I buy a lot of pewter at the thrift store. Early on, I experienced the same problem with being able to identify metals that look like pewter. Then I found a very simple solution: unless it has a hallmark that says "pewter" on it, don't buy it. I also discovered that a quick way of identifying non-pewter items is by feel. Yes, by feel. Aluminum conducts heat much more efficiently than pewter. This means that aluminum feels cold to the touch, while pewter feels warm. The Armetale is a proprietary aluminum alloy, so there's no telling what's in it (short of spectrographic analysis), and I haven't tried casting any of it, but I'd bet that it casts fairly well and probably has a high silicon content to help with the casting process. But the sure-fire method is to look for a hallmark that says "pewter." I have about 35# of pewter stacked up right now, and I'm averaging about $2.50 per pound for my purchases.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Do you do low-temp casting?

Pewter is a thud sound and cold to the touch aluminum rings if it is cast.

Wilton makes aluminum stuff. LOL I've been a scrapper most of my life! :D You can melt pewter with a lighter, even a pot on the stove! LOL Aluminum takes at least a torch to melt it. Thanx for the experiment Perry!

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

I guess I'll have to take a lighter in the to store with me... oh wait, I'm not going back there again ;-)

Pewter has a low melting point, around 170-230 °C (338-446 °F) A typical European casting alloy contains 94% tin, 1% copper and 5% antimony. Mexican pewter is any of various alloys of aluminium used for decorative items. A European pewter sheet would contain 92% tin, 2% copper, and 6% antimony. When Pewter freezes on the top you will sometimes see Crystal shapes as the liquid metal cools and if it cools too quick a hole will appear in it.

Nice setup and I learned a few things so thank you

@swdweeb

11 ай бұрын

Glad I could help

If you want some tin just ask brotha 👍🏻 great video. I’ve been told numerous times from people that they have certain metals but I don’t trust them until I melt it myself. I got plenty of zinc if you want a bar or 2 👍🏻

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Where did you get tin?? I'll email you later today.

Even if you find old pewter, it's likely the version of the pewter alloy with high lead content. That would mess with your goal for a bronze alloy for bells. That alloy in those plates is interesting in how it can look like pewter. Good job sourcing tin from a reputable dealer.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

It had an interesting blue dross layer in the furnace. Very thin and blue like you'd see when you heat steel.

@askquestionstrythings

4 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb interesting, I wonder which of the 10 alloying agents in that metal caused that blue dross. Maybe some small amount of copper.

@bloomingtonian7529

4 жыл бұрын

Actually lead in pewter has been forbidden for quite some time. If the pewter is from the last 50 -75 years it's likely lead free. A lead testing kit from the hardware store will reveal this as well.

@askquestionstrythings

4 жыл бұрын

@@bloomingtonian7529 in the US it was the 1970's when pewter became lead free for toys, jewelry and foodware. So ya that's about 50 years ago but that older leaded pewter is commonly found at thrift stores. Yes, the lead test kits are a good check if the base metal is exposed. Lots of pewter stuff gets coated with paints, varnish, or plating which can interfere with the test if you don't scrap to the base metal. I have a pewter necklace piece that I use to wear which was plated with silver, painted in some spots and coated in a clear varnish to make it more durable. Sometimes I wish I could afford an XRF machine and other equipment to check stuff, it's unfortunate that government inspections of many consumer goods and food have repeatedly failed to catch heavy metal contamination.

You can buy "Lead Free" plumbing solder at the local hardware store and it is 99% tin ( Chemical symbol Sn ) with a trace of other metals to lower the melting point. In fact it's difficult to buy any solder that contains anything but tin in it. The other metals such as Silver (Ag) , Antimony( Sb) or Copper (Cu) are non toxic and help lower the melting point. Tin used in pre-industrial days was rarely this pure so don't worry about the others.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

I have found a local supplier of certified tin ingots that are much cheaper than buying it as solder. Thanks though.

It was not a mistake, it was a learning experience. :-)

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Sounds like a metaphor for life 😄

hit up a local thrift shop that was going out of business a few months back. Got about 10 lbs of brass for about $10, and a few pieces of what I was hoping was pewter and maybe silver for about $4. Turns out the "silver" was likely nickel-silver plated maybe zinc (heavier than aluminum but seemed to melt at higher temps than lead and closer to aluminum). Hard to tell if the one piece of pewter I got was the old or new version. I'll be using it for alloying a big batch of lead for casting so either way, it should be okay. Apparently the new stuff can have a good bit of copper as well which might separate out during the pour though. Hard to say with mystery stuff. Roto metals has a pretty good selection of casting alloys, probably get some from them in the future if I need to do any serious mixing.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I’ve been to roto. I’ve got a place that I can drive over to and buy stuff which was a huge find

What about a magnet test? Tin is weakly attracted while pewter is not at all.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Hey bud good to hear from you. I"m looking for pewter made from tin. Does that affect your magnet test?

