So smart - so dumb!

[Land Owner]

Scrounging and thinking I can "guesstimate" pewter weight by hand (it has been a while), I purchased a picture frame for $5, believing it to be 1-lb (or thereabout). After removing the glass and cardboard I find the pewter frame (95% tin), still "fairly hefty", is only 7.5 ounces (~1/2-lb). Palm to face.

[Half Dog]

Well...several years ago I went to a junk yard and collected wheel weights. It was my first attempt at procuring lead and the outcome was about the same as yours.

[Smoke4320]

we all go thru that starting something new. a mistake you will not forget for a while

[oley55]

so you paid $10 a pound for 95% tin vs $34 a pound for pure from Roto metals. Not really a bad deal, just not a steal. That’s the way I look at my pewter purchases.

[Winger Ed.]

All precision tools need to be recalibrated on occasion.

Pick up some items of known weight and heft them.
Your hands will recalibrate pretty quickly.

[kevin c]

I’ve been known to bring a small electronic scale to estate sales and auctions.

[Land Owner]

kevin C, Winger Ed - good ideas. I have calibrated 1# and 2# of lead boolits for counterweights against which I weigh brass cases - so many cases per pound. Yep, I have a LOT of cases.

My AVERAGE cost for ALL of the pewter I have purchased and melted is hovering around $4.35 per pound. This 0.5# purchase did not begin to move the "average cost" needle.

[Hanzy4200]

Mistakes lead to learning. We've all had those moments. I learned early on that unless it was free, or darn near free, I don't bother. Plus, God has apparently seen fit to bless me with tin. I've been getting 1-2 full bars of 50/50 solder every time I visit my scrap yard. $.50 lb Think I've got 8 or 10 stacked up now.