What is wiping solder?

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

I picked up a bunch of scrap lead for $0.15/lb. In it were a number of ingots marked "wiping solder". What goes into the making of wiping solder?

[billyb]

Wiping solder is used to make the joint's on lead pipe. And was used by the phone company to seal the ends of sleaves on bunble's of wire. A plumber told me that it was high tin content solder. 50/50 and some with a 1% antimony content. I save all of the joints on lead pipe and smelt them seperate and use it to sweeaten othe alloys. Bill

[fishhawk]

well "wiping" solder also known as "plumbers" solder normaly contained 67% lead and 33% tin it was used for joining either lead pipe together or lead pipe to copper pipe if you ever find lead pipe in a scrap yard or in my case from a city water project this past summer if you see a chunk of pipe that has what looks like a bulge maybe 2-3 inches in dia. that is a wiped joint and that contains tin cut it out and set aside, about 2 inches on either side will be pure lead again. steve k