@KK-xz4rk

4 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb Magnets are not useful finding tin. I use magnet in thrift store to find if its iron only (some silver plated items). Weak magnetic forces with alloys are hard to notice in not lab conditions. My go to thrift store tin finding tests. Pewter markings (many producers used to put small hallmarks on pewter too) Try to scrape some hidden place on item with the corner of my car key. Pewter is easy to scratch and groove is deep even with duller key corner. Best test (not possible to do on all items) Pure and almost pure tin has very special cracling sound when its being bent. It sounds crunchy almost like stepping on thin fresh snow on very cold night.

I have bought tin from Rotometals, to make my bronze. But I do look for sources at the Peddlers Mall and such. Haven't had much luck.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Hence why I buy mine a local metal dealer

@rockelec

4 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb always best from a trusted source.

Great info on looking for pewter. Not as easy as it sounds. You can store those with the mystery metal stacks.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I’ve got quite the collection of it now 😁

Pewter has low thermal conductivity relative to other thrift store non ferrous metal(bring a small magnet to rule out ferrous). It will feel much warmer in hand. Also it bends easily, and you can hear it crackle when bent(tin cry). The good stuff, leaded, is pretty dense especially compared to aluminum stuffs. I’ve found it to be a dollar or two a pound so a pretty good deal.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks I’ll keep that in mind if I ever go back 😊

I collect Wilton Armetale and search high and low for it. I just had a small heart attack watching you melt that! LOL

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

😄 I'm sorry to inflict such pain 😄 The thrift store near me is full of the stuff. I expect you could walk out of there with multiple pieces per week.

Perry, Look at the bright side, you could always use those ingots to cast plates........

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Ha 😂😂

No bueno! Ooh Mystery metal makes life interesting. 🤣

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

No bueno indeed. Oh well, that's why I spent the big bucks on the the tin ingots. So I'd know what I have.

@unclebobsbees4899

4 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb What type of brass are you trying to make?

Very handy to know thanks.

@swdweeb

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks

"Armatale" not armalite. It is a proprietary aluminum alloy.

I travel for work, and one of my hobbies is hitting thrift stores along the way. I usually grab up any pewter if its cheap enough. Then I sort it melt it into bars and sell it cheap on ebay. I almost always have it up I find so much of it. Definitely cheaper than the $20/lbs stuff from rotometals. I can't always guarantee the exact composition, but I do sort and melt in batches, so sometime I have 90% or 97% tin. Anything stamped English pewter is gonna be 91% tin, 7.5% antimony 1.5% copper and most items that just say pewter are gonna be similar to english pewter. As for lead, man I find anything that old and I'm not gonna melt that down! Keep trying the thrift store though, I almost always find something and when I don't it usually not bc I didn't find any, it's just the price was probably ridiculous, some thrift store are a big ripoff, but most aren't.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

I ended up finding a local casting supply place here in Denver. I bought 100% tin from them at $15/pound. Better than Roto but still expensive.

@GMCLabs

4 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb not bad, my stuff usually sells for $8-10/lbs generally 90-92% tin and occasionally I have 97% tin for about the same. in case you're interested here 5lbs I got and and with shipping would be 9.60/lb. Hope ya don't mind the link, but I think it could be useful to you or maybe some else. www.ebay.com/itm/143540474746

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

@@GMCLabs You know, for a couple of pounds of tin I could be persuaded to leave the link up 😁 Good luck with it, maybe it will help someone that is having trouble finding it

@GMCLabs

4 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb how bout a sub? ;)

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

@@GMCLabs Ok, I'll take it 😃

Perry, I was just searching online about the lead free wheel weights and found most are either steel or a primarily zinc alloy.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Cool. I guess I won't be looking for either of those ;-)

Interesting, when you were clanking them about at the beginning I thought they sounded like china and the big reveal was that they smashed😂

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Well I had to work them over in the vise pretty good, they didn’t really smash. Although that would have been great if they had just smashed

I like your videos been watching you, paul, and a few others and going to try out this you tube thing and sand casting

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Good luck with it and don't hesitate to ask if you have questions about any of it.

only guaranteed pewter in thrift shops is if you come across Selangor goblets!

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Ok, good to know. Thanks

@carlericvonkleistiii2188

4 жыл бұрын

No. If it has a hallmark that actually says "pewter" on it, it's pewter.

unlucky Perry! I’ve looked in our charity shops and I’ve not seen anything interesting yet.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

I never find anything in them and usually don’t even bother going in... guess I should have stuck to that practice 😆

Had to look up armetale, it's food safe and looks to me like it can be used for quite thin and detailed castings. Interesting...

