pewter-msg - 2/25/10 Use of pewter in period. References. Pewter sources. NOTE: See also the files: casting-msg, metals-msg, soapstone-msg, spoons-msg, p-tableware-msg, utensils-msg, pottery-msg, metal-sources-msg, Non-Ferrous-bib, Cast-Wood-Mlds-art. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ From: drusilus <76065.727 at CompuServe.COM> To: markh at risc.sps.mot.com Organization: CompuServe, Inc. (1-800-689-0736) Date: Fri, 31 May 1996 19:39:54 -0400 Subject: Casting with soapstone molds Dear Stefan, Try Rio Grande Jewelry supply. They are in NM I Believe and the last price I saw for lead free casting pewter was around $5.50/lb. Drusilus Newsgroups: rec.org.sca From: milieux at digital.net (Lauren Podolak) To: Mark S. Harris Date: Fri, 31 May 1996 21:17:36 -0500 Subject: Re: Casting with soapstone molds markh at risc.sps.mot.com (Mark S. Harris) wrote: > Does anyone have a good mail-order or other source for lead-free > casting material? I've been using lead-free solder normally used > on water pipes. But the best price I found in town was $8.90 for > a 1 pound spool and that store is going out of business. The > sources I'm finding now want $11 - $14 for a one pound spool. I'm > willing to buy it in larger amounts or in a different form. > > Stefan li Rous Try: Castings, Orcas Island, P.O.Box 298, Eastsound, WA 98245-0298 (360)376-3266 They have Pewter casting metal (91% tin, 8% antimony, 0.25%copper) 24 Pigs (10oz) for $6.25 each. But heck, if you can find more of that solder, you can't beat the price for a pound. From: Dennis Loyer Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Casting with soapstone molds Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 23:10:39 -0700 Organization: Earthlink Network, Inc. > Does anyone have a good mail-order or other source for lead-free > casting material? I've been using lead-free solder normally used > on water pipes. But the best price I found in town was $8.90 for > a 1 pound spool and that store is going out of business. The > sources I'm finding now want $11 - $14 for a one pound spool. I'm > willing to buy it in larger amounts or in a different form. Try requesting a catalog from TSI (800) 426-9984, They carry lead-free pewter in wire, sheet, and nuggets (for casting). They also carry just about every jewlery and casting tool, book, or supplies you may ever need. They also carry gold, silver, and copper in the same forms as their pewter, as well as precious stones and beads. Need a centrigigal casting machine for lost wax casting? They got it, and their prices are fairly reasonable. When ever I need something, they're the first place I call. Dennis Loyer Denis d'Loyer West, Mists, Esfen From: saxon34 at aol.com (Saxon34) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Casting with soapstone molds Date: 21 Jun 1996 20:03:52 -0400 I will look up and try to post our source for metals. As the Inter-Kingdom Moneyers Guild Rep.I should have the source much closer at hand,sorry. For years we have been making coins from leadfree solder(95/5). Yet over the past few years we have gone to buying and mixing our own.We often buy large ingots of Tin and mix in the percentage of Antimony as needed. A ready source of Antimony is tire weights. People often think of these as made from lead, this is not the case/at least according to our sources! Either way we also have a guild secret that allows us to harden our leadfree(pewter) coins. This would not be possible if the tire weights were made from lead. Send me your email address for a clear line of communication as that I am still a babe in the woods as far as this computer stuff is concerned. Good Luck, and talk to you soon. Master Emmerich of Vakkerfjell, OL Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 17:52:58 -0500 From: Helen Subject: Re: SC - pewter question >From the oneida site http://www.oneida.com/h_table.htm Pewter While pewter occupies a special association with early American history, it is interesting to note that this soft, gray metal was used by the Chinese for more than 2000 years ago. It was made into coins and seals of office by the ancient Romans and was widely used by the European middle classes as a substitute for sterling silver. Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 20:38:19 -0500 From: rmhowe To: Kyneburh at ties.org, sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Re: Pewter source Micromark sells rtv rubbers and an assortment of casting alloys with both low melting and high melting temperatures. www.micromark.com/ http://www.micromark.com/casting.html Magnus Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 13:30:29 -0400 From: rmhowe To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu Subject: Pewter Casting Alloy and Sheet Source - other metals too. http://www.atlasmetal.com/ Happened on this today. Magnus Subject: Re: Pewter casting supplies Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 20:24:38 PDT From: "David Ritterskamp" To: atlantia at atlantia.sca.org >Does anyone have an idea of where I might find pewter suitable for casting. >We only need a small amount, but we need it relatively quickly! > >Brigh Aine ni Eireannach Yes. http://www.hallmarkmetalscorp.com Pewter is $3.50/lb and they mail it cheap and quick via 2-3 day priority US Mail if you ask nicely. Tell them you heard it from me. They sell it in 7-lb chunks but they'll sell you smaller if you ask nicely. Jonathan Blackbow Subject: Cheap Pewter / Instructional pages / Casting Pages / Examples Date: Mon, 02 Aug 1999 08:54:47 MST From: rmhowe To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu After Jonathan Blackbow (of Atlantia) suggested getting Pewter from the Hallmark Metal Co (hallmark.metal at juno.com) 1-888-467-8000 last week I emailed them from their webpage. http://www.hallmarkmetalscorp.com/ This morning I got an email suggesting I call them. They don't have a catalog, books on casting, or rtv rubbers that I had asked about. However they do have the lowest prices on Pewter I've yet run across. (Being a commodity the metal prices are subject to change however.) I spoke with Stephan M. Kaplan and he told me they have two lead free pewters particularly suitable for our purposes with the first designed specifically for children at the request of Crayola. The initials are named for his child. MPK is a Tin/Copper/Bismuth/Silver alloy melts 5-600 degrees f $4.25 lb. 928 is a Tin/Antimony/Copper alloy / melts 550-650 degrees f $3.75 lb. The bars are available in 7 lbs, and are notched for three pieces or can be cut at the factory. When I asked about R.T.V. Rubbers he referred me to the Frank Pertot Co. in NYC. 1-800-627-5369. Check out: http://www.mindspring.com/~kymber/ There are notes and instructions on casting there as well as other suppliers, and references. http://home.olemiss.edu/~sputnik/stdunstans/STDhome.html http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/rialto/idxcrafts.html http://pip1.pipcom.com/wareham_forge/casting.html http://www.loganact.com/mwn/mwj.html http://www.regia.org/bodgbend.htm http://www.regia.org/ has some pages on metalwork as well. http://user.tninet.se/~mfx106d/index.htm http://www.signetring.com/ http://renstore.com/articles/Belling_Barony.shtml http://www.angelfire.com/me/ik/Gal.html http://www.mtsu.edu/~kgregg/dmir/new/sandcast.html I hope this is of use to some of you casters or would be casters out there. Magnus Malleus, OL, Windmasters' Hill, Atlantia, Great Dark Horde. From: noramunro at aol.comclutter (Alianora Munro) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Pewter damage Date: 18 Sep 1999 14:22:29 GMT Lord Zierd wrote: >My pewter tankard has developed a dent in the base, meaning it won't sit flat. > >Not earth shattering, but kind of annoying. >My query is how to remove this and get the tankard to sit flat again. Not a metalworker (and don't play one on TV or elsewhere) but I am a bit fond of pewter, and learned the following from an American antiques dealer who specialises in the stuff and has dealt with a few dents. Pewter is, as you noticed, soft. It thus is very prone to denting, but it's also quite easy to bend dents back into shape. Fill your basin (or anything else large enough to contain the tankard) with hot water, and place the tankard therein. Let it soak a bit so the metal warms up, then *gently* ease the dent back into shape. With old pewter (the kind still with lead in the alloy) you can even sometimes do this with your fingers, although with the modern stuff the judicious use of a hammer might be called for. Pounding 4 kinds of h*ll out of it is not recommended. ;-) Alianora Munro Having had sufficient experience with princes, now seeking a frog http://hometown.aol.com/noramunro/Chateau/index.htm clear up the clutter to reply From: David M. Razler Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Pewter damage Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 10:49:48 -0400 noramunro at aol.comclutter (Alianora Munro) wrote: | Lord Zierd wrote: | >My pewter tankard has developed a dent in the base, meaning it wont sit flat. | > | >Not earth shattering, but king