The low down on babbit

[JSH]

Can one or all of you in the know on this give me the low down?
I had asked a while back about babbit as in use for an alloy, or at least as part of a mix. At that point I was highly discouraged from using it. The biggest thing that was pointed out was that it would wear the barrel quite rapidly with prolonged use.
Is this another one of the wives tales or myths?
I didn't figure it a whole lot different from what sources I was able to find than using lino or some of the type metals. The copper being the biggest concern.
I turned down several hundred pounds of bearing material a while back. I did this because I didn't want to cross contaminate by accident. Now I see guys buying and using it???
Maybe I would be as well of to grab up on some of it, sell it then purchase what I want?
Jeff

[JSnover]

Babbit's good stuff (search for some babbit threads, you'll get an education!). You'd want to know what kind it is so you can tailor your finished alloy.

[Lloyd Smale]

you need to hunt down the stupid sob that told you that crap and kept you from buying it and kick his ###!!!!

[454PB]

While it's true that antimony is abrasive, it would take a LOT of shooting to equal the wear caused by jacketed bullets. I fired many thousands of straight linotype boolits in my guns with no measurable wear.

Babbitt metal comes in dozens of forms, so you need to know what it contains before you alloy with it.

[blysmelter]

I had asked a while back about babbit as in use for an alloy, or at least as part of a mix. At that point I was highly discouraged from using it. The biggest thing that was pointed out was that it would wear the barrel quite rapidly with prolonged use.

Babbit will not wear your barrel, it is/was used for bearings for steelshafts and I guess it wouldnt have been used if it wore down the shaft..
I have around 200pounds of babbit, think I will let it stay in the corner just in case I ever need to pour a bearing.

[JSH]

I know what babbit is used for. When Dad was still alive he poured several bearings for a model T and a few of the old hit and miss engines. I got my first lesson on pouring bearings for a buzz saw shaft.
The babbit that I have is just that, bearing material. They were poured into old muffin tins for ingots.
The other chunks that I will call on this week are also just that, bearing material. These were I think bearings out of some thing for the rail road. It is in big chunks poured into small block chevy valve covers for weights on a dirt car.
I guess it would be an unknown alloy at this point.
jeff

[cbrick]

Lead-base bearing alloys, which are called lead-base babbitt metals, vary widely in composition but can be categorized into two groups:

1> Alloys of lead, tin, antimony, and, in many instances, arsenic.
2> Alloys of lead, calcium, tin, and one or more of the alkaline earth metals.

From my limited experience with babbit #1 is the most common. Also, I don't know the percentages of the other metals in #2 or what effect they may have casting boolits.

If you have any concerns with castability and aren't sure which babbit you may have simply cast some boolits with it, if it casts and fills out well shoot'em up.

The idea that babbit or lino or antimony in a lead alloy will wear barrels is silly nonsense. Tens or hundreds of millions of lino (12% antimony) bullets fired and not a report that it wore out the barrel, this is the old wives tale.

Rick

[felix]

Heat caused by high pressure loads wears out barrels, no matter what the boolit is made out of. You want high heat to "break" in a barrel throated for condoms. ... felix

[EDK]

I occasionally get some babbit from work. Either it's a junk bearing I salvage out or the scrap from a re-pour and then the boring to size on the lathe or vertical mill. It pays to have friends in the machine shop! I cast it in LYMAN ingot moulds and keep a coffee can of small scraps to fine tune the alloy further.

You really need a hardness tester. Then you can check out and duplicate your lead/tin/etc alloy. (I got some mis-labelled ingots awhile back and cast 40 pounds of 44 full wadcutters at about 9 Brinnell Hardness, rather than 12 to 14.)

At $5 a pound or more for tin, you want to use what you need in your alloy...and not a lot more.

[cbrick]

At $5 a pound or more for tin, you want to use what you need in your alloy...and not a lot more.

Where are you getting $5.00 a pound tin? I want all they have so I can re-sell it for the same prices I've seen lately of 12-15 bucks a pound.

Rick

[Tom W.]

I've been using #2 nickle babbit for years, either straight or mixed with lead or wheel weights. Straight makes for a hard bullet that's a bit light, mixed adds some tin to the alloy....Never had any problems with it.

[EDK]

John Walters in OK City (?) did sell it for the black powder boolit casters. It's been quite awhile since I looked at his ad...."them friends in the machine shop" got me fixed up with a good supply of babbit and tin alloy.

I kinda got sticker shock when someone quoted regular lead scrap at 90 cents; the last I bought (quite awhile back) was under 50 cents! The grandson works for the phone company and I get about 50-to-100 pounds at a time from him...unfortunately he's on his second tour in IRAQ!

Primers kinda surprised me. I had bought about 30,000 a couple years back at $80 and was just starting on my last 5,000 Winchester large pistol primers when the posts on price increases started showing up.

I need to get out more often!

[MSgtUSMC]

Can I get in on this? I just found out I can have an almost unlimited supply of babbit metal consisting of 89% tin, 7.5% antimony, and 3.5% copper. Should I accept the offer and if so, how should I use it? I already have a good supply of pure lead, WW, and linotype.

[shotman]

guys if any of you make shot DO NOT get babbit in the shot making lead you will have a cussing fit that you will never forget rick

[wiljen]

Can I get in on this? I just found out I can have an almost unlimited supply of babbit metal consisting of 89% tin, 7.5% antimony, and 3.5% copper. Should I accept the offer and if so, how should I use it? I already have a good supply of pure lead, WW, and linotype.

Yep take it and run. You'll need to mix it with WW or Pure to get the copper % down to something <1% or the casting temp will be higher than you'd like.

[MSgtUSMC]

Thanks wiljen. Could you give me a percentage; e.g., how much babbit to how much WW and how much babbit to pure lead? I would like to have a hard alloy for rifle and not so hard for handgun.

[EDK]

I would start at about 5% for pure lead. This is a case that really begs for a lead hardness tester...unfortunately not a cheap item! All in the $100+ range

Gussy at CABINE TREE (a regular here) makes a tester/concentricity gauge that uses a dial indicator and a table to tell you hardness. (Got one.)

SAECO makes one that uses a boolit and then a conversion table to tell you. (Got one of these also.)

Veral Smith at LEAD BULLET TECHNOLOGY makes one. I think it is a direct read out. He had some legal problems, but is back in business. I'd like one of his also. His book on lead boolits is a classic...I have one and want another (autographed by him.)

And finally, there's the LEE. Lots cheaper, but I know nothing about it.

[rusty shackelford]

i have babbit from old fordson rods , this is the same babbit ?
whats the melting point .

rusty

[fallout4x4]

I can get a ingot of "nickel babbit" and one of "babbit" they are from a foundry, I don't remember which one right now. Each one is probably 5 pounds. Should I get them or just keep with the wheel weights?