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Who knew... I figured it was just more junk metal 😃

@rockelec

4 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb Now you can make a nice popcorn bowl instead of a bell! 😎

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

@@rockelec I could but bells are just too darn cool

I buy Pewter all the time at my local Goodwill and other Thrift stores. The stuff is heavier and thicker than the aluminum plates. Often it is very shiny but some times not. It is always thicker than the samples you purchased. Good luck.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Well for now I’m content to buy tin from the dealer. I’d rather know what’s going into the bells I’m casting. If I ever get into low-temp casting l’ll make a more considered search for the stuff.

@SkullyWoodMetal

4 жыл бұрын

swdweeb I wish you all best of course. Keep us posted on your results.

What are they making lead free wheel weight out of now days, something tells me it tin or tin zinc alloy.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

I don’t know. Lead-free solder is almost pure tin

@relyonno1921

4 жыл бұрын

zinc

i have that dish,too!

@swdweeb

11 ай бұрын

😄. I think most of us have had that dish at one time or another

Thanks now we know

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

And everyone owes me $.03 to cover my costs 😂🤣😂

Nice Perry, I want to try some pewter one day. Just melted a bunch of Zinc last weekend.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

I’ve probably told you this, but zinc scares me. I melt inside and those fumes... ☹️

@Thewulf56

4 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb I turn the furnace regulator to about half of what I would for aluminum, leave the top open when melting it, only time I get any fumes is when I skim the slag, and a bit drops down in the furnace, which is not very much. If its small enough, you can just use a propane torch to met it, it fairly low temp. Different story when melting brass. I'll have a video on it next weekend.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah I’ve only melted brass once because of the zinc

The adventures of Perry,😂

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Never ending... you should see the fun I’m having today 😃. Might make it up on Instagram tonight

I wouldn't call it a mistake. That would only be if you did it again. You were just scientifically proving it wasn't tin

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

I’ll go with that. If I have time I’ll shoot another tomorrow showing the other thing that caused me to say that. Let’s just say I learned something else this week in addition to this lesson

Thanks for this useful info, I'm sure there is a lot of different "pewter" items out there. I work with a lot of old pewter I get from flea markets and thrift stores too and sometimes there is stuff that does not melt. I don't even bother firing up the furnace for pewter, unless I have tons to melt. Just use a blowtorch or a soldering iron to see if it melts fast. You can even melt it in an old cast iron pan/pot on your stove or outside on a gas powered bbq or grill. Pewter is also fun to cast in silicon molds if you are info making some fun small figurines and such.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

I wonder how the store would react to me bringing a torch in with me to test stuff on their shelves 😂

@ralphmourik

4 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb LOL 😂👍 I know there are certain marks on the bottom of most items that should tell you its actually pewter. couldn't tell you whats on those marks though, all molten into ingots.... 😅 google knows all 👍

@leemiracle6840

11 ай бұрын

I have found quite a bit of pewter at thrift stores but the ones in Az. Where i lived until recently seem to have figured out the scrap value as the prices started going up on pewter items.

@swdweeb

11 ай бұрын

I found it was just easier to buy tin ingots. Watch for a video coming out Tuesday for a reason why

Maybe it will look good cast as something you want to look like pewter. Though the ingots looked fairly shiny... 👍

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

I expect they anodized it with something to look gray

I get my pewter from roto metals online great supplier and lots of choice in alloys if you are thrift store shopping warm it up in your hands then bend it. It should feel like stiff carmel also any large pecies will contain either antimony or copper to make it harder

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

You got marked as inappropriate by KZread... probably the comment about warming it in your hands. ;-D I suppose its not a problem bending it if you're gonna buy it.

Wow. Another video. Is it christmas time allready??? ;) I wouldnt say making mistakes. You are learning from your doing. So its totally fine. And even the viewer is able to learn something. ThumbsUp

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks chewie ;-)

1:22 - If you want Armalite, you're going to have to melt down an AR-15. ;)

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

I better hurry before Beto comes and takes it 😀

@rockelec

4 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb lol Beto is done, just doesn't know it.

Don't you worry about us young people. You boomers made sure we knew what Fahrenheit 451 was in high school. Going through 6 months of talking about the book played a crucial role in my development as an electrical engineer. 6 months that could not possibly be better spent on any other subject. I dare someone to name a subject that could have been more useful than Fahrenheit 451.

@swdweeb

2 жыл бұрын

I cant believe it was almost two years ago when I made that. Had to go back and watch it for the "451" reference. Back when I was in school and paper was just coming out it wasn't mandatory reading. I was a Bradbury fan and just read it on my own.

@iamfuckingyourwaifuandther2743

2 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb Boy was he wrong. We still don't have fire proof houses, and reading books is more popular and convenient than ever. We also don't have robotic police dogs. Or funding for robot police dogs.