of annoying. | >My query is how to remove this and get the tankard to sit flat again. | | Not a metalworker (and don't play one on TV or elsewhere) but I am a bit fond | of pewter, and learned the following from an American antiques dealer who | specialises in the stuff and has dealt with a few dents. | | Pewter is, as you noticed, soft. It thus is very prone to denting, but it's | also quite easy to bend dents back into shape. Fill your basin (or anything | else large enough to contain the tankard) with hot water, and place the tankard | therein. Let it soak a bit so the metal warms up, then *gently* ease the dent | back into shape. With old pewter (the kind still with lead in the alloy) you | can even sometimes do this with your fingers, although with the modern stuff | the judicious use of a hammer might be called for. Pounding 4 kinds of h*ll | out of it is not recommended. ;-) I wouldn't even bother heating - and recommend a rawhide or rubber mallet. Britannia metal (no-lead pewter) is soft enough to move and has a metling point low enough to melt it on a kitchen electric range top. Real pewter shouldn't be used for drinking anyway. david - who restored the roundness of both pewter tankards and the bases of a couple of century-old silver cups with his BARE HANDS (oooh....) and is a man of little strength. David M. Razler david.razler at worldnet.att.net From: Alasdayr Kilgour Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Pewter damage Date: Sat, 18 Sep 1999 09:50:48 -0700 Organization: Multi-Media Artisans Bredin Zierd wrote: > A Query to all those metalworkers out there... > > My pewter tankard has developed a dent in the base, meaning it wont sit flat. > Not earth shattering, but king of annoying. > My query is how to remove this and get the tankard to sit flat again. > I have a fair range of tools, but dont usually have to deal with a soft alloy > like this, and was wondering if there was any special care I should take before > getting out my hammer and beating 4 kinds of hell out of it for daring to become > deformed in my presence... > -- > Nunc lusum imus novum ludum > Lord Zierd, Cynic of the Inner Circle If the dent is more of a bulge than a sharp crease your problems should be minimal . Since pewter is so soft, I would recommend a very light hammer. You do not want to really "drive" it as the pewter will spread, possibly becoming more of a problem than originally. Back the dent (like using a bodywork dolly) with a bit of flat wood covered with leather or felt. A small wooden mallet, again faced with leather or felt, should enable you to remove the offending ding with but a few blows. -- Rick Schmidt Oak and Iron Forge aka Duncan Alexander Malcolm MacDuibh {MacDobhran} Kilgour Blacksmith Date: Mon, 29 Nov 1999 11:28:42 MST From: rmhowe Subject: Medieval Spoon Book with Mold from Coventry To: StellarArts at Onelist.com You might be interested in this. It has a partial stone spoon mold in it. I bought one a while back.: Muldoon S. & R. Brownsword: PEWTER SPOONS AND OTHER RELATED MATERIAL OF THE 14TH-17TH CENTURIES; in the collection of the Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry nd c 1985 28pp 12x8ins pb. Magnus Subject: [Metalcasting] Sources for casting supplies. Date: Fri, 7 Jan 2000 18:14:41 -0500 From: "Jim Revells" To: Here are some sources for casting supplies: DRS, (800) 223-8960 NY, NY: silver & gold Casting Grain, pg3, Cuttle Bone pg 297, Crucible/Melting Dish pg 296, Heat protective gloves pg 294, Carving Wax pg 278. Cas-KerCo, (800) 487-0408 Cincinnati, OH on the web at casker at casker.com: non-precious Casting Metals pg 146, Carving Wax pg 162, Small Sand Casting Set. Other companies that I don't have the current catalogs for but sell Casting supplies (they all have 800 #'s): Swest, Atlanta, GA FireMountian Gems, somewhere in WA Rio Grand, El Passo,TX Stuller, somewhere in LA Suggested Reading: Practical Casting, Tim McCreight The Complete Metalsmith, Tim McCreight Also a Vidio is available. Soapstone Carving for Children, Bonnie Gosse Suggested Site to visit: http://user.tninet.se/~mfx106d/vikingbronze.htm Lrd Olaf of Trollhiemsfjord Date: Mon, 03 Apr 2000 05:36:25 -0700 From: Edwin Hewitt To: sca_moneyer at egroups.com Subject: Cheap American Pewter > I accidentally deleted the thread on where to get cheap American pewter - any > leads? Herr Malachias von Morgenstern, Kapitän der Galatea Try the following links: http://www.welcocastings.com/industries/jewellery.htm http://fryconquest.com/leadfree.htm http://www.riogrande.com http://www.micromark.com/casting.html Date: Sun, 23 Apr 2000 05:22:53 -0400 From: rmhowe Organization: Windmaster's Hill, Atlantia, and the GDH Subject: MoL Pewter Exhibition book Hornsby, Peter R G and Weinstein, Rosemary and Homer, Ronald F. Pewter. A Celebration of the Craft 1200-1700. Museum of London, 1989. Catalogue of one of the finest exhibitions of English pewter ever staged. Many b/w illustrations of exhibits, engravings and ephemera. Four colour plates. 