Nickel Babbitt American Smelting And Refining company xxxx and some unknown

From what I read from the nice folks (Felix) at LASC the Nickel Babbitt can be good bullet material. With a few warnings and things to pay attention to. http://www.lasc.us/FelixBabbitbulletAlloy.htm

So I'm pretty sure I paid $3 for about 4# of 88% tin 7% antimony and 3-4% copper. Anyone with some experience casting with this alloy feel free to weigh in. You know sometimes I feel bad melting down pieces of history, even if melting is what it was made for. Company has not had that name in almost 50 years.

The three rounded "pills" with a slot are something of a mystery, very hard and ring like a bell when struck, wonder if anyone has a guess on what those might be.

Not pictured is a homemade ingot in the shape of a ladle with unmelted pieces that look like little Hershey kisses. And about 5# of shot in an old canvas bag labeled hard 7 1/2. I'm figuring 5-7% antimony for that.

Attachment 100871

As a side note it's getting closer to the time when the weather will allow me to go outside and melt stuff. Can hardly wait.

I have a big Babbitt brick like that and I be dammed if I can make myself melt it down , it's pretty cool

I also have several ingots like that and keep them around as history!

I have over 200# of tin to tap to melt into soup for boolits.

bangerjim

I've used it and still have a half ingot. I use it as if it were tin. The copper doesn't seem to affect the alloy noticeably.

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Originally Posted by 454PB

I've used it and still have a half ingot. I use it as if it were tin. The copper doesn't seem to affect the alloy noticeably.

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Thanks for the input. The LACS site said that little bit of copper can be useful if one is doing small caliber at high velocity, toughen the material without making it harder.

I don't have nearly as much tin as you do bangerjim but enough that this ingot and at least a couple of pieces of the Bell System Seam will be the last things I would throw in the pot. Of course I'll keep plugging away looking for more so I don't need to. Now if I could convince DW that pewter I find is for melting not decoration....

I picked up 25 or so 4lb bar's of babbit and when I brought one to a local scrap yard founf out it was a high tin ally babbit.
Roto metal's still has it in stock.

http://www.rotometals.com/product-p/...el_babbitt.htm

I think I did good, at $0.70lb

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Originally Posted by RogerDat

From what I read from the nice folks (Felix) at LASC the Nickel Babbitt can be good bullet material. With a few warnings and things to pay attention to. http://www.lasc.us/FelixBabbitbulletAlloy.htm

So I'm pretty sure I paid $3 for about 4# of 88% tin 7% antimony and 3-4% copper. Anyone with some experience casting with this alloy feel free to weigh in. You know sometimes I feel bad melting down pieces of history, even if melting is what it was made for. Company has not had that name in almost 50 years.

The three rounded "pills" with a slot are something of a mystery, very hard and ring like a bell when struck, wonder if anyone has a guess on what those might be.

Not pictured is a homemade ingot in the shape of a ladle with unmelted pieces that look like little Hershey kisses. And about 5# of shot in an old canvas bag labeled hard 7 1/2. I'm figuring 5-7% antimony for that.

Attachment 100871

As a side note it's getting closer to the time when the weather will allow me to go outside and melt stuff. Can hardly wait.

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Use the babbit sparingly as an alloy enhancer. Read this: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...s-this-further Get the download of an alloy calculator. The Slotted pieces may well be zinc. Try melting them seperately and if they take a temperature in excess of 750*, they likely have a zinc content. Four ounces of the babbit added to 10 pounds of COWW is a fairly decent addition for a good alloy...more babbit to the same amount of COWW is NOT a better alloy. The nickel babbit is retailing at Rotometals for around $20 a pound.

Edd

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Originally Posted by badgeredd

Use the babbit sparingly as an alloy enhancer. Read this: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...s-this-further Get the download of an alloy calculator. The Slotted pieces may well be zinc. Try melting them seperately and if they take a temperature in excess of 750*, they likely have a zinc content. Four ounces of the babbit added to 10 pounds of COWW is a fairly decent addition for a good alloy...more babbit to the same amount of COWW is NOT a better alloy. The nickel babbit is retailing at Rotometals for around $20 a pound.

