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What, Why and How: Tin Alloy and how we make it into jewelry.

peace jewelry melting furnace
Our family has been working with various metals since the early 1990s. Silver, bronze, copper, aluminum, zinc and tin. Each of these metals has its own individual set of characteristics which make it more suitable for some projects and less suitable for others. For example tin and silver can be used for food utensils, but both copper and zinc will taint the food. Zinc and bronze can be used for tools, but aluminum, tin and silver are all too soft. Most of the jewelry work we have done in the past has been made with silver. We use the same basic methods for producing works in tin alloy. All the jewelry we sell on 123peace.com is made of food grade tin alloy. The alloy contains copper and antimony and tin. The copper makes the metal harder and more reflective, and the antimony makes the metal cast without excessive shrinkage. Starting with either sheet metal or a block of carving wax, the master model is fabricated through a combination of sawing, filing and soldering. Then the piece is cast into a master model with either sand casting or lost wax investment casting. Later semi permanent molds are made to help reduce the production costs and resource wastage. After the production pieces are cast in to the molds, they are finished by hand on a seres of grinders and buffers, antiqued with a blacking solution and tumbled with steel shot for hardening and to reach into the places no polished by the buffing wheels. Tin alloy is not as reflective as silver, but in common use is very similar in appearance and utility. The peace pendants may last for several generations. Chemical jewelry cleaners should not be used. Since tin is less costly than silver we can sell a piece for $10 that would need to be $40 or $50 if made in silver.

peace sculpture bird man
The jewelry sold on 123peace.com is about the message of peace and simplicity. If you feel the need to spend hundreds on a piece of peace jewelry, we make special donor peace pieces that are imprinted with the name of a peace group and the amount of your donation. "$500 Donor!" etc In this way you can have both simple and opulent in the same piece. Great conversation starter... Contact for more info.

Tin has been alloyed with other metals for over 5000 years. By mixing 2 or more metals together, alloys with greatly differing characteristics can be produced. Melting temperature, ductility, malleability, tinsel strength, shear strength, hardness, polish-ability, color, shininess, reflectivity, resistance to chemical change, and cast-ability are some of the variables. Many metals are eutectic, which means they go from molten to solid quickly at one set temperature. To cast these eutectic metals, they must be alloyed with other metals so that the metal changes from molten to solid over a wider temperature and time range. Copper is a good example of a eutectic metal that must be alloyed before it can be used for casting. Prior to the bronze age all copper ornaments were wrought or hammered. Latter craftsmen discovered that by combining copper with tin, the resulting bronze metal was stronger, harder and easier to cast. The common belief is that several metals are melted together to produce an alloy, but in actuality one or more metals are dissolved into the parent metal. This is similar to dissolving salt into water. (Since water boils off at 212℉ and salt melts at 1400+ ℉, the 2 can not be melted at the same time.)
Although the alloy combination we use is approved for tableware, we don't recommend letting children put these pieces into their mouths. The antiquing is an oxide layer.
peace dance
boogieboard girl made by peace jewelry designer

Neither the mining or jewelry industries have a very good environmental record. We attempt to produce our work in the cleanest, safest manner with out the use of questionable or pollution causing practices. For example we don't use mercury, lead, gold, plating baths, nickel, conflict diamonds, cadmium, cyanide or botox.
cast crow made by peace jewelry designer

Tin is not toxic and can be melted over the surface of several other metals, as in tin lined steel cans or in tin lined French copper pots. According to Wikipedia, the Oscar Statuettes given out at the Academy Awards, are gold plated tin alloy.
About Lead, Its uses and dangers.
Pictures: bronze foundry furnace, bronze and zinc sand castings, copper repousse

About Lead, Its uses and dangers. Lead is a neurotoxin. Exposure causes nerves system and blood disorders. These problems are amplified in children and women who will bare children. In the past lead was used in paint pigments, gasoline and plumbing solder. These three sources caused the majority of lead poisoning. Plumbing solder is usually an alloy of tin. Before it was outlawed lead was used, either by itself or mixed with tin, as solder for both potable water and food containers. This is because the value of lead is about 1/4th that of tin. In jewelry production lead is often used as a stamping block, a tank lining for acid baths and as a bending tool for gold and silver tubes. The tubes are filled with molten lead then bent after which the lead is melted out. Historically lead was alloyed with tin to make low grades of pewter metals, again because of cost. There are a few cases for using lead, for example some kinds of bronze bearings, like in shipboard water pumps can be permanently lubricated by including lead in the bronze alloy. Also lead is necessary to act as shielding from x-rays, gamma-rays and other forms of radiation. Some recycled lead is radioactive for this reason. In making our peace jewelry we use grinders and buffers. At the end of the day we are covered with metal dust. It would be foolish, unhealthy and unwise for us to use a lead based alloy. We don't drink, smoke, spray chemicals or pesticides, and we support organic farming. We believe that taking care or ones self and the environment is one of our more important responsibilities. Whenever I take my kids fishing I try to remember to take lead-free weights. I think lead fishing weights should be outlawed just like lead shotgun pellets were in 1992. Next time you have your tires changed, ask them if they have lead-free balance weights. You can buy a cheap lead detection kit and check the exposed paint in your old house. There might be grants available to seal old paint and make it less dangerous. One place to also check is the soil next to older houses. After fifty years of peeling paint the soil can be quite toxic, don't let kids play there.