4to, 112pp, illustrated card covers. New. Book # 12 £ 7.00 (approx. 11.04 American Dollars) The Seller: Anglia Publishing, Unit T, Dodnash Priory FarmHazel Shrub, Bentley, Ipswich, United Kingdom, IP9 2DF. Phone: 01473 311138. Fax: 01473 312288. Email: anglia at anglianet.co.uk Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 08:03:43 -0700 From: "Anne-Marie Rousseau" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Tin/Pewter Was: Cornish Pasties To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" on pewter: Pewter comes in lots of different types. most all will contain some tin, and this can be mixed with lead, silver, bismuth, antimony etc depending on the qualities of the pewter you want. Lead pewter is lovely for casting because it flows so nicely and you can play with the slush point, but it will be soft and duller in color The pewter with a bit of silver in it can be trickier to cast since the point at which it solidifies is much more narrow (so it can freeze up in your mold) but its shinier and the pieces will be stiffer. Each type of pewter will have different characteristics, but they all (at least all the ones I've seen and/or used) have tin in them. If its pure lead, then its "lead" and not pewter! --Anne-Marie ps... if you want more info you can check out what we're doing with pewter here in AnTir at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pewterersguild/ Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 17:40:57 -0400 (EDT) From: smcclune at earthlink.net Subject: [Sca-cooks] Lead, was Tin/Pewter To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org Given all the discussion of lead and such, thought I'd mention that Lijsbet told me about test kits such as these: http://www.leadinspector.com/?gclid=CIPCz7rjzocCFRieWAodGjNFbQ So if you find a really cool pewter piece at the thrift store and you just can't pass it up, you can at least make sure it's food safe before you use it! Arwen From: Fvigil at aol.com Date: September 26, 2007 1:19:01 PM CDT To: pewterersguild at yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [pewterersguild] Pewter Suppliers. Was: Pewter prices just went up again! In a message dated 9/26/2007 12:54:58 P.M. Central Daylight Time, sean.wales at comcast.net writes: <<< So I just ordered some more Pewter from Rio, and it's $72 for a 5.5 lbs. bar. Yikes! That a little over $13 a lbs. >>> Rio Grande's pewter prices are usually quite high. BUT, since they don't seem to adjust their prices as quickly as most of the metal suppliers, I've gotten lucky a couple of times when there has just been is a large increase in the commodity price of tin - basically my regular suppliers prices had gone up, while Rio's had not yet caught up. Not long after, Rio jumped their prices way up. Since tin is traded on the commodities market, pricing can vary fairly widely and quickly. Over the last 6-8 years I've seen prices which varied from 3.10 to 12.30 a pound from my typical suppliers. Some places change their price regularly, others less often, so I typically check around before placing a large order. Prices do get better with some suppliers as you order more, so getting a group order together can help if you think you'll reach possible break points 50#, 100#, 200#. Here are a couple of other Pewter suppliers Purity Casting Alloys LTD 604-888-0181 www.PurityAlloys.com They sell "Lead Free Pewter" (92% Tin, 7% Antimony, 1% Copper). Their pricing typically includes shipping from Vancouver. They sell by the pound, ship in small (under 1#) bars which can be convenient, and they don't seem to have a minimum order. Their prices have tended to be reasonable on smaller quantities, but since they don't (or did not last I checked) offer volume discounts, they are not competitive on larger amounts where prices are reduced, and shipping is less of an issue. Ney Metals 718-389-4900 NeyMetals.com They sell Alloy B-7 (92% Tin, 7.5% Antimony, 5% Copper) Ney is up in New York State. They sell bars that they call 5#. But typically they come in under that in weight (a 12 bar box typically weighs about 55-56#). But you will be