AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Gun Building => Topic started by: kudu on September 03, 2019, 06:15:27 PM
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Any one use "Cerrosafe" for a poured nose cap instead of Pewter?
It (cerrosafe) melts real low 160-190 deg fahrenheit. Not much higher than most water heater settings.
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I’ve seen a couple done that way. They don’t look like pewter. I like pure tin myself. It doesn’t look like lead, and is very easy to pour, as long as you don’t overheat it.
Hungry Horse
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HH has made a very good point. Whatever metal you use, ie: pewter, high speed babbit, or tin, do not overheat the metal. If you do, the wood will char excessively, give off gases as it does, and cause bubbles in your pour. I think tin stays clean and shiny the longest. Babbit and pewter darken and go dull and grey much more quickly. But that's not a bad thing.
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The last nose cap I cast was high tin.Mixture of lead and tin. I little grey, but not much.-
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I've got some left-over high-tin-antimony alloy pills (high velocity bullets) that I never plan to shoot and thought I might melt those for my nosecap, any problems with that? I sold that gun a while back.
Saves me selling or giving those away and buying "proper" metal. The big ones are 20 to a pound.
Should I add more tin, use pure tin, or just wing it and do better next thyme?
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Modern lead free solder works very well and looks good. It's 95% tin and 5% antimony and is easy to come by. Plus, you don't need to worry about the dreaded lead poisoning while you use it ::)
JS
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Any one use "Cerrosafe" for a poured nose cap instead of Pewter?
It (cerrosafe) melts real low 160-190 deg fahrenheit. Not much higher than most water heater settings.
Why?
I use Silva-Brite 100 solder when I can find it. Right color and its one of the old non-toxic pewter formulas.
Quit lead bearing stuff decades ago.
Dan
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I've got some left-over high-tin-antimony alloy pills (high velocity bullets) that I never plan to shoot and thought I might melt those for my nosecap, any problems with that? I sold that gun a while back.
Saves me selling or giving those away and buying "proper" metal. The big ones are 20 to a pound.
Should I add more tin, use pure tin, or just wing it and do better next thyme?
Add more lead and make round balls.
I don't use lead bearing material since it gets sanded and the lead gets everywhere in very fine particles.
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I've got some left-over high-tin-antimony...
Should I add more tin, use pure tin, or just wing it and do better next thyme?
Add more lead and make round balls.
I don't use lead bearing material since it gets sanded and the lead gets everywhere in very fine particles.
Yes, makes more sense that way. Or maybe there's a crazy demand for 'em [investigates] oh my, they've gone up! I may sell 'em and buy proper metals for current applications. I no longer have that gun.
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I use Silva-Brite 100 solder when I can find it. Right color and its one of the old non-toxic pewter formulas.
Quit lead bearing stuff decades ago.
Dan
It's available at my usual source, how far does a pound go?
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Second hand stores often have modern lead free pewter items that have been engrave as awards in the past. These can be bought cheap most of the time, and make great cast nose caps. I bought a grocery bag full for ten bucks, that will probably last me the rest of my life.
Hungry Horse
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I always keep my eyes open at yard sales, etc for pewter items. They usually go pretty cheap, especially if they are bent up. Here's my latest from an old goblet bought at a recent yard sale.
(https://i.ibb.co/y4N891f/20190910-163725.jpg) (https://ibb.co/cYyNBHg)
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I just bought some pewter ingots from TOW. And I prepared my wood and fore end just like Herschel House did in the video using the same materials he demonstrated. No leakage. Little fuss and bother. What can I say, it worked perfect.
(https://i.ibb.co/M7nRtRj/SS850095-1024x768.jpg)
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I have about every alloy in my shop and have used them for many years. I think pure tin is best for nose caps. Cerro safe cost too much. I use it for lots of other purposes Like backing thin metal when engraving it and putting in shotgun barrels for turning them also for measuring chambers.