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View Full Version : Composition of Bell Wiping Solder?


Maven
10-31-2006, 07:30 PM
There was a 5lb. ingot of Bell Wiping Solder hidden among the wheelweights I purchased today. Is its composition ~63% Sn & ~17% Pb? 60/40 or what? Thanks in advance for your assistance!
ron brooks
10-31-2006, 08:13 PM
At one time, looong ago it was 62% lead, 38% tin.

Ron
KYCaster
10-31-2006, 09:07 PM
I think Ron is right. If you figure it at 60-40 you won't be far enough off to notice.

Jerry
Maven
11-01-2006, 12:07 PM
Thanks guys!
GLL
11-01-2006, 05:25 PM
I think eutectic 60/40 solder is actually the Sn/Pb ratio not Pb/Sn.

Jerry
KYCaster
11-01-2006, 06:44 PM
From the Teracorp web site.....Dutchboy solder = Sn 40% - Pb 60%

Jerry
KYCaster
11-01-2006, 06:46 PM
Oops......they have it both ways.......my bad.:mrgreen:

Jerry
felix
11-01-2006, 07:28 PM
60-40 in the radiator shops is really 63-37 tin-lead. ... felix
grumpy one
11-01-2006, 07:30 PM
Unless you have found a wiping solder that doesn't wipe, you are way off base here. Traditionally wiping solder is a high lead, low tin solder that is so very far from the eutectic that it stays in "mush mode" for a long time during solidification. That makes it possible to "wipe" joints while they are in a mushy state using a cloth on large joints or a brush on small ones.

It used to be about 10 to 15% tin, the remainder being lead.

Geoff
GLL
11-01-2006, 07:44 PM
I defer to Geoff's logic about wiping solder composition.

I do think the Sn to Pb ratios are always given with the Sn given over the Pb.

Jerry
Maven
11-01-2006, 08:34 PM
Grumpy one may be right since the ingot is just a shade lighter than the Pb [ingots] I have and quite a bit duller than the 63% Sn 73% PB bars in my stash.
carpetman
11-01-2006, 11:03 PM
60-40 in the radiator shops is really 63-37 tin-lead. ... felix
Yea felix those radiator guys never were much good at high math like that.
grumpy one
11-01-2006, 11:11 PM
60-40 in the radiator shops is really 63-37 tin-lead. ... felix

If I recall correctly that is exactly the eutectic alloy, which is very handy for radiator repairs - lowest possible melting temperature, and instantaneous solidification is just what you need when you're trying to keep from melting every other joint in the radiator and turning the whole thing into a house-of-cards while you're soldering it up.
shootrj2003
04-13-2011, 12:35 PM
I have an ingot I just found,of wiping solder,[the words are cast into it from the mold],I'd have to go with Grumpy one,as it is real soft as soft as plumber lead,or nearly so and if it was majorly tin it would seem to me ,to be much harder.I can dig my fingernail into it easily.
6622729
05-16-2016, 09:30 AM
I have an ingot I just found,of wiping solder,[the words are cast into it from the mold],I'd have to go with Grumpy one,as it is real soft as soft as plumber lead,or nearly so and if it was majorly tin it would seem to me ,to be much harder.I can dig my fingernail into it easily.

Old thread I know but as I am currently knee deep in wiping solder......

Wiping solder was generally 40% Tin and 60% Lead. Dutch Boy 888, Bell systems E are wiping solders and they wouldn't work as wiping solder if they were 60% Tin. As for claiming wiping solder in the 10% tin range, I've never seen nor read that anywhere. It keeps coming up 37.5-40% Tin and the remainder lead.
bruce381
05-17-2016, 10:15 PM
I have a few bars of Bell wiping solder E was 38% tin and balance lead.
XRF shot at work.
6622729
05-18-2016, 06:31 AM
I have a few bars of Bell wiping solder E was 38% tin and balance lead.
XRF shot at work.

Perfect! Thank you. Now others who search for this old stuff will have a definitive answer as well. Any idea about Bell Seam alloy "C"?