Pewter Questions

[50cal.cliff]

If this is not the forum for this I apoligize in advance, and moderators please feel free to move it!
I have used Pewter in the past on some of my knife bolsters it is easy to work with but, it tends to be so soft that a hard bump against something can mess it up. Any way this is kind of thinking outloud here but these questions have been on my mind.

Can you add silver to the Pewter?

Would that make it harder?

Silver has a melt temp that is higher I think. So would that make the mix harder to cast, (meaning it would now have be so hot to achive molten temp it would burn molds)?

I am trying to come up with something to add to the Pewter that will make it not be quite as soft once cast. Any feedback here would be appreciated!

 

[LRB]

Hi cliff. I ran across some lead free plumbers solder a few years ago, that had nickel in it. That was the hardest soft solder I have used for pewter. Pewter is not any one particular mix, and can contain 50% lead while still being legal pewter. Check with a plumbers supply and see if that type with the nickel is still out there. It was just as easy to work with as any pewter mix I have used, and resists corrosion better, but all of these will get scratches and dings, sooner, or later.

 

[Bob Gular]

Oatey lead free solder makes fine "pewter". Just a mite pricey.

 

[LaBonte]

Take a look at the Rotometals site that Claude has an advertiser - they have several casting metals including pewter and babbitt and in various alloys - some harder than others in particular the babbitt which is used for making various types of babbitt.

Or get some lead free silver bearing solder which has about 5% silver in it and is a bit harder.

 

[50cal.cliff]

Thanks for the info everybody! The nickel Solder sounds like it may be the best bet. You don't ask you never know!

 

[fatboy]

I sure I picked some lead free solder up at W__mart that was mostly tin and a bit of silver

 

[mazo kid]

Harris makes both a nickel bearing and a silver bearing solder called Sta-Silv. I think it is available at some Ace Hardware stores, a little pricey though.

 

[LRB]

So is pewter. Good pewter that is.

 

[fatboy]

The Sta-silv is going to take more heat to melt than the soft plumbers type . The stay-silv is better used for knife guards IMO

 

[LRB]

Lhunter is right. Stay-silv is a high temp, over 1000°, from what I found on google. Too hot for pouring bolsters and such.

 

[LaBonte]

Look at the www.rotometals.com site - under the babbitt metal they have a tough pewter alloy high in antimony, copper, and something else with no lead - it's the #3 alloy IIRC. It sells for $11.79 a pound which is equivalent in price to the silver bearing no lead plumber's solder.

 

[50cal.cliff]

Thanks for all the info gents! Part of the reason I origionally posed these questions is out a problem I encounterd.
The first bolsters I poured worked out well. They were cast in carboard and masking tape forms but they were poured from some pewter items I picked up cheap at the flea market. Probably real close to pure pewter, as one of the pieces was German made.
Between that use and the next pour I got a hold of some solder at the flea market cheap. Some of which was silver solder but I think the other may have been old leaded solder, as it was pretty old and the tags long since fell off.
Anyway the next melt I added in the solder. Once fluxed and screening off anything floating I let cool as much as I dared and poured.
The same cardboard and masking tape molds I used before failed. They would hold when I intially poured in the mold but before the pewter mix could go from molten to set up the tape would burn through and the molten mix went everywhere. I even tried let the mix cool further, but could not get full pours in a mold at a cooler temp. the cooler temp meant voids that would not fill in the mold.
After about three tries and cleaning up the mess I decided to try another route. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some Scupley clay the kind you can form and bake. I then made me some molds for the bolsters and baked accorcing to the directions. When I poured into the molds they blistered where the mix hit the mold. So the outside came out pitted and poxed up. Which had to be sanded out anyway, it just took more sanding to achive the end result.
I am unsure if that was because of the pouring temp of the pewter mix or if that may be part of the nature of the beast. As I think that Scupley clay is a polymer and even though it bakes out it has still has rubberized properties. The directions state not to exceed recommended baking times.
While working on one of the last bolsters and nearly finshed I dropped it and it hit something on the way down and dinged it. This meant more sanding on both pieces to remove the ding. Afterall both pieces have to match. This is why I was searching for somthing that might harden the mix.
I didn't mention any of this to begin with because I wanted answers that weren't influenced by my findings!