Yard Sales for Casting Stuff

[quicksylver]

Sorry to say but I have several Old Buddys that clean out house and do yards sales for realtors.

Real scroungers these guys.

Whenever pewter pops up they through it in a plastic 5 gal. bucket and drop it off at my shop.

Ditto with lead from my contractor buddys.

Good to have non-shooting friends!

 

[quicksylver]

Forgot to mention the real question for me is "Where is the Lino?"

 

[Ian]

Bah, no need for linotype I made five pounds of the stuff last 30 years, and a half-pound of antimony crystals will be lasting me longer than that. If I hadn't been testing the stuff specifically I wouldn't have needed it at all. If I can make wheel weights go to 30+ bhn with a simple heat treat, there's no need to spend money on expensive alloy. Lately I've been finding that sticky WW, the uncoated ones, contain a lot of tin, actually more than I want, so the shortage with me is pure-ish lead.

 

[yodogsandman]

Just saw an ad tonight on Craigslist-NH, $1.50/lb.

Yard sale an hours drive away with linotype and printing equipment, today.

Nah! Why start now? Like Ian, I get 30 BHN with oven heat treating. Cheap COWW's, SOWW's and cheap pewter are well, cheap.

 

[yodogsandman]

Got skunked at all the yard sales yesterday. An estate sale on the way to the range this morning yielded just one small hallmarked bowl that weighed .39 lb for a buck.

 

[yodogsandman]

Stopped at the Salvation Army Discount Store yesterday and found two hallmarked, glass bottom, pewter tankards that together weighed 1.67 lb. It was blue and green tag day and they went for half price at $1.98 for both.

 

[yodogsandman]

Todays yard sales haul was just one large water pitcher that was unmarked and weighed 1.65 lb for $1. It dented and bent right. When I got home I hit a spot on it with the torch and it immediately melted. Good sign!

I had to pass on some items. Too expensive for the weight! Hope word hasn't gotten out that it's like gold!

 

[yodogsandman]

Stopped at a yard sale on the way back from the range today and found a small bowl that weighed .38 lbs for fifty cents.

 

[yodogsandman]

Just returned from yard sailing! I found 4.99 lbs of hallmarked pewter for $10. A creamer, sugar bowl and platter set, 10 goblets and 6 shot cups. Loads of yard sales this long Labor Day weekend!

I also found a cast iron, 12 mini loaf, corn bread mold for $5.

Had to add another glass bottom tankard that wasn't hallmarked from a yard sale that I checked on the way to a flea market in the afternoon. It weighed .67 lb and cost $1. Should yeild just under a half pound after the glass is removed. When I squashed the top rim it made that crinkling sound so, I'm pretty sure that it's pewter.

 

[JonB]

My SIL and Daughter hit Hutchinson MN citywide garage sale yesterday.
Afterwhich he calls and asks,
"are empty 38 shells worth anything ? I bought a big box with an ammo can and 20 commercial boxes filled with 38 Spl used cases, all for $15 and all I wanted was the ammo can...do you want the 38 shells?".
You can probably guess my response. I did tell him that they usually go for about $50 per thousand. We also discussed that my Daughter is apparently low on 45 colt ammo ...So I'll try to get some of those loaded up with some cast bullets lubed with SL68B...none of which are just laying around.

Also, within the last week, I stopped by a sale...it's a regular sale (4 times a year) by a guy who mostly sporting goods and coins...I started stocking up on some vintage silver, since the Greece banks closed for a week, the china currency devaluation, and the prices of silver has dropped to a 5 year low, can only go up now, right? ANYWAY, He also had a Diawa Goldcast II, looked new in the box, a real box with original papers, not a plastic shell package. I tried to push the thumb release and it was stuck as was the crank, it was marked $15 (it is a $50 reel), when I showed him that it was froze up, he was embarrassed and almost didn't want to sell it, I did tell him, that I suspect it is just dried grease, especially if it sat on the shelf for 20+ years (my best guess, as I bought a Goldcast III (in a plastic shell package) in 1997 for a trip to AK, so I'm quite sure his was older). He took my $5 offer and I was very happy

 

[yodogsandman]

I'm a little "under the weather" with a cold this weekend so, only hit maybe 10 yard sales. No pewter to be found. I did get a box marked "TC stocks" for $2. There was two Contender handgun grips, one with the Decelerator pad. Four fore ends for both 10" and 14". There were two barrels also, a 14", 30 Herrett in good condition and one I can't identify, yet. It's condition was poor/rusted, left unmarked and it has either a .44 or .45 bore with a straight walled case about 2" long and the barrel's about 20" in length. Thinking a .44 Mag. The seller said it was from a very top manager (deceased) at Thomson Center Arms before they were bought out by Smith and Wesson. Maybe an experimental barrel? Now to decide whether to buy a Contender or sell!

