Pewter Sources?

nc_cooter said:
Anyone have a source for pewter for casting bolsters, ferrules, etc.
Thanks.

Chuck uses it a lot (wild rose trading ) he might chime in here for you..
 
I bought an ingot from www.trackofthewolf.com which carries a lot of black powder stuff. Another source, thanks to Crex, is to check out second hand stores like Salvation Army, Goodwill, flea markets etc. for the beer drinking mugs with glass bottoms. I've seen them in lots of these places and they usually run about .50 to $1.00. Take the glass bottom out, cut up, heat and pour.
Rick
 
Is there any way to toughen up pewter? Every bit of pewter I've ever handled has been so soft. I'd be afraid to use pewter for hardware on a knife because it is so soft.
 
If the pewter is soft enough to cut with your thumbnail, it probably has a lot of lead in it. Wouldn't use the soft stuff. Check for a cartouche or makers mark on any suspect pewter item. One of my best finds was a turkey platter with a bent corner. Nearly 3#'s of Sheffield pewter -$1.85 (good stuff). Mugs are the quickest to spot though.
Pewter is definitely not for thin castings but makes a very resileint guard. Not for throwers. Any minor scratches and dings can be cleaned up with 0000 steel wool.
 
Pewter suppliers:
Track of the Wolf as noted by Rick

http://www.purityalloys.com/Pewter Casting Alloys.htm

http://www.tekcast.com/casting2.htm

to get a "harder" pewter either get a higher antimony content or add antimony yourself - most bullet casting vendors sell antimony or use Babbitt metal which is tough enough to use for bearings..........

When cast thick enough even pewter will hold up fine.......
This knife is about a 150 years old........
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you going to pour cast or use centrifugal force machines?

I have done a little of this sort of stuff back in school.....

Call me and we'll go over what we both know :)
 
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