charged by the actual weight sent. I've never had them ship less than 12 bars, so I'm not sure what their minimum order may be, or how their pricing might look at under 55 pounds. They do give additional discounts at 100# Hallmark Metals 888-467-8000 HallmarkMetals.net They sell damn near any alloy you would ask for, but I typically buy: (92% Tin, 7.5% Antimony, 5% Copper or 92% Tin, 7% Antimony, 1% Copper ) Hallmark is in Rhode Island. They sell 7# (nominal) bars, but the exact weight will vary. Again, they charge you based on the actual weight sent. They seem willing to supply small orders. Though I typically order 10-20 bars, I once ordered only 5 bars. I've no clue if they will sell less. More often than not these guys have seemed to have the best prices - at least for the quantities I buy. Metalliferous Inc. 888-944-0909 Metalliferous.com A friend recently rcommended these guys, but I've not checked them out personally yet. And since Rio was the starting point for this post: Rio Grande Jewelry Supply 800-545-6566 RioGrande.com They sell catalog number 750031 (92% Tin, 7.5% Antimony, .5% Copper) They sell nominal 5.5# bars, and you can order as little as 1 bar. Their prices are typically high, but they don't change them very often. So if tin prices skyrocket, their (old un-raised) prices seem more reasonable for a while. But, if they raise their price before the price drops, then their prices can seem astronomical in comparison to others. They offer price breaks at 10 bars (55#) and at 20 bars (110#.). Fernando * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Conde Fernando Rodriguez de Falcon Barony of Three Rivers, Calontir Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 08:03:43 -0700 From: "Anne-Marie Rousseau" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Tin/Pewter Was: Cornish Pasties To: "'Cooks within the SCA'" on pewter: Pewter comes in lots of different types. most all will contain some tin, and this can be mixed with lead, silver, bismuth, antimony etc depending on the qualities of the pewter you want. Lead pewter is lovely for casting because it flows so nicely and you can play with the slush point, but it will be soft and duller in color The pewter with a bit of silver in it can be trickier to cast since the point at which it solidifies is much more narrow (so it can freeze up in your mold) but its shinier and the pieces will be stiffer. Each type of pewter will have different characteristics, but they all (at least all the ones I've seen and/or used) have tin in them. If its pure lead, then its "lead" and not pewter! --Anne-Marie ps... if you want more info you can check out what we're doing with pewter here in AnTir at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pewterersguild/ Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 17:40:57 -0400 (EDT) From: smcclune at earthlink.net Subject: [Sca-cooks] Lead, was Tin/Pewter To: sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org Given all the discussion of lead and such, thought I'd mention that Lijsbet told me about test kits such as these: http://www.leadinspector.com/?gclid=CIPCz7rjzocCFRieWAodGjNFbQ So if you find a really cool pewter piece at the thrift store and you just can't pass it up, you can at least make sure it's food safe before you use it! Arwen From: Brian Ferguson Date: January 5, 2008 6:20:49 PM CST To: pewterersguild at yahoogroups.com Subject: [pewterersguild] Another pewter source I recently bought some 99.9% pure tin for $10/lb from a supplier in  Kansas that primarily caters to home bullet makers. I plan to alloy  this with a roughly 90% tin alloy that I have at a 1:1 ratio, to make  something similar to 95/5 solder in terms of material properties. This  supplier will make custom alloys with antimony, lead, tin, and possibly  other metals. Prices vary, of course, but this is a few bucks cheaper  per pound than I've seen elsewhere.   Action Bullets & Alloy Inc  PO Box 189  Quinter, KS 67752  (785) 754-3609   -Derian. From: Precious Plunder Date: May 1, 2008 11:57:32 AM CDT To: trimaris-temp at yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [tri-temp] need suggestions I've had good luck with Metalliferous in New York. Their website is http://www.metalliferous.com/ They carry pewter in their base metal catalog on their website. HRothgar Thorsson From: Brian Ferguson Date: July 28, 2008 11:12:09 PM CDT To: pewterersguild at yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [pewterersguild] Oh dear...Pewter in Portland EaldredSCA wrote:   > Don't know about Portland for true pewter but you can get lead free  > solder at a hardware store.   