'll keep looking.

[DerekP Houston]

Just got home from hittin' 3 thrift shops.............no pewter. Oh well, I'll keep looking.

I got a 20lb brick from orisolo iirc, decent price and I've barely used a 1/4 of what I bought. just fyi. I melted the whole thing down and poured ~1/4lb ingots

[runfiverun]

I don't even come close to 2% tin in my alloys.
1% is more than enough, heck less than that is enough to get good fill out.
they got those little itty bitty numbers and letters to show up on ww's with 0.5% just fine.

[DerekP Houston]

I don't even come close to 2% tin in my alloys.
1% is more than enough, heck less than that is enough to get good fill out.
they got those little itty bitty numbers and letters to show up on ww's with 0.5% just fine.

I've never tried to add over 1% either, a little goes a long way with range scrap. But I'd rather have it and not need it...than be scrounging to find it later. Low pressure 38 rounds seem to eat just about anything I throw at them.

[PBaholic]

Low pressure 38 rounds seem to eat just about anything I throw at them.

I cast some 158 grain .38's with almost pure BHN 6 lead. I powder coat, so hardness isn't a concern for me. I target shoot, and they seemed to shoot fine, until I looked closely.

About 10% of the boolits were tumbling! A buddy of mine shot the same boolits in his gun, and had the same tumbling.

I now add 20:1 Pewter.

[Leslie Sapp]

A significant portion of my stash has come by picking up bars and rolls of solder at garage and estate sales. I bought a box full of 60/40 solder bars and partial rolls at an estate sale recently for a couple of bucks. There's probably 10-15 lbs in it.

[Retumbo]

Try Craigslist or equivalent...Flea-bay?

[zubrato]

I hate to be that guy but... just spent a few hours in 2-3 thrift stores, walked out 7 dollars lighter, and 15-20 lbs of pewter heavier

Don't think I'll forget the look the lady who rang me up shot me. I'd bet she was the one tagging items at 15-60 cents thinking what kind of sucker would buy this dented ****.

Some pewter finding tips, keep checking every 1-2 weeks and the best places for pewter have a very high turnover rate.
Folks in the biz usually know pewter stuff is nice and ask 25$ for a mug you can buy new for 13. Teens are just glad their employer doesn't drug test, and like shiny stuff.

Also, don't be fooled by the beautiful shiny bullets here on CB. In the wild Pewter looks like hammered doggy doo.
It's dented, scratched, dull, beat up, and dusty. Handles are soldered on, not stamped or screwed. If I'm unsure if something is pewter I give it a little finger flex to see if it bends and scratch gently with my car keys in a nondescript area. Pewter scratches deep and easy most of the time. Anything else doesn't take a scratch the way tin will.

Stuff that might confuse you: silver: too shiny, too hard, strange tarnish.
Aluminum: too light, has spring back when bent, and frequently it's the "wrong item". Remember pewter melts very easily so it's usually decoration, where aluminum stuff may find its way to cooking and heat.

Anything pewterex, Wilton, etc is total ****. Usually has some kind of casting rough marks, large chunks of alloy too. Tempting, but not pewter. Very hard stuff.

BOLO for trays, mugs, cups, teacups, figurines, vases, salt and pepper shakers, candle stands (weighted/non weighted)
Pouring cups.

Good luck, and happy hunting!

Once your eye is trained for tin you can clean out entire stores for pennies on the pound.

[Hardcast416taylor]

I just won several auction items on an on line local auction site. It totaled just over 11 1/2 lbs of pewter figurines and large odd shaped cups. All fees included and sales tax it came to $21 and some change.Robert

[Echo]

I've bought solder on eBay, and will pay $10/lb. So - 5 lbs of 50/50 solder is worth $25, delivered to me - and will sweeten MANY lbs of alloy.