Phone Man Lead I.D. Help Please

[NWFLYJ]

I did some swapping with a phone guy. Any of you phone guys tell me what these are. I want to mark the ingots to indicate what they are for future blending. Thanks!!! Mark

This stuff melted at a low temp and seemed to flow well
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc45/marklamon/IMAG0353.jpg

These are very soft
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc45/marklamon/IMAG0354.jpg

These look like they have bulldozer tracks in them
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc45/marklamon/IMAG0356.jpg

[Matt3357]

I am not a phone man, but from what I have read, you have as close to pure as you can get in pictures number 2 and 3. The 2nd being line casing is pure I know and the last looks like roof flashing but I'm not 100% sure. The first picture I have never seen. Someone with more experience than me will be along shortly I am sure.

Matt

[NWFLYJ]

I am not a phone man, but from what I have read, you have as close to pure as you can get in pictures number 2 and 3. The 2nd being line casing is pure I know and the last looks like roof flashing but I'm not 100% sure. The first picture I have never seen. Someone with more experience than me will be along shortly I am sure.

Matt

Thanks Matt

[John Traveler]

Number one looks like bar solder. That usually comes in 50% lead/50%tin alloy.

[NWFLYJ]

Number one looks like bar solder. That usually comes in 50% lead/50%tin alloy.

I with you on that, it melted and acted just like some 50/50 I have had. I got a 5 gallon bucket full of the bars like in the first pic, out the whole bucket none of the bars had 50/50 or any other markings. They all had National 111 or part there of. Mark

[John Traveler]

I think you hit the jackpot with that bucket of bar solder.

50% tin makes it really nifty for bumping up tin content of bullet melts.

Look up National Lead and National Solder to research that "111" and you should be able to find what the lead/tin mix is. Failing that, you can use a digital thermometer to get the melting temperature and that and a melt% vs temp graph will show you the %tin.

[ReloaderFred]

Back in the 1960's I worked for the phone company for 8 years. The first picture is of 50/50 splicing solder. The other two pictures are of cable sheathing, which is pure lead. Lead sheathed cable was still in use when I worked there and cable splice soldering was an art, since they had to be water tight. The wires inside the cables were commonly sheathed in paper and the cables were charged with dry nitrogen to keep the moisture out.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[NWFLYJ]

Thanks Fred! Mark

[WILCO]

Number one looks like bar solder. That usually comes in 50% lead/50%tin alloy.

That's my answer too. :grin:

[ahhbach]

First pic is called Seam Solder - Reloaderfred you are correct sir it is an art using that stuff.
2nd pic looks to be 25-50 pr or even old electrical lead
3rd pic could be either Sheath or Sleeve material.

Phone Co. lead varied GREATLY. Underground, Load Pot the thicker the sheath the purer (sp?) the lead. I have found that Aerial cable when melted down is quite hard. I do not have a tester but go by the 'drop it and listen to the ring test'. I think some of the different pieces of the splice had different hardnesses as well. I think the 'wedges' they used are babbitt the look like crystal when ingotted up.

Just my .02

Brian

PS incidentally the amount of lead that gets 'tossed' is sickening to those of us that cast