This will work, though expect to pay a fair amount more than you would  by buying a similar product online. Perhaps double. It's often sold as  one of the following:   95/5 leadless solder (95% tin, 5% antimony)  leadless plumbing solder  lead free solder (may contain other stuff, but should work)   > Actually, a 50% lead solder would be closer to true period silver. Just  > don't lick the site tokens.   Using a lead-based pewter for site tokens is a reeeally bad idea. Kids  will lick them, people will handle them before meals, etc.   > Finally, online try www.rotometals.com . You  > can find a variety of pewters and low temp casting metals.   Rotometals is great, but I doubt you'll be able to get pewter from them  ahead of your deadline.   Another possibility would be jeweler supply stores. They infrequently  carry pewter, and may charge you more than you ought to pay, but you can  sometimes get it from them. Again, buying online is generally your best  bet.   Scouring second-hand stores can work, but you'll never be sure what sort  of metal you're getting. It's not worth the time, IMO.   Lastly, industrial metal suppliers *sometimes* carry pewter alloys.  They should be able to tell you exactly what's in it, but you may have  to buy a relatively large quantity from them to qualify for a sale.   -Derian. From: Stefan li Rous Date: July 29, 2008 1:39:24 AM CDT To: pewterersguild at yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [pewterersguild] Oh dear...Pewter in Portland On Jul 28, 2008, at 10:44 PM, Veronica wrote:  > I'm gonna facepalm. The persons doing the site tokens are newbies like  > me to pewter casting. What an adventure! As such none of us know where  > in Portland to get Pewter. Anyone know?  What is your deadline?   From my pewter class handout:  <<< My pewter now comes from:  Hallmark Metal Co (hallmark.metal at juno.com) 1-888-467-8000  http://www.hallmarkmetalscorp.com/   MPK is a Tin/Copper/Bismuth/Silver alloy melts 5-600 degrees F.,  $7.75 lb.  928 is a Tin/Antimony/Copper alloy melts 550-650 degrees F., $7.25 lb.   Call before ordering as this material is a commodity and varies from  day to day. The price of some of the materials has gone up  drastically in the last year or two. This price is almost double what  I paid as recently as 2005.   The pewter comes in 7 pound bars, which are notched for cutting into  three pieces. If you ask, they will cut them at the factory.>>>   Those prices are from last February or March. They have probably gone  up since then. That also doesn't include shipping.   They do ship fairly quick. Usually arrives in about a week or two, I  think. Pewter isn't something you want to pay expedited shipping on. :-)   If you need to buy it locally, as someone else mentioned, lead-free  plumbers solder is probably your best bet. It also has the advantage  that being available in 1 pound spools, you can simply roll off how  much you need and not have to melt 2 pound ingots in a 1 pound pot.   It will be more expensive. When I bought mine this way some years  ago, I found a huge difference in price from $8 to $13 per pound at  the local retail stores. By doing some calling around I was able to  find a wholesale plumbing supply place that was willing to sell it to  me and it was cheaper than the cheapest retail place I had found,  about $7/pound. These prices are from 15 years ago.   Stefan  --------  THLord Stefan li Rous Barony of Bryn Gwlad Kingdom of Ansteorra  Mark S. Harris Austin, Texas StefanliRous at austin.rr.com From: de Savage Date: September 15, 2008 10:57:24 PM CDT To: pewterersguild at yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [pewterersguild] pewter pricing In Canada ...   Purity Casting Alloys Ltd.  http://purityalloys.com/ #15 - 18503, 97th Ave  Surrey, B.C. V4N 3N9  Phone: (604) 888-0181  Fax: (604) 888-8318   Lead Free Pewter Alloy - $15.50 per pound  Silver Pewter Alloy - $16.95 per pound  Minimum Order - 25 pounds  Prices include shipping, handling and brokerage fees   If you have someone in the area to pick up for you, they'll do orders  smaller than 25 pounds and they're open until midnight, Monday  through Thursday. Go figure.   Good company - very responsive.   