Edd

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Already use the calculator, nice tool, really appreciate it. Entered in all my solder in order to quickly find out how much tin I had in total. I read that thread on copper so I thought it was OK to use the Babbitt, your recipe for it is welcome. As is the tip on using melt test for possible zinc in the slotted pieces. If they are zinc but the Babbitt is $70 worth of tin I guess I can live with that trip to the scrap yard.

They melted at about 425 f never over 450 and poured smooth into muffin pan, came out tight and shiny. Some bits of WW lead on the pot did not even start to melt before the slotted pills were fully liquid.

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Originally Posted by RogerDat

They melted at about 425 f never over 450 and poured smooth into muffin pan, came out tight and shiny. Some bits of WW lead on the pot did not even start to melt before the slotted pills were fully liquid.

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Yes pure tin ( and nearly pure) melts and pours beautifully. As a kid, I used to pour "tin soldiers" with a mold I still have. They were very hard and fun to make, paint, and play with.

I used to get my tin in 1# ingots from the local hobby store for 20 cents each! Gone are those days! I cannot believe how much tin costs today!!!!!!


bangerjim

I've been collecting babbitt material from around Alaska for almost 40 yrs and have hundreds of pounds of bars and scrap. I have buckets of scrap that I use to alloy with lead for casting bullets. I just sold 57# of Great Western Smelting and Refining, I think they were, nickel babbitt bars to Roto for $5/#. I had way more than I could ever use. I still have an unopened 100# case of Finns lead-based babbitt bars and lots of loose ~1# bricks of same. If you want cool babbitt bars find a "Magnolia Antifriction Metal" bar. They are the coolest looking.

RidgerunnerAk maybe if you decide to sell some more Babbitt metal you could post it in the Swapping and Selling forum here. Members will pay better than Rotometals and appreciate the good alloy. Around 1/2 to 45% of price that Rotometals would sell it for is a good guide to a price to sell at person to person.

USPS flat rate boxes ship for the same price even to Alaska, so I would guess that means the same price shipped USPS from Alaska.

BTW - Since this old thread was revived I have to say I still have that Babbitt ingot, I have it sitting as a weight on the wood base for a Lee powder measure. Just heavy enough I don't have to clamp the base down.

I got me one too :bigsmyl2:

Attachment 321497

Tim

For those who don't know, beside the wonderful source of tin for people wanting to try alloys with copper babbett like this is an easy way to get copper into your alloy.

Tim

The slotted "pills" are most likely scuba dive belt weights. I've melted several like them. The alloy could be anything....

I have the same scuba weights that came on a belt with other traditional shaped scuba weights.

Congratulations Tim! On the Babbitt find and on reviving this zombie thread :bigsmyl2:

More and more I'm as interested in finding "cool" old lead items as I am in finding general lead. In the nearly 10 years since this original post have steadily built up a supply of the basic ingredients. Now I have slowed down acquisition to just good deals or especially rich alloys. Needs to have enough value that I'm willing to move stuff around in order to find a place to put it.

Tip on diving weights. The weights with a weight molded into them are cast with molds that cast that weight with plain lead. Made from COWW's or other lead they won't weigh the number of pounds the mold cast into them.

Hopefully this can reach someone that has some knowledge with ASARCO Thermodyne Babbitt
I am looking for the value on to of these that are about 4 pounds each.
American Smelting and Refining Company Thermodyne Babbitt
I'm having a problem attaching an image.
If you have an email, I would be glad to share in that manner.
Or perhaps this URL which is a link to my Google drive folders might get you what you need to see.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...w5?usp=sharing
Thank you!
Bruce Tj

ASARCO is now owned by Groupo-Mexico. I do a ton of business with their copper mines and smelters here in AZ.

For info on the Thermodyne Babbitt go to www.ebay.com/itm/156171959264 for some pointers.

Good luck


banger