Pipe organ tin-lead mixture "spotted metal"

[bigjake]

I just acquired all the pipes from and old trashed pipe organ from an old church. A little research tells me that the metal is a tin lead mixture. the pipes are definitely soft, i can crush them super easy.
Does anyone know anything about this material other than what i've learned from googling "pipe organ pipes" and "spotted metal"

[dondiego]

I have read that they are high in tin and that the percentage of tin changes as the size of the pipe changes. Sorry for no more info than that. They are good for boolit alloy for sure! Melt them all together and submit a sample to BHN.

[wilecoyote]

I learned from an acquaintance who builds organs that pure lead only is used in his work.
I learned this because he gave me a large amount of monotype, which he claimed he didn't use_

[bigjake]

The metal is definitely "spotted" you can see the two different metals. there is a definite contrast. im going to melt some of the stuff to see how it comes apart.

[JuliettDeltaGolf]

I have a friend who is an experienced organ builder. According to him, pure lead was used a lot, but that their current process uses lead with a very small percentage of tin (I think it was 3 percent or less) for a little added strength- as pure lead pipes can start to collapse from their own weight over time around the fragile bottom end. The composition should be the same for all the pipes.

[Loudenboomer]

Pure lead with 3% tin would be very useful!

[bigjake]

https://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry...ical%20reasons.

This link tells about types of pipes. The way they describe, these pipes i found are at least 45% tin. I will at some point send a sample to BHN

[Daver7]

I picked up some from a friend that is a retired organ builder. I remember that there are 2 types spotted and un spotted. I picked up a bunch of unspotted it checked around 10 BHN. The spotted has more tin, didn't check the hardness. The unspotted worked fine for my light pistol/revolver loads

[bigjake]

I melted a couple of the smashed smaller ones. I should have checked the temps but didnt. Anyway, I poured a couple of muffins. I noted that the center did not sink in as it cooled like pure or soft lead does. I expected the ingot to be at least semi soft but it was quite hard, no way could i scratch it with my thumb nail. not even a faint scratch.
Why is it so hard? none of the research said anything about antimony or hardness. Is alloy high in tin hard?

[GregLaROCHE]

I would think that they would have added something to the alloy to make it harder and more rigid.

[bigjake]

If I decided to offer to sell off some of these tin-lead organ pipes, would there be any interest in them? I know I can't sell them here, I just want to know if folks are interested.

[kevin c]

Since it’s not clear what’s in any given pipe, melting it together and having a sample analyzed will tell you the tin content and what a fair price would be. Buyers prefer to know what they’re getting.

ETA: Review the S&S sales ads on pewter, which is roughly 90% tin, and on solder, which can be 30 up to 70% tin, to get an idea.

[Rickf1985]

If I decided to offer to sell off some of these tin-lead organ pipes, would there be any interest in them? I know I can't sell them here, I just want to know if folks are interested.

Be careful! I wrote a post exactly like this one a long time back i was hit with an infraction for basically trying to get pricing or preselling. It is buried deep in the rules that you cannot do this.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

When it comes down to actually offering it for sale you will have to submit it as a WTS ad in "Swappin' & Sellin". You'll need to figure out a value elsewhere than in this thread, because asking for prices here is considered "fishing", also prohibited.

DG

[bigjake]

Im not looking for what its worth or asking what someone would pay for it. I' mearley wanting to see if there is any interest.

[Snakeoil]

My thoughts on this is the composition of the pipes probably depends on who made them. My guess is that the sound they made was different depending on the alloy. And I would suspect that various companies made an effort to set the sound of their organs apart from the others. Wurlitzer in Buffalo was one, but unfortunately out of business now. But I would think that there are former employees still alive that know stuff. I'd research pipe organs. Keep in mind that probably most could care less about the alloy used. It is probably more about the air side of the organ which is the part that deteriorates quicker. But you might find someone who was involved in making the pipes if you dig deep enough. I doubt that you can lump all pipe organ pipes together into one lot and make blanket statements about them.

If you were closer, I'd be interested. When I was a kid, a contractor that had a camp on the same lake as us, tore down an old church that had a pipe organ and brought the pipes home. All the kids in the neighborhood would come over and grab one and blow thru the end to make it play. His garage was full of them, from the tiniest to the biggest. It took two of us to hold one of the bass notes so we could blow thru it like a fog horn. When I think about how many times I wrapped my lips around those big hunks of lead, I'm surprised I've made it this far. I guess all the hubbub about lead is a bit overblown.