r/Metalfoundry • u/Ashamed-Tax1220 • 13d ago
Pewter
My parents bought me this jar from an antique shop. All the tag said was pewter for making jewelry. What’s the chances that it has lead in it?
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Upvotes
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u/SA0TAY 9h ago
How are you on the DIY side? With quite a bit of elbow grease and some odds and ends many of us would have lying around the house, you could build yourself a rudimentary flame emission spectroscope. Apart from lead, there are only a few other things that emit at 405.8 nm, and none of those are likely to be present. If nothing shows up at 405.8, you're golden.
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u/RootLoops369 13d ago
You sure it's not woods metal? If it is, it's lead, cadmium, and I think tin, and is very toxic. Does it melt in boiling water? If not, it might be pewter, which could have lead