Sevrin Lord de Savage  Rapier Marshal * Appledore  Autocrat - Tournament of the Golden Swan AS XLIII  Cadet to Don Enoch Jacobsz. van Zuidland  GdS, AoA, Scholar of St Thomas Aquinas, Silver Oak From: Alex Haugland Date: September 15, 2008 11:35:15 PM CDT To: pewterersguild at yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [pewterersguild] pewter pricing Another that I've bought from is www.rotometals.com. They have aquaclean at $15.49/lb, 98% tin alloy at 14.49, and 92% at 16.99... Not significantly cheaper than Rio Grande, but they sell in smaller quantities...   --Alysaundre Weldon d'Ath (who is still very glad about having bought 10 ingots from Rio Grande at $42 each a couple years ago...)   From: Dan Towse Date: June 18, 2009 4:10:25 PM CDT To: No Reply , Subject: [pewterersguild] Another Online Artefacts database. Pity about the dutch site,   But here's another with a bunch of useful doodads. Not too many pilgrim  badges but good for ampullae, and belt mounts.   http://www.ukdfd.co.uk/ukdfddata/showcat.php?cat=21  From: Sean Wales Date: July 2, 2009 5:23:18 PM CDT To: pewterersguild at yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [pewterersguild] coloring pewter On Jul 2, 2009, at 2:12 PM, David wrote: <<< Greeting all,   My question is : What would be the best way to color pewter? Let's say I want it to look gold instead of silver. What are my options?   >>> I've gold leafed pewter, and it comes out pretty spiffy. (and period) -sean From: Stefan li Rous Date: July 2, 2009 9:55:29 PM CDT To: pewterersguild at yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [pewterersguild] coloring pewter On Jul 2, 2009, at 6:41 PM, Holly Compton wrote: <<< That [gold leafing pewter] sounds very nifty. I would love to try it. Do you know of any extant pieces? Did you just use leaf from the local hobby place?  Maggie  >>> How do you get the gold leaf to stick to the pewter? Does surface  tension alone do it?   I have two different files in the Florilegium having to do with gold  leaf, one on using gold leaf on food and the other in illumination.  In the FOOD-SWEETS-DECORATED section:  endoring-msg (24K) 1/14/03 Medieval methods of giving food a  gold color  In the SCRIBAL ARTS section:  gold-leaf-msg (24K) 2/15/06 Working with gold leaf, tools.   I'm not sure how much is applicable to pewter, though.   I have wondered about using the electoplating pens they make. They are  available with lots of different metals from copper, to brass to  silver to gold. The gold was pretty expensive ~$175 but the others  were much cheaper.   One thing I have done is use the lower-temperature bake on enamels  available in your local hobby store. If you pick them right, you can  get a translucent, glass appearance. Looks great as the background on  a "coin" shaped piece or to highlight a particular area. Ideally, the  area such be a "pocket" to hold the "glass". You can't use real enamel  since that has to be fired at a temperature which is higher than the  melting point of the pewter. However, since pewter today is used today  to imitate silver jewelry (and was in period), we are just using a  fake glass and fake silver to imitate a period silver and enamel  piece, so I see this as a reasonable compromise.   Stefan   From: Bob Woods Date: July 3, 2009 12:54:59 AM CDT To: pewterersguild at yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [pewterersguild] coloring pewter I've done electroplating gold on pewter with a plating pen. It works  really well, but tends to wear off the high points easily. The gold  layer that's deposited on the metal by pen plating is on the order of  a few millionths of an inch thick. A bath-type plater could probably  put a much deal thicker layer on, after all you can leave it plating  in the tank for a while, where as the pen plater is almost like taking  a sharpie to it, albeit a sharpie that uses pure gold as the ink.   I haven't tried doing undercoats of copper and nickel, as I usually do  on silver, to keep the silver from tarnishing under the gold. I happen  to have the pen plater since I do silversmithing, specializing in  coronets and circlets.   What I use for the An Tir kingdom medallions (for the checky on the  Goutte, Jambe and the Lion) is the low-fire Pebeo enamels. Be sure to  use the transparent one for gold. The other, opaque variety goes an  unappealing muddy green-gold color after firing that really doesn't  look like gold. The transparent variety lets you see the gleam of the  metal right through the color. Works very well, and is quite durable.   I have one medallion, the Goutte, which has a tear-shaped glass bead  hanging in the middle of it. I can fire the medallion with the bead in  place at the temperatures needed for curing the enamel.   Conchobar From: "Anne-Marie Rousseau" Date: July 8, 2009 12:19:12 AM CDT To: Subject: RE: [pewterersguild] coloring pewter Glad to be of help!  