Pewter is a very common casting metal. Its composition is 85 percent tin, 6.8 percent copper, 6 percent bismuth and 1.7 percent antimony. Its melting point is 180 degrees Celsius, or 356 degrees Fahrenheit. It is a non-toxic metal, making it ideal to cast beer steins or other decorative food contact items. Its a relatively hard metal after cooling, about as hard as aluminum.
Wood's metal has a very low melting point. It melts at 70 degrees Celsius, or 158 degrees Fahrenheit. Its composed of 50 percent bismuth, 25 percent lead, 12.5 tin and 12.5 percent cadmium. It is often used to make "joke" teaspoons. Give your guest a very hot cup of tea, and tell them its very strong. When your guest uses a teaspoon to stir sugar into the tea, the spoon melts. its a very soft metal, resembling lead. This metal is very soft and is unsuitable for any permanent items. Because it contains lead, it should not be used for permanent food contact surfaces. The joke spoons are re-melted and the tea is discarded.
Lead is a pure metal, having no alloys. Its melting point is 327.5 degrees Celsius, or 621.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Lead is a very soft metal after cooling, slightly harder than clay. Lead is a known health hazard, so its primary use in 2011 is boat keels, because its very heavy. In 2011, it's also commonly used to make bullets and fishing sinkers, but this is quickly growing out of favor, because of environmental concerns.
Two types of solder exist - leaded and lead free. Solder is an alloy of tin, cadmium, bismuth and sometimes lead. Leaded solder contains lead, and is used for electronic work. Lead-free solder is used on copper water pipes and all drinking water or food contact items. Solder's melting point is 216 degrees Celsius or 420 degrees Fahrenheit. its a very soft metal, and is used for connecting applications only. It is not suitable for sculptures or other permanent cast items.