Babbitt???

Axman

Active Member
I bought a 35 lb ingot from a small scrap dealer on Saturday.
I seemed to be pretty hard and I took it today to a yard that had a metal gun.
.52 CU
1.06 SN
15.39 SB
82.46 PB
Am I correct in assuming some sort of Babbitt alloy?
I figured it might be good at sweetening my big melts of range lead.
Thanks
 

Bisley

Active Member
It sounds to me like scrap linotype, with the tin depleted, or in very small quantity. It will certainly sweeten range lead; I'd add a half-pound spool of 95/5 tin/antimony solder to the melt and you're ready to go. Then mix as linotype.
 

Axman

Active Member
Hers a picture of the ingot.
The first letter looks like a Y to me but who knows.
Thanks
 

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Rick

Moderator
Staff member
It could be a Babbitt of some sort, there certainly is no set recipe for it. With over 3% more Sb than lino I wouldn't cast it as is but yep it sure would sweeten a pot of softer alloy.
 

Joshua

Taco Aficionado/Salish Sea Pirate/Part-Time Dragon
30FE7D2F-AD33-4121-8607-B949D22D3755.jpeg
This is a list of what Rotometals currently sells as babbit. Number 4 Hardware is similar, but lacks any copper.
 

Bret4207

At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
There was an article someplace some years back on different types of babbit that someone posted. There are about a gazillion mixtures and some contains no lead to speak of. I may have it bookmarked. I'll look if I remember.
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
That "#4 Hardware" babbitt listed in Joshua's post text looks a whole lot like the O/P's metal composition, and both look a whole lot like Linotype (84/12/4) with tin burned off/reduced/whatever.
 
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popper

Well-Known Member
As I said, cut any of the Cu babitts by 40 and you get ~0.1% Cu in the mix. Before you cut it with 100% lead.
 

Axman

Active Member
It’s hard to chisel a piece off of it.
It breaks into small slivers instead of a curl or chunk.
 

Ian

Notorious member
Use it like half-power Rotometals Superhard. Get some tin and treat up a couple hundred pounds of roofing lead with it.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't get all worked up about it.
you got a rough idea what it is.
you got a rough idea what's in ww's too.
'pure lead' ain't always so either.

1. figure a 'close nuff' for whatever else you got on hand.
2. make some small ingots from the big one you got, throw them all together and make some projectiles.

continue looking for more stuff to repeat the above instructions.
 

Axman

Active Member
I wouldn't get all worked up about it.
you got a rough idea what it is.
you got a rough idea what's in ww's too.
'pure lead' ain't always so either.

1. figure a 'close nuff' for whatever else you got on hand.
2. make some small ingots from the big one you got, throw them all together and make some projectiles.

continue looking for more stuff to repeat the above instructions.
I couldn’t have said it better.
I’m working on a 1000 lb counterweight now.
Going to go look at it tomorrow.
Thanks
 

Axman

Active Member
Did a rough check on the counterweight, They are in the first stages of taking off the steel plate that encases it.
Appears real soft and he also has a XRF gun to verify content.
My guesstimate is close to 2000 lbs.
We’ll see soon.
 

pcmacd

Member
It could be a Babbitt of some sort, there certainly is no set recipe for it. With over 3% more Sb than lino I wouldn't cast it as is but yep it sure would sweeten a pot of softer alloy.
3% or more of antimony is not an issue; my standard handgun recipe is range salvage with 2% tin and 3% antimony ADDED via foundry type- there is likely more of each in the final alloy, considering the base is range salvage. I shoot this alloy in 44 & 357 Manglem, and with 30 Carbine, all with gas checks - no leading issues.

My rifle alloys are around 5:1 ww/foundry type - thats LOTS of antimony. I shoot them with gas checks at standard rifle velocities with the same propellents you would use for jacked bullets, and it works like a charm.
 

BudHyett

Active Member
The best alloy in my experience for both pistol and medium-to-heavy loads for rifle 94%Pb/4%Sb/ 2%Sn, came in five pound bars. Cast straight from the mold for pistol bullets and water-drop for rifle bullets, it worked well.

We got it from a scrap yard foundry in Genoa, Illinois. He made 1400 pounds every other week for a commercial caster. We'd sneak off a few hundred pounds in a group buy. The owner has since died and the state effectively closed the scrap yard by refusing to issue licenses for any new owners.