Adding pewter??

[johnnyjr]

If a recipe calls for 10 lbs of lead
plus 1 lb of tin. How much pewter
would you use if you have no tin?
thanks....

 

[hc18flyer]

My math: 10# X 16 ounces = 160 x .015 = 2.4 ounces/1.5 % I have read that pewter is about 95% pure tin, you could up it a little bit? I generally use 1.5 % in my pistol bullets.
hc18flyer

 

[JonB]

Johnny,
I not sure what today's goal is? But 10% tin in a bullet alloy, is a lot.

 

[johnnyjr]

For 357 bullets . I want to try soft alloy.
What you suggest

 

[JonB]

30 to 1

 

[richhodg66]

About 1 to 2 percent is what you want, so 1.6 ounce to a ten pound pot is 1%, double that for 2%.

 

[JonB]

30 to 1
...is about 5.25 oz of pewter in 10 lbs of pure lead.
it measures about 9 Bhn.
That's my 2¢

 

[358156 hp]

10:1 is right around 12 bhn.

10 to 1​

9.09%​

0%​

0%​

0%​

0%​

90.9%​

​

Brinell 12​

 

[Ian]

10:1 is right around 12 bhn.

10 to 1​

9.09%​

0%​

0%​

0%​

0%​

90.9%​

​

Brinell 12​

And leads like the dickens if there's any thread choke at all.

 

[fiver]

20-1 is also about 11-12 BHN.
it acts a lot like ww's under pressure.

if all i had was tin and lead i'd start with 25-1 and see where it got me.

 

[358156 hp]

I expected 10:1 to be closer to 14 or 15. The line I posted above was from the original alloy calculator

 

[fiver]

tin just runs out of steam when adding BHN.
over time the hardness actually reverses itself and the bullet/ingot will start to soften.

anyway as a benchmark the win-rem boys used 40-1 alloy from late 18hundred sumthin up till now in their pistol type stuff.
the 38-40/44-40/45 colt all made their name with that alloy, and i'm sure there's been a few billion ton's of 38 special ammo that's used it too.

 

[JustJim]

Of which "pewter" are you speaking? I've got 6 or 7 different alloys sold new as "pewter"; as best I recall without a trip out to the shop, they all have different contents of tin.

 

[Bazoo]

I always thought pewter was something like 95% tin? I'd throw 1.5 pounds of pewter and consider it close if it were me.

 

[imashooter2]

Pewter is 92-97% tin. I treat it same as pure. Consider that even adding 10% pewter to your lead the ~8% antimony/copper is only 8 tenths of 1 percent of the whole.

 

[fiver]

to be considered pewter it was traditionally 85% tin or better.
the higher percentages come along when certified pewter come into being [don't remember if it was in the 1800's or like 1950 now though]

 

[johnnyjr]

Yeah.

 

[JBinMN]

 

[JBinMN]

I could not figure out how to add words to the image in the comment above.

What I wanted to say was...
"Maybe this chart will help, and perhaps you could save it for use later on."


It is pretty easy to understand & will get ya "in the ball park", if nothing else.

I likely have some other ones, but thought this one would be of use, and it was pretty easy to find. If I locate some others I have saved up I will share if anyone wants them.
( Likely, most folks here don't need or want such things, but trying to help for those who might want/need.)

Anyway.
G'Luck~! with your efforts.


Edit to add:: P.S. - the chart is an older one so I would not rely on the "Price" columns. They used to be good a while back, but... You know... I am not gonna say what I should, to keep politics out of it.

 

[Bazoo]

I went and checked, I figured 91% tin for the pewter for my calculator, based on Brittanic pewter, since it's sort of a standard. Rotometals sells an equivalent.

I always treat it like pure when I'm adding to alloy, but I generally am using it to sweeten up ww alloy.