MTFCA Forum

I have had this for some time. I have always wondered if it was babbet. Does anyone know?

You can get a lead test kit from most hardware or big box stores. If it doesn’t test positive for lead, you may have something.

Babbitt, although named after the inventor, is a generic term, babbitt is of many mixes with %'s of heavy metals for different applications of bearings. I would think it would cost you more for testing than just buying what you need of a known mix.

There's no practical way to tell by looking at it. Babbit is a soft metal alloy. It is harder than lead. The item you have may be lead, or a high-lead alloy, intended for use by plumbers, tinsmiths, or newspaper printers. It may be an alloy intended for makers of ornamental objects. Or it may be one of several types of babbit metal intended for use by mechanics. Automotive applications require a high quality of babbit metal specifically formulated for high speed engine bearings. Babbit metal intended for general use on other types of antique machinery probably won't be suited for automotive use.

As for "Nation Bartle", that may be related to the National Lead Company. The original piece of material may have been cut in half and partially used. Perhaps it once read something like "National Lead Co. Bartlesville, Oklahoma". (Guess)

Looks like some soft blow hammers or fishing weights or toy soldiers to me. Not model T engine bearings.

Ok, you got me looking on the internet which is what I should have done in the first place. I'm guessing that this is lead.
What I did find was a quote from Henry Ford on this page:

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showth ... ad-Co-bars

So, it was a legitimate question for this forum.

How did we ever survive all that lead spewed by those profit-maddened lead mongers?

. If you have a paper mill in your area, you might check with their suppliers. They use or used babbitt to set chipper knifes.

TXGOAT2 wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 10, 2022 9:26 am

How did we ever survive all that lead spewed by those profit-maddened lead mongers?

I am not disputing your comment, Pat. I share the same thoughts on many subjects. I want to mention, though, that there was a lead smelting plant about five miles from my office that sent lead into the air from its stacks. The location of that plant (now long gone) and several square miles of residences downwind are now a superfund site. The plant location is now a park but trees are not allowed. Trees would draw lead out of the contaminated soil.

Square mile by square mile downwind, lawns are being dug up and replaced with lead-free soil. The lead in the soil is too dangerous to leave as-is. This is an ongoing multi-decade project with costs in the billions. Who is paying the bills? You and I, of course.

Ah... Superfund....

We have the same "superfund" site on the Tacoma waterfront with arsenic & lead I believe, in everyone's yards around the entire area in proximity to the old Asarco Smelter !

A little levity......

Isaac Babbitt (July 26, 1799 in Taunton, Massachusetts – May 26, 1862 in Somerville, Massachusetts) was an American inventor. In 1839, he invented a bearing made of a low-friction tin-based metal alloy, Babbitt metal, that was designed for rail road car axles, is used extensively in engine bearings today.

Babbitt was a goldsmith by trade, who experimented with metal alloys. In 1824, he made the first Britannia metal manufactured in the United States, from which he sold table wares as Babbitt, Crossman & Company.

His formula for Babbitt metal was:

4 Parts Copper
8 Parts Antimony
24 Parts Tin

MARCH 2, 1927 Letter GL1600 from the Fargo branch

For your information, the following is a comparative analysis of the babbitt in a connecting rod re-babbitted by an outside concern, and standard Ford babbitt:
Outside Standard Ford
Tin 82.96 % 85-86 %
Lead 5.00 % .10(max.) %
Copper 5.15 % 7.00-7.5 %
Antimony 6.89 % 7.00-7.50 %

The letter continues, stating that the increased copper in the Ford babbitt gives greater wear, and stresses that the dealers should use the Ford babbitt instead of any outside material.

ISAAC DIED IN AN INSANE ASYLUM, BUT IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO DETERMINE IF THE BABBITT FUMES MADE HIM CRAZY OR HIS FAMILY PUT HIM THERE TO GET CONTROL OF THE FORTUNE HE MADE WITH BABBITT.

IN EITHER CASE BABBITT BECAME A STANDARD TERM FOR ANY COMBINATION OF THOSE BASIC MATERIALS.

Among the heavy metals, mercury is best known for causing brain damage. The term "Mad as a hatter" is related to the prevalence of lunacy observed among hatters, who worked with mercury or mercury compounds. A goldsmith might well have had occasion to handle mercury. Lead can accumulate to harmful levels in people, but a great many people have handled it and worked with it with no evident harm resulting. I note that Mr. Babbit lived a long life by the standards of his day.