What Kind of Babbitt is This?

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2013: What Kind of Babbitt is This?
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By James A. Golden on Saturday, June 29, 2013 - 06:09 pm:

I tried to post this note on the MTFCI Forum.

I got a note that said my User Name or Password was invalid and I should go to the bottom of the page and use the form to correct it.

THERE WAS NO FORM!

I tried to re-enter my User Name and Password and was told that someone else had that name and I should choose another name.

It is just too late in life for me to change my name, so I'll post here.

MY NOTE:

The Left Babbitt may have been old wheel weights or fish line sinkers in an earlier life.

Isaac Babbitt died in the nut house. Whether he was insane or just put there to steal his estate is still a question. Evidently lead fumes will cause that condition in a person.

Here is a short primer that I published in a club newsletter a few years ago.

Babbitt Metals

There is a great deal of Babbitt information to be found on the Internet. Here is a primer. Isaac Babbitt, inventor and manufacturer; invented a journal box (for enclosing train axles, ball bearings, and lubrication), U.S. Patent #1252, July 17, 1839. His suggestion of the bearing alloy was more important than the invention itself. Babbitt, in present-day usage is applied to a whole class of silver-white bearing metals, or "white metals. These alloys usually consist of relatively hard crystals embedded in a softer matrix, a structure important for machine bearings. They are composed primarily of tin, copper, and antimony, with traces of other metals added in some cases and lead substituted for tin in others. Ford "Babbitt" wasn't Babbitt at all. It was what was called "heavy pressure metal" and the chemical composition differed from the originally Babbitt. The material used by Ford had a composition of 86% tin, 7% copper and 7% antimony. The alloy known as "genuine Babbitt" is composed of about 85% tin, 7% copper and 8% antimony. Because of the high cost of tin, there is a more widely used Babbitt metal which is composed of 85% lead, 5% tin, 10% antimony and 0.5% copper. The latter is not suitable for high speeds or heavy loads. A common "Government Genuine Babbitt" is composed of 89% tin, 7% antimony and 4% copper. This is the best Babbitt to nearly approximate the old "heavy pressure metal", and the stuff is NOT CHEAP. No doubt, there are many various in-between alloys loosely termed "Babbitt" metals. The element ratios used in "Babbitt" alloys impart different wearing characteristics with different ratios. Temperature is more important to a good bearing than composition. Babbitt over-heating, when melting and pouring will "burn" it and the result will be a brittle bearing. The Babbitt that is no longer available would be, if there was a market for that metal ratio and that was the best metal you could get.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Saturday, June 29, 2013 - 10:50 pm:

An interesting mix, MTFCI forum and lead induced madness.
They are experiencing Technical Difficulties! Please bear with them.
Actually, the new forum program had so many bugs that could not yet be fixed by the programmers, that MTFCI switched to a more proven, older program (by the same people). They forwarded your user name, along with many others. However, they were not able to forward passwords due to security protocols.
You must find your way (was difficult on my Google Chrome, but supposed to be easy on many programs) to the "forgot your password" somewhere near a "sign in" point. Follow that, follow directions, you should receive an email with a temporary password. From there, you may sign in and can reset or change your password. That is what I (and many others) had to do.
Interesting history of Babbitt! Thank you.
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2


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