So you finally took my advice and went to goodwill for pewter it’s so much cheaper than buying tin out right.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah and look what I ended up with, aluminum

@carlericvonkleistiii2188

4 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb Don't give up. Now you're an informed consumer!

@ryannu1578

4 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb word of advice is go with cups and vases that say pewter, i dont know you area but im a short drive from a nice area of connecticut and the local goodwill is chock full of pewter i cant buy it all, but my nearest goodwill has a much smaller inventory.

@ryannu1578

4 жыл бұрын

@@carlericvonkleistiii2188 100% i made the same mistake when i first started buying pewter its a few dollars towards information, the money saved buying pewter at goodwill than online as tin or pewter saves a great amount. to the point i could start selling pewter ingots myself at a nice profit.

Make some mystery metal ramming rods and sell them on etsy. :)

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

These are destined for casting boxes.

I hunt pewter at thrift stores all the time. The way I identify it if it isn't marked is by rubbing my thumbnail against it in a discrete place. Pewter is soft and is marred easily. Aluminum isn't scratched by your finger/thumbnail. I don't know what your cost was on the new stuff, but often I'm paying .25/oz. for what I find. If I knew you were looking I would have sent you some.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

I was going to weigh it and forgot. I guess I can weigh the ingots and figure it out. Thanks for the tip

Can you really call it a mistake when you're experimenting with an unknown? If I was you, I would hit all the thrift shops in Denver looking for those serving wear. Melt them down for ingots and build your Aluminum box.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Probably cheaper to just order a big aluminum ingot 😃

I’ve found pewter and I’ve bought some crap lol Really have to know your stuff to find real pewter

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Ain’t that the truth. I think I’ll just stick with buying tin. It’s easier 😁

I find pewter

@swdweeb

2 жыл бұрын

ok

I melt Pewter on my channel...Pewter is soft like lead...you can bend it with your hands...

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

I never seem to see anything like that in the thrift stores around me, but I went out and bought certified tin ingots so I don't really need to guess on pewter.

Sure wasn't pewter of any sort, for a start it went "tink" when hit against itself pewter would go "thunk". Also of course pewter would have felt much heavier. Pewter as a source for tin is unreliable - it might be a lead based pewter for a start but even if tin based it will contain appreciable amounts of Antimony and who knows what that would do to a bell bronze? I keep saying when sourcing metal do not be a cheapskate, it is THE most important input in the quest for a useable casting, and thus it above all is what one should spend money on - Congratulations on doing just that for your real source of tin....Martin

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

Now if I would just do that for the aluminium ;-) I spent $/lb on this stuff

@swdweeb I found this interesting casting video that is from a foundry that explains and shows vent holes. I noticed you don't rly do this and was wonder why? Also I love there box design with the clips on the sides to prevent flashing and keep everything together. kzread.info/dash/bejne/qKBrxa5tnbyyd7g.html

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

what video? I'll be happy to explain why but it's be nice to make sure I address what you're talking about

@stressmasterbk4294

4 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb srry I added it now. totally forgot to paste it lol

@stressmasterbk4294

4 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb Also I do know you have added vents in the past but not like they do.

@swdweeb

4 жыл бұрын

@stressmaster Oh dear, where do I start?? First of all, never trust a foundryman that wears a tie while ramming sand. I'm going to add @olfoundryman as he is likely to have something to say about that video.. First, I can see why you might be confused about what they do as compared to what I do as our sand looks almost identical. There is a big difference though. I use oil based sand to fill my mold, he's using green sand with water in it to fill his molds. Mine is black from excessive reuse. I expect his is black from the place they dug it up. Martin also uses green sand and he has multiple videos showing venting like that. I have gone from doing a gate to a large vent... some would say excessively large, it's a 1/4" dowel to trying to use scratch vents which I'm sure have limitations but so far I'm loving them. As the guy in the video said the vents are there to let gas out of the mold. I don't have steam but I have found in my sand that I do need to vent the part to get a reliable fill. My manly 1/4" vents or the scratch vents do exactly what they are intended to do, let the gas escape. There are guys out there like @luckygen1001 that don't use vents and get away with it quite nicely. He never seems to have problems getting a mold to fill. I have never tried to vent like shown in the video. It might work for me but the vents I've been doing work quite well. I'd like to tell the guy in the video that he can eliminate a lot of porosity by not using those gargantuan spues and runners/gates that he cut in. Did I answer your question?

@stressmasterbk4294

4 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb you did tyvm! It is what I expected the answer to be and it is great I am on the right track. Those sprue rly confused me as well. almost no taper, huge, and no spin trap so the metal is moving rough. My only thought as to why it worked at all is because of the vents. What are your thoughts on the edge scraping he did around the items to be molded. does adding that small bevel do anything?