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Tin Oxide: Tin Burnt in an Open Iron Pot
Ondřej Mangl (Wikimedia Commons) · Public domain
Charlie

Created by

Charlie

14. October 2026DE
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Tin Oxide: Tin Burnt in an Open Iron Pot

Tin oxide is made by burning tin in air: melted tin in an open pot slowly turns to a white powder. Andrew Ure (1839) describes the enamel makers' way, with a lead-tin alloy in a flat iron pot, the powder raked aside as it forms, then ground and washed fine. Done with pure tin it gives the milky white oxide used in glazes, opal glass and polishing. The picture: tin(IV) oxide powder on a watch glass.
Intermediate
A day

Instructions

1

Melt the tin in an open pot

Melt the tin in a flat cast-iron pot over a charcoal fire. Leave the pot open to the air.

Materials for this step:

Tin IngotTin Ingot1 kg
CharcoalCharcoal1 as required

Tools needed:

Balance ScaleBalance Scale
Cast Iron Melting PotCast Iron Melting Pot
Charcoal FurnaceCharcoal Furnace
TongsTongs
Heat-Resistant GlovesHeat-Resistant Gloves
2

Burn it, rake the powder aside

Raise the heat towards a dull red and keep stirring the surface. Rake the white crust to the sides as it forms, as Ure describes, and add tin as it is used up. Keep the heat as low as will do: Ure warns that too strong a fire fuses the powder and makes it hard to grind.

Tools needed:

Cast Iron Melting PotCast Iron Melting Pot
Iron RakeIron Rake
Perforated SkimmerPerforated Skimmer
Heat-Resistant GlovesHeat-Resistant Gloves
3

Pick out the metal

Let the powder cool. Sift it and pick out any beads of tin; Ure: no metal may be left in the oxide. Melt the beads back in.

Tools needed:

Fine SieveFine Sieve
Chemical Splash GogglesChemical Splash Goggles
4

Grind and wash

Grind the powder fine with water. Stir it up in a bucket of water, let the coarse part settle for a moment and pour off the milky water; let the fine part settle out of that, as Ure washed his. Dry it in a dish and store it closed.

Materials for this step:

WaterWater10 liters

Tools needed:

Mortar and PestleMortar and Pestle
MullerMuller
BucketBucket
Evaporating DishEvaporating Dish
Glass JarGlass Jar
5

Tin to oxide

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6

Limits

Burning tin in air is how tin oxide is made (Wikipedia); the pot, raking, low heat and washing are Ure's practice for the lead-tin calx of enamel makers, used here with pure tin by our choice. Tin oxidises more slowly than Ure's lead-rich alloy, so allow time.

Materials

3
  • 1
    Tin Ingot
    1 kg
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  • 1
    Charcoal
    1 as required
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  • 4
    Water
    10 liters
    Placeholder

Tools Required

14

This blueprint makes

Thumbnail
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Tin Oxide (Stannic Oxide)

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