 

[35 shooter]

Wow, what a find! Don't you love it when you hit the jackpot like that? HHMMMM sell or keep would be a tough decision for me.
Then again, if there's something else you really want.....

 

[yodogsandman]

35 shooter, being a Mauser guy, donor actions come to mind...only one left and it's reserved for the grand boy. I still have a 1 in 14 twist, 35 Whelen barrel that needs an action. I really enjoy "saving" old Mausers!

The mystery is starting to melt away on the rusty barrel...it's 14" long and .44 caliber with two screw bosses on the bottom for the forearm. I've soaked it in Kroil all week and it's not that bad, lets call it serviceable. The barrel will definitely need to be re-blued, maybe a bead blasted, hunter finish. The bore cleaned up pretty nice too, bright and shiny. Now if I could just lay my hands on a few .44 mag cases to try....now, I know I have a big coffee can full somewhere...

There's a gun show about 15 miles away in Sanford, Maine this weekend, wonder what they get for contenders now? Bet there's a few yard sales on the way to check out, too!

 

[35 shooter]

I hate to say it, but i passed on two earlier this summer. One was blued in 30 herret and the other was a 7-30 waters with the finish that looks like stainless on the frame(i forget what you call it).

Both had nice scopes and were estate sales. 475.00 each with scopes, bases and rings.
Both were original series contenders in 10" bbl. configurations.

I'm still kicking myself over the 7-30 waters.

 

[yodogsandman]

The gun show was a complete bust but, just the entry fee poorer. They haven't been told the glut is over, yet!

A quick search shows a 7-30 Waters at a LGS for $475. Mmm, maybe trade the rusty barrel, maybe find a 35 Rem barrel, too....

Yard sales produced all hallmarked items, two candle operas, a covered butter dish and two tankards for a total weight of 3.19 lbs and at a cost of $7.50 total. Suckered myself into a "Paul Revere Reproduction" creamer that turned out to be
chromed stainless for $.50.

I turned down a lot this weekend because of the prices. Word must be out about me wanting pewter! A flea market guy wanted $10 for three tankards that might have gone a little over two pounds. Another, at a yard sale wanted $10 for a tankard and small dented up bowl, maybe with a total weight of just over a pound.

Yard sale season is coming to an end soon, time to melt it all down and see what and how much I have.

 

[yodogsandman]

Cooler weather is here this weekend so, less yard sales. I found just one hallmarked large pitcher that weighed 1.19 lbs for $1. Thanks for allowing me to ramble each week with my pewter scores. It allows me to tally it up for the year.

Also an adjustable swing arm, bench light with a magnifying glass for a buck.

I planned to melt down the pewter today but, it was just too windy. Figured that the wind would reduce the heat to the pot. Too windy to shoot, too! Spent most of the day casting from two "new to me" NOE molds. The 454-230 RN (50/50 COWW+range scrap)and an old group buy 314-129 FN (COWW's + 1.5% Sn). Loaded up some experimental .308 win hunting loads, comparing BLL against 666-1 with the addition of liquid alox. Used the NOE 311-165 RD (50/50 AC'd alloy) and 21.0gr surplus SR4759 for about 1900 FPS, I think.

 

[Rick]

19.0 gr SR4759 with the RCBS 180 gives me right at 1800 fps. With SAECO #311 18.5 gr gives 1800 fps. Both bullets open up groups at 20.0 gr in my rifle, your mileage may well vary. I grouped these loads at 150 meters while shooting over the chrono. There are five shots (RCBS 180) on the target, the high shot was a called flyer. The 308 and SR4759 play nice together.

 

[yodogsandman]

This is my first try with the NOE bullet. Years ago, the RCBS 30-180 SP gave best results with 21.0gr in this rifle. There's a 20 gr difference in weight between the two bullets. The 30-180 SP drops at 190gr and the NOE at 172gr. The Lyman #4 manual lists a 170gr load with SR4759 starting at 19.5gr and a 175 gr load starting at 21.5 gr. So, the 21.0gr starting load for me was a poke.

 

[Rick]

BTW, that's the RCBS SPGC not the flat point. It drops with my alloy at 183 gr. SAECO #311 160 gr in my alloy drops at 163 gr. Alloy is CWW +2% Sn air cooled.

 

[yodogsandman]

I had to go check to be sure. You're right, they weigh 183gr cast of early 1980's vintage COWW (9 1/2 lb) with 1/2 lb of 50/50 solder (about 2 % Sn) in a 10 lb Lee pot. I still have about 30 lb of them cast up from back then.