Lead
Small holes. Clean metal thoroughly with steel wool and cover hole with plastic steel.Large holes. Clean area around hole until metal shines. Cut a patch out of sheet lead and clean one side. Sprinkle shavings of tallow on both surfaces and melt it with a warm iron (this serves as the flux). Then tin both surfaces with a special tin-lead-bismuth solder. Hold patch over hole and heat it with a not-too-hot iron until the solder melts. Do not let iron rest long in one place, because lead has a low melting point.
May 23, 2012