Bell system "lead"?

[georgerkahn]

I just bought a bucket of assorted pieces, ranging from coww to ingots, and also are a couple of roughly 1" wide, 3/4" thick, and roughly a foot long ?lead? ingots, marked BELL SYSTEM. Somewhere, I recall hearing that there is perhaps something in these "Bell System" ingots to make it unsuitable for use in bullet casting?

Pardon my stupid-ness here in asking this question; but, perhaps my smart-ness in asking you folks who may have had good (or bad) experience using it, offsets it?

Thanks; and Merry Christmas!
geo

[Smoke4320]

I believe its Phone cable Shielding.. Should be Pure lead

drop it if dull sounding I'm right .. if it dings/klangs maybe something else

OPS missed the Ingot Part .. so disregard my statement

[Retumbo]

If its in bars, its solder.

[ReloaderFred]

It's probably solder for cable splicing sleeves. If so, it's good stuff for alloying.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[jmort]

I have some "Bell" solder bars and it is called "whiping" (sp?) solder/lead typically 38% tin and 68% lead. They look cool, so they will be saved until I have no other tin options for alloying.

[jeepyj]

I've been told that it is likely 50/50 at least from the research that I've done. I picked some up a short time ago but haven't played with it yet. If you find out more please post.
jeepyj

[jmort]

Not 50/50
Around 32/68

[jeepyj]

Not 50/50
Around 32/68
32% lead or 32% solder? Forgive me if its a dumb question. Jeepyj

[bangerjim]

Solder is made up of Sn/Pb/and others possibly. There is no 32% solder/68% Pb~!

Numbers list Sn first then Pb. 60Sn40Pb......50Sn50Pb.....etc.

Those Bell System bars are probably wiping solder for joints on the old lead sheath cables that are still around! Most likely 50/50. But could be 30-ish/60-is also. Only way to know is an x-ray gun shoot.

But the slight difference between 50% & 60-ish% is no worth a hill of beans really.

banger

[imashooter2]

Dad was a lineman. Cable sheath would be thin sheets mangled up pretty good from removing it. Bell used "arsenical lead" in their cable sheath. Thin bars of solder are probably 50-50. Brick shaped ingots are probably wiping solder either 38-62 or 40-60.

We shot literally tons of sheath and solder wad cutters in the 60s. Great memories...

[Jeff Michel]

I have a pile of wiping solder ingots all are marked Bell System, I was told years ago they were 30/70. I used these numbers and they appear to be fairly close the times I've mixed with straight lead.

[georgerkahn]

Replying to all, and to all, THANKS! With this unbelievable warmth in northeast, I'm planning on firing up the propane-powered Freon tank tomorrow and making some smelt -- to pour into the brand new NOE ingot moulds I bought. I was apprehensive re using those pretty Bell System bars -- had forgotten the toxic component I was afraid of (arsenic) -- but, thanks to you folks it looks like I can melt the Bell bars in, add copious amounts of pine sawdust complemented with some carnuba cheese wax to flux -- and end up with some clean, do-able alloy to later put into the RCBS Pro-melt for -- what it's all about -- bullets!
Thanks again, and a very merry Christmas to all!
geo

[Mike W1]

Wish I still had access to those Bell solder bars. Used to get em' at work and long ago used em' up. Was a splicer and wiping sleeves was a pretty well past art when I started but I'd hate to guess how many cables and splice sleeves I opened up with a chipping knife. Recently had some XrF samples done on a couple ingots and arsenic didn't show up on them but I suspect if there was any there it was a pretty minute amount. Years back before I knew better used to just cut the wiped joints out. Later tried casting without removing them and NEVER got the mush I'd been warned about. Whoever started that rumor must have been using something besides telco cable and sleaves.

[imashooter2]

To be clear, the arsenical lead was used for the cable sheath itself. The solder is just tin and lead.

Arsenical lead only contains about 0.15% arsenic.

[lightman]

If its in bars, its solder.

I agree, if its in bars and marked, its solder. Its probably something like 37/63, but could be something else. Whatever it is, its good. Cable sheathing looks like lead pipe, and splice covers look like a muffler that has had a backfire and will have a seam of solder down one side and a lot of solder around the ends where the cable sheath joins it. The workmanship on splice covers show various degrees of skill, some of them being very neat. Information that I have shows this lead to be 98-98.5% pure, but that I have tested shows even closer to pure.

[ReloaderFred]

When I worked for the phone company in the 1960's, cable splicers were the elite, and a splicer's skill was not only in his ability to splice the actual cable pairs, but in the quality of the closing of the lead sheath. As Mike W1 pointed out, there were varying degrees of workmanship on the splices. Since the cables were for the most part paper insulated (very thin paper separating the cable pairs), and the cable had to be watertight, the splice was critical. The cables were charged with dry nitrogen to keep moisture out with positive pressure.

As for the arsenic content, it's about the same as lead wheelweights. Arsenic is necessary to heat temper bullets, too.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[popper]

Don't know about the wiping solder but telco sheathing used As to prevent cold flow slump in the sheaving.

[lightman]

Yeah Fred, I have smelted cable sheathing and splices that had valves in it. Kinda like a heavy duty truck tire valve. I was a lineman on the electrical side, but Linemen being Linemen, this stuff would occasionally show up in my driveway. Still does, sometime.

[imashooter2]

Yeah Fred, I have smelted cable sheathing and splices that had valves in it. Kinda like a heavy duty truck tire valve. I was a lineman on the electrical side, but Linemen being Linemen, this stuff would occasionally show up in my driveway. Still does, sometime.

My Pop had to tell his buddies to stop bringing it. But that was the 60s. Free lead was everywhere and that was never going to change. :cry:

[Outpost75]

Stuff I used to get was 63Pb/37Sn

[Mike W1]

Yeah Fred, I have smelted cable sheathing and splices that had valves in it. Kinda like a heavy duty truck tire valve. I was a lineman on the electrical side, but Linemen being Linemen, this stuff would occasionally show up in my driveway. Still does, sometime.

The stuff with the valves was likely from risers where the air pressure was checked along the lines and used to help determine locations of air leaks. We had a guy that did just that and he had things set so tight that one time it was the valve core leaking and it just barely blew a bubble when we got to it. He was good at his job. Along those lines I worked a new toll cable job and we installed those risers and used stearine as a flux for soldering the valves. Have a nice supply of it and it seems to make a nice flux for smelting. Was always gonna look up and see what it's made of. Maybe tomorrow.