Re: MtMan-List: Tinning

[Gary Bell <micropt@gte.net>]

CAUTION!!!!!

Antimony IS toxic, and the alloy with tin you mentioned could still provide some
soluble antimony -- not enough to knock you down dead right away, but maybe enough
to make you ill slowly, or initiate a serious health problem sometime later (where
the cause is less clear and remedies pretty much unavailable).  Antimony compounds
were used in medicines in the 19th century and before, just as lead, mercury and
arsenic were, with similar results.

In the past,antimony was used medicinally in numerous forms, but in the late 18th
and early 19th centuries it was particularly common in the form of "Tartar emetic"
(hydrated potassium antimonyl tartrate, in case you wanted to know that), and used
(with little or no success) to treat fevers.  It produced vomiting, sweating and
catharsis (purgative, forcing the body to expell undesired materials especially
from the bowels in order to purify and relieve it).

Pure tin is the metal to use in cookware, and if the price seems too high consider
the cost, discomfort and inconvenience of medical care today..... and the small
amount of tin needed for mending or making your pot.  Seriously, the price
shouldn;t be all that bad for the amount needed, as the prices for all the high
tin content alloy products (including your 95-5 solder) are based on three
things:  the open market cost of tin (which should be similar no matter what form
and what other metals are alloyed in small amounts), plus the cost of fabricating
it into a useful form for us (cast in bars, very cheap), plus the cost of
distributing it to us (that is likely the source of the high pricing you found --
suggest checking around for a 'commercial' or 'industrial' source of pure tin).

By the way, guess where the term 'tinker' for an itinerant mender of pots came
from...

YMHAOS,

Gary Bell

NaugaMok@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 98-10-19 00:45:46 EDT, you write:
>
> <<  I haven't been
>  able to find "tin" at affordable prices and just finding it has been
>  frustrating so what I use is "lead free Silver bearing Plumbers Solder". It
>  goes for about $10 per roll and that is enough  to do many pots. >>
>
> You can also use "95-5" solder which is 95% tin & 5% antimony.  The antimony
> makes the tin flow better & is not toxic.  Runs about the same price or a bit
> cheaper as the lead free stuff.  Seems to flow & adhere better than the lead
> free stuff.
>
> The old tinners used asbestos pads to swab the tin/solder around inside the
> pots, but as we now know, asbestos ain't good for us, so it's nearly
> impossible to find, & hazardous to use.  I've read that some used heavy
> leather pads, but I think the steel wool trick might be easier -- especialy on
> smaller pots where you can't get your gloved hand inside with enough room to
> move freely.  Some autobody sypply houses still carry the pads for "leading"
> which was the process used for autobody repairs before "Bondo" came along.  It
> was a process in which melted lead was wiped on the body metal to fill in the
> imperfections/dents.  For large pots the pads used for this process should
> work well because you're workng sith simular temperatures.  The small
> stainless steel "tooth brush" (so named for it's size & shape) might work well
> in some applications.  Some fluxes remove easier with alchohol -- the plain
> old "rubbing" variety seems to work as well as ethanol & methanol & is easier
> to find (local grocery store) & much cheaper.
>
> Above all -- remember you're working with molten tin / solder that's in the
> 600 degree range & ANY contact with bare skin is imediate pain!!!  Be
> careful!!!  Any contact between this molten metal & water has explosive
> results that usualy splatters the hot tin & generates large amounts of super
> heated steam.  As Capt recommended heavy gloves are a must -- check your local
> welding supply.  I'd also recommend long sleeved cotton shirts & heavy canvas
> or leather work aprons.  I learned the hard way & have the scars to prove it!!
>
> I've done a lot of radiator work & some "leaded" body work & had recently
> gotten the urge to make a pot too, but I was intending on using brass shim
> stock.  This question came at a good time for me because I was doing some
> heavy thinking about how to spread the tin inside the corn boiler sized pot
> knowing I couldn't get my hand + glove + pad inside to do the spreading.  I'd
> already decided simply sloshing the tin around inside wasn't a good idea with
> questionable results.  I DO know heat is the secret to getting the tin to flow
> properly & have it leave a usable thickness of tin deposited on the surface
> the wife won't scratch through it the first time she scrubs the pot out.  You
> want the pot just hot enough for the tin to flow & stick -- too hot & the
> resulting coating will be pretty thin.
>
> NM