Bimetallic type

[kevin c]

Attachment 226397

I got these and a few more like them from a metal recycler, included in a batch of regular linotype and monotype. They are mostly logos and other non letter images, and, as the second photo shows, are composed of a backing material (I think the formal name is the "body") bonded to the "face". This is the first time I've seen type of two different alloys.

There is some variation (different pieces from different sources, I think) in hardness, but the faces I tested are close to 30 BHN with my LBT, and the bodies are around or just below 20.

I don't see a practicable way to separate the two parts, so I'll probably just melt all the two part slugs together and get BNE to run a sample for me.

Is this a common kind of type? I've never seen it mentioned before, here or elsewhere.

[rmark]

Pieces that were reused often were made much harder, I think foundry type? Dad had some that came with the ancient printing press but they were mounted on hardwood blocks not a lead base.

[colchester]

Those are called cuts. I have seen those in several configurations. The bases are usually wood or sometimes type metal. The top part is sometimes copper, magnesium or in the case of the ones in your picture likely zinc. I would test for zinc before you melt them. I cant tell for sure by the pic but mag usually is thinner than the ones in the pic and it isnt copper so i would suspect zinc. It could be type metal as well but I would eliminate the possibility of zinc or mag before you melt

[kevin c]

Thank you, colchester! A little muriatic acid testing is in the very near future!

If it turns out that they are zinc, I can spray lacquer them to seal off any lead (not going to try to melt one alloy off the other) and peddle them on flea bay or to an antique shop for probably more than what I paid for them.