I know that some of the extant pieces in the museum catalogs I have show  vestigates of enamel, etc.   Mark der Gaulker could likely chime in if he knows of any examples of gilt  pewter? I can think of jillions of examples of gilt silver....   --AM  ----- Original Message----- Hi Anne Marie,  Thank you so much for sharing that how to. I am really interested in trying  this.  I am also really curious about when this was done in period. Can you point  me in the direction of when? (not gold leaf, but gold leaf on pewter)  Thanks again,  Maggie <<< Hey all from Anne-Marie   On gold leafing pewter....  The work we did was very successful. All it took was a bit of sizing (we  used a modern leafing size, but period egg white glair works great too based  on our experiments)   Paint it on in a thin coat, and let it dry to just the right tackiness (this  will take some experimentation) . Apply the gold leaf by wrapping the paper  backing around the piece and using your fingers, rub it into the piece.   That's it! The only tricky bit was making sure the size was JUST sticky  enough, and getting the gold into the nooks and crannies of the piece. It  definitely worked better on the flatter surfaces than it did the super  textured ones.   We used the pure edible gold leaf I got from a cake decorating supply place,  because its what I had, and it doesn't contain copper or other impurities  like the "craft" stuff. In my hands, this stuff doesn't tarnish and wears  like iron (I gilded the finial of my tent with the same method and its still  super shiny and GOLD!!! after many years of weather and abuse). The "craft  gold" doesn't have the same shine or color and looks fake to me....   Easy peasy!! And period to boot! I love it when it works out that way :)   --Anne-Marie  >>> From: Fernando Vigil Date: January 28, 2010 9:42:13 AM CST To: CALONTIR at listserv.unl.edu Subject: Re: [CALONTIR] paging Ferd---pewter question In a message dated 1/28/2010 09:30:37 Central Standard Time, bpronia at HOTMAIL.COM writes: <<< What did you tell me I could use on pewter to add an aged finish? and is there anything you do to seal the back so it doesn't leave grey marks on your clothes? >>> Two options. One is a commercial pewter oxidizer. You can buy it from RioGrande.com, and I'm sure from other jewelry suppliers as well. This stuff is comprised of a nitric and floroboric acid solution. I've also used a simple 5% nitric acid solution. Either one of these will turn the pewter grey to black -depending on how long you leave it in the solutionn. A quick (few seconds) dip gives you grey, longer and it gets darker. You can then seriously polish it to leave the color only in the cracks - this pops the detail out. Or you can rub it down or polish it to various levels of antique-ish look As far as avoiding getting the grey on your cloths, I've not really had that issue, when I've rubbed the pieces down hard with a rag to remove all the lose oxide, but I've not done a big piece and then left it to rub on say, white clothing. You could also polish the back to get all the oxide off/sealed under wax. Fernando From: Stefan li Rous Date: January 28, 2010 7:29:25 PM CST To: CALONTIR at listserv.unl.edu Subject: Re: [CALONTIR] paging Ferd---pewter question In a message dated 1/28/2010 09:30:37 Central Standard Time, bpronia at HOTMAIL.COM writes: <<< What did you tell me I could use on pewter to add an aged finish? and is there anything you do to seal the back so it doesn't leave grey marks on your clothes? >>> A question to consider is why you want to make your pewter item to look 'aged'? Are you wanting your pewter item to look like an archeological item dug out of the ground? Or is it an item that was being worn or used everyday in the Middle Ages? I tried one of these aging solutions when I first got into pewter casting ~15 years ago. I didn't get the gradual change that Fernando alludes to. In my case, I dipped it in the solution and it immediately turned quite dark. I didn't do any more experimenting to try to tone down the amount of aging because I decided I was making site tokens as if they were pilgrim badges being cast in the (current) Middle Ages and not some ancient artifact. Even if you do indeed wish to age your pewter item, I would experiment on a scrap piece or two before trying your prime pieces. Stefan -------- THLord Stefan li Rous Barony of Bryn Gwlad Kingdom of Ansteorra Mark S. Harris Austin, Texas StefanliRous at austin.rr.com Edited by Mark S. Harris pewter-msg 18 of 18