Pewter smelting and ingots

[imashooter2]

Pewter is hard for me to find but I do run across solder. When I get enough I melt it all down. I use the small cavities in a Lee ingot mold for this.

Everything is so regional. I hardly ever see solder. I’m lucky to live near an affluent college town and all that hollowware that a 1950s housewife needed to impress her friends holds no interest to the kids settling her estate.

[Slugster]

I use mini muffin tins. Vary the pour to give me different weights. Weigh & mark. Use as needed.

[Big Dipper]

I use duck decoy strap weight molds. They are easy to store and I just use tin snips to cut pieces into a scale to add to my alloy.

[Rickf1985]

I was fortunate to find a member here who had two Potter ingot molds, 6 rectangular cavities each, with a P on the bottom. Filled appropriately, they run 4 per lb.
Biggest problem is keeping them level while casting.

I still have a box or two of those I bought from you several years ago. I wish I could find a mold like that. I refuse to use bullet molds or sinker molds because there is always the chance of an OOPS! Then you just shot a very expensive group of bullets or launched some real expensive sinkers. I want something small and unique.

[Dusty Bannister]

Perhaps you could cast your pewter bullets in a mold of the correct weight and then smash each one with a heavy hammer. Or cast with the sprue plate open and have a horribly rounded base. That would prevent their use in reloading.

[Sudsy]

I use muffin pans. Makes good "coins"

Sent fra min YAL-L21 via Tapatalk

Same but I use a mini muffin pan for the harder metals (lino, pewter, solders), large for pure lead
Makes it easier to make alloys

[Rickf1985]

Perhaps you could cast your pewter bullets in a mold of the correct weight and then smash each one with a heavy hammer. Or cast with the sprue plate open and have a horribly rounded base. That would prevent their use in reloading.

Good idea

[cheese1566]

Thanks for the suggestions!
I squashed down my thrift store finds to fit my PID controlled ProMelt. Smelted down at 475 degrees and cast coins using SST kitchen sauce cups.
Coins are 1.5-2 ounces.
It was about 10 pounds that cost me around $48. Not bad.

[jsizemore]

Those look great.