Old Crest toothpaste tubes???

[bscott433]

I bought a Lyman #45 lube/sizer on eBay recently. Packed with it were several pounds of Crest toothpaste tubes, split open, cleaned and flattened.
They are made of a very soft metal.
Anyone know what they are made of? Tin???

I wonder how old these things are.

Not sure what to do with them...

[mooman76]

They are indeed tin! Good find!

[robertbank]

Did a Google search and it turns out they are made from Aluminum, lined with plastic.
http://www.lclark.edu/~soan221/97/toothpaste-sara.html

http://www.womeninmining.org/rocksiymouth.html

At one time they were made from lead. Turned out the lead consumed the flourides so by the time you got the toothpast all the flourides were gone. At least what that is one someone wrote on one of the sites I read. author was agaisnt flourides so you never know.

Take Care'

Bob

[imashooter2]

Hold one to your ear and bend it. Did it creak?

[bscott433]

No creak. What would that signify?

I'm sure these aren't aluminum. I don't think they are lead, they aren't oxidixed at all, they are bright and shiny inside.

I believe tin.

[JohnH]

You can rest assured it's tin. Once upon a not so distant long ago, many household items were packaged in tin, the most common being of course toothpaste. You can still find a few items so packaged, generally prescription grade creams.

[imashooter2]

No creak. What would that signify?

I'm sure these aren't aluminum. I don't think they are lead, they aren't oxidixed at all, they are bright and shiny inside.

I believe tin.

Tin makes a sound when it bends known as "tin cry". Could be that your samples are too thin to creak.

[robertbank]

Or maybe it is Aluminum foil - see source above.

Before WW1 several food products were packaged in lead containers including tea. Toothpaste included. Frobisher's men who were bured on the tundra were exhumed and the two bodies had critically high lead content in their bodies. Tin cans containing food at the time were soldered with lead solder as were their drinking cups.

Take Care

Bob

[OLPDon]

Heck put it on Ebay, remember the single Lead Ingot from Lyman with the "n" backwards sold as best I can remember $30.00 to $50.00.

I'm sure there is someone who needs it for far too much $$$$$$ Then you can buy tin for sure! Just MOHO

[Bent Ramrod]

If they're old enough, they are certainly tin. Before it became Bolivia's second most expensive export, a lot of throwaway containers for human consumables were either plated with tin or were the pure material. Used toothpaste tubes were sought-after in WWII scrap drives. Try melting them in an old tablespoon or your lead dipper over a torch or heated in your lead melting pot.

One of my stockpiled treasures is a divided box full of unused ointment tubes, unfulled, and uncrimped at the roll-up end, representing 5 or 6 ounces of pure tin. One of these days, when I need to do the definitive cast boolit experiment, they'll be used.

[devin1955]

Heck put it on Ebay, remember the single Lead Ingot from Lyman with the "n" backwards sold as best I can remember $30.00 to $50.00.


You mean like these? I noticed the backwards N on these ingots the other day when scanning some auctions. Ebay auction #220054591023
-Don

[carpetman]

Bent Ramrod---I was wondering if you could melt them in a spoon over a buffalo chip fire?

[Bent Ramrod]

Carpetman,

The historical record is unclear. The old buff runners may have ordered their toothpaste tubes pre-melted from Von Lengerke and Antoine in Chicago.

However, I think the ones that had trouble melting them over buffalo-chip fires were using buffalo chips that hadn't dried out yet.

[OLPDon]

You mean like these? I noticed the backwards N on these ingots the other day when scanning some auctions. Ebay auction #220054591023
-Don

Yep only thing is it was one ingot the lead wasn't shinny just the old plumber pipe color. Was it Barnum? Who said there's one born every min. I left out the real word used used in the quote.

Link: http://cgi.ebay.com/VERY-OLD-LYMAN-lead-bar-unique_W0QQitemZ110049394636QQihZ001QQcategoryZ730 9QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item110049394636

Wow I just looked at the Winning Bid Quick sell the tubes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wait don't look on ebay I'll buy all your tubes. I could sure use a few new shooters in my valt.

Don

[Newtire]

Heck put it on Ebay, remember the single Lead Ingot from Lyman with the "n" backwards sold as best I can remember $30.00 to $50.00.

I'm sure there is someone who needs it for far too much $$$$$$ Then you can buy tin for sure! Just MOHO

I saw that and couldn't believe it. Kind of would be like owning the set of plates that print upside down 24 cent Jenny airmail stamps. (which someone licked & had postmarked recently).

[OLPDon]

Lyman made ingot moulds for sale in other Country the N was made with intent.
No Jenny stamp. And as for the Jenny I'm sure the guy that brought it to the attention of the News was sorry he did!!!!!!!!!!
Don

[Dan in Wa]

I believe old Elmer Keith got alot of his tin from old toothpaste tubes.
Read that in in Six Guns or Hell I Was There. Or maybe I've gone over the edge.

[OLPDon]

Tin is also on uper grade wine bottles due to lead isn't to be used with any kind of consumption. I would think also on Gray Goose bottles I use the seals from Gray Goose bottles for wraping hooks for wet fly fishing ( spiral cut it like cutting treads for screws)
Befriend a bartender or bar owner for it. Plus it give you a excuse to tell "she who must be obeyed" that you need to get some casting or fly fishing needs. Now we know by other threads posted, things go better with beer now we know it goes better with tying flyes. I sure Carpetman wants to know how I can tie those fast moving bugs. (Put them in the fridge first of course)
Don

[mazo kid]

There would be a significant weight difference between aluminum and tin tubes. Tin will melt at a low temp., can't remember for sure, but think around 350 degrees. Emery

[fourarmed]

A friend of mine was offered a large quantity of tubes that had held artist's oil paint. I measured the specific gravity of a slug made from them, and it was 11.3. In other words, they were pure lead.

[Bent Ramrod]

Lead tubes are perfectly acceptable for items that aren't for human consumption. They used to use pure lead foil (painted) to cover the corks of wine bottles because lead was one of the few things rats wouldn't try to gnaw through as the bottles aged in the cellar. That stopped when the current lead paranoia became fashionable. All the new cork coverings I've seen seem to be heavy aluminum foil, but my experience isn't extensive. I'm more of a screw-cap vintage connoisseur, myself.:)