Stained glass CAME

[captaint]

So a guy at work says, I got something for ya. He brings in (turns out to be 45 lbs) of this rolled, coiled lead looking stuff. At first I thought it was solder. I have some old solder (50/50) on a spool. It really looks like that. Then I was handling it and it's way too soft to be solder. I'm thinking it's nearly pure lead.

Today, he shows up with 5 more lbs, this time in the packaging. It's stained glass CAME. A term I have read here before. If it's not pure lead, it's really close. Dead soft. Turns out the guy who found this stuff was doing a "cleanout" for some people. Also turns out I had loaded some 45ACP ammo for this guy a few months back. He tells my friend at work "take this to that guy that loaded that ammo for me. Needless to say, 100 more rounds showed up today for his friend. He always gives me back my brass, so what the heck!! Sometimes, it all works out. enjoy Mike

[JIMinPHX]

I believe that is the stuff that is used to make stained glass windows. The last time that I saw it in person was about 40 years ago & it was dead soft. Since then, I've been told that there is a second variety that is harder. Apparently, the harder version is used around the outside edge of the window & the dead soft stuff is used for the interior joints between the glass pieces.

[P.K.]

I believe that is the stuff that is used to make stained glass windows. The last time that I saw it in person was about 40 years ago & it was dead soft. Since then, I've been told that there is a second variety that is harder. Apparently, the harder version is used around the outside edge of the window & the dead soft stuff is used for the interior joints between the glass pieces.

Spot on, there is a cat on flea bay that sells the stuff in 30# lot's. (Or there was. I haven't been on there in some time.)

[captaint]

This must be the older type. Everything else that came out of this basement & garage is from the 50's and 60's. It is REALLY soft. Neat stuff... Mike

[Muddy Creek Sam]

Mike,

Katie is doing some stained Glass work, Would you be interested in selling the roll, is it U or H channel?

Thanks,

Sam :D

[captaint]

Sam - It would appear to be U channel. I'm pretty sure it's all the same. Let me know. It's all in little coils, maybe 3-4feet long. Mike

[captaint]

Sam - Broke down and looked at one of the packages. Six feet... Mike

[onesonek]

fwiw, the 2 sided u-came is most often pure soft or nearly so. And the sq. channel-came is alloy'd harder for structural strength on borders. With harder sq. H-came used in the middle of large work or dividers, for strength as well.
I used to dabble in that some yrs ago, and my brother still does.

[rollmyown]

I got on to some of this a while ago. I found it very had to smelt because it made a LOT of dross. The dross production was improved by keeping the melt temp as low as possible, but remained a problem. All of mine was recovered from broken or disassembled windows, so perhaps a putty contaminant may be the cause of the problem. I agree it must be pure or close to it - Iv'e not come across softer lead. That said I'd happily swap all of mine for roof flashing.

[xbeeman412]

I am having 10 upper cabinet doorsmade with the stained glass and the owners husband said he has over a hundred pounds of short pieces of this stuff to give me. I havent smelted yet but want too. I have a few hundred pouds of wheel weights and wonder if I get this staind glass trimmining thingys do I need to mix them with the WW?

Dont mean to hi jack Your thread.

[a.squibload]

I would smelt and pour ingots separately to see what you got (probably real soft),
then mix later at each session.
That way you can change the percentages to suit your needs at the time.
50/50 soft/WW works well for my not-too-hot 44s, and 38s.

[xbeeman412]

Thanks for the info.

[fredj338]

Came is great mat'l for making LHP w/ a bit of tin. It's nearly prue lead. My wife was doing SG for awhile & I got all the bits & pieces from her & about 50# from her class mates. Check shops or places offering classes. Offer to pay for it, the teachers like that.

[captaint]

Well, today I smelted it all down, along with my pipe, sheets, etc.. It all remained clean, very little dross. Worked out nicely. Turns out, the stuff I had was all U channel. Really soft, though. Mike

[kennyb]

I just had two 5 gallon buckets of that stuff given to me. I melted one bucket full of the stuff down and it tested out to be wheel weights on my Cabine Tree tester.

[Typecaster]

1. You may run across some that seems stiffer/harder—it's still pure lead that has been stretched. You clamp one end in a lead vise (a little clamp with teeth like a pipe wrench), grab the other end of the came with a pair of pliers, and stretch it about 2" for a full 6' length. Instead of flopping around it will stand out straight. Sorta like ****** for lead. It makes the window stiffer and less likely to break in the wind.

2. If you're smelting came from old windows, the solder joints were typically of 60/40 (60% tin) solder. The putty could be anything—even white lead—so wash your hands before you eat or drink.

Richard