Not totally welding related but it is molten metal - Babbit hammers

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Well today I had another pump jack bridle brought in for a new cable. Despite the heat I decided to redo all my babbit hammers which I've been putting off for a long time. They where all completely gone. Unfortunately I didn't get any before pics since I didn't think of it plus pouring babbit is not really a good time to be distracted to take pictures. But here's a few that I did get. The first pic shows the completed bridle. For those who didn't see it I did a write up that process last year. Here it is.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=44015 Todays bridle is a more common type.  Next pic shows the completed hammers and one still in the mold. The sharp eyed might notice the weld on the mold. While knocking the first large hammer out of the mold it broke on me. Being in the middle of a run I didn't have time for nice. Since the mold was already preheated I clamped it to the table and run a quick bead with nickel rod. Not pretty and I had way to much heat on some of it but it held for the rest of the hammers. The smaller mold is right next to the big one but is hard to see. You can also see a new chunk of babbit on the table as well as my small ladle in the back.   Next while doing this I started thinking that my battering ram was about shot. It's been a really long time since it was poured. In fact it was poured at my former employers probably 12-15 years ago. I decided it was time to redo it. I once again I didn't get a shot of it before but you can see one end sticking up in ladle in the next pic.   Next pic shows it nearly all melted. I didn't use much of my good high dollar babbit on this pour. Mostly I put in small chunks of left over unknown pieces and some good high antimony lead pieces I had. It's just a battering ram so nothing critical here. But it does need to be harder than soft lead. I've got another that my old boss poured with soft lead and it's just about folded in half.  Next pic shows the mold and backups ready to receive the babbit.   More pics in next post. Attached ImagesMillermatic 252XMT 304'sDynasty 280DXHypertherm PowerMax 1250Miller Trailblazer 302 EFIOptima PulserXR feeder and XR Edge gun and more athttp://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm
Reply:Ok. Now remember when I said I used what ever junk I had laying around for the pour. Well some of it decided to float to the surface when poured turning it ugly as you can see in the first pic here. I skimmed most if it off after letting cool a little.   The next two shots shows some of the equipment used to do the pour. In the second pic you can see my mid sized ladle in the back ground. That's bee's wax on the step as well as the old stirring stick all of this came from my former employers and most of it's a lot older than I am. Attached ImagesMillermatic 252XMT 304'sDynasty 280DXHypertherm PowerMax 1250Miller Trailblazer 302 EFIOptima PulserXR feeder and XR Edge gun and more athttp://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm
Reply:Never used a babbit hammer, just copper. How do the two compare?PeterEquipment:2  old paws2  eyes (that don't look so good)1  bad back
Reply:I've not used copper much myself. I can't think of anything that acts like a babbit hammer does. In truth these aren't all babbit but rather a mix of lead and babbit. Lead is way to soft but adding a little babbit makes them hard enough to hold up to some real beating. But they're soft enough that they won't deform just about anything in a machine shop. They hit with a hard blow almost as good as a normal shop hammer but without the dents. The problem is that they do have to be redone from time to time.Millermatic 252XMT 304'sDynasty 280DXHypertherm PowerMax 1250Miller Trailblazer 302 EFIOptima PulserXR feeder and XR Edge gun and more athttp://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm
Reply:I can see your molds in the top picture.... Any close ups?Slightly off topic. I use lead to remove split casings. Put a wad of paper in the barrel, cast the the casing full of lead. Drive out the pieces. Easy. Just like magic. Attached ImagesLast edited by forhire; 06-01-2011 at 09:47 PM.Reason: Uploaded pictures
Reply:Interesting method for casing removal. Ok here they are.  The large mold never lined up perfectly so my former boss took the hinge pin out. The small hammer has the original factory handles. We made the other handles. Attached ImagesMillermatic 252XMT 304'sDynasty 280DXHypertherm PowerMax 1250Miller Trailblazer 302 EFIOptima PulserXR feeder and XR Edge gun and more athttp://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm
Reply:Originally Posted by irish fixitInteresting method for casing removal. Ok here they are.  The large mold never lined up perfectly so my former boss took the hinge pin out. The small hammer has the original factory handles. We made the other handles.
Reply:Hmm. Interesting that mold looks identical. The handles on mine say Lawrence H Cook Inc. Providence RI on them. I bet that the ones you found are someone who bought the rights to the set I have. I didn't figure they even made them anymore with everybody so scared of lead.Millermatic 252XMT 304'sDynasty 280DXHypertherm PowerMax 1250Miller Trailblazer 302 EFIOptima PulserXR feeder and XR Edge gun and more athttp://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm
Reply:Boy, Forhire, it looks like someone is having headspace problems.  Nice pictorial, Irish!! I can see how babbit hammers would be very handy. Are they used in the bridle making process or did you just decide to do the hammers while the babbit was hot for the bridles?                                                  MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:I just decided to do them while I had all the babbit equipment set up. Plus we where waiting for UPS to show up so we could finish getting the gear box together and get it out of the shop. Pouring the hammers was something that needed to be done but didn't require the whole shop floor.Millermatic 252XMT 304'sDynasty 280DXHypertherm PowerMax 1250Miller Trailblazer 302 EFIOptima PulserXR feeder and XR Edge gun and more athttp://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm
Reply:breakin my heart, its getting hard to find good antimony and linotype is all but extinct.   Good ideas though - might have finally found a use for a 18 pound block of "ruint" lead I've got stashed away.  (btw  it only takes ONE zinc clad wheel weight to spoil a whole pot)When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, "This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know," the end result is tyranny and oppression, no matter how holy the motives.
Reply:Tell me about it. I looked for a long time for some antimony to add to my lead for the hammers rather than the expense of babbit. Never did find any. The lead I added to the ram is some that a guy gave me saying that it had some antimony in it. I really don't know what it's got in it. It does have something in it making it harder than soft lead.  I think it was some zinc that got into that last pour. Some thing I added must of had some zinc in it. I've got a huge bucket of some mystery metal. I've never really been able to figure out exactly what it is. It came from a local auction of a guy who was little different. He had a welding shop with a forge and a couple of machine tools. The metal has been melted into round ingots like what my small mold I showed above makes. It's hard and melts at a high temperature similar to aluminum but it's heavier. I figure it's some kind of zinc alloy but I can't figure out what he melted down to get that much of it.Millermatic 252XMT 304'sDynasty 280DXHypertherm PowerMax 1250Miller Trailblazer 302 EFIOptima PulserXR feeder and XR Edge gun and more athttp://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm
Reply:I knew I had seen these a while back when looking for a new hammer:http://www.mcmaster.com/#hammer-molds/=ckf3nuMcMaster also has ingots of metal. "Lead hammer metal is 95% lead and 5% antimony and comes in a 4 3/4-lb. bar" for $23.68. I don't know if that's a fair price or not
Reply:Originally Posted by forhireI knew I had seen these a while back when looking for a new hammer:http://www.mcmaster.com/#hammer-molds/=ckf3nuMcMaster also has ingots of metal. "Lead hammer metal is 95% lead and 5% antimony and comes in a 4 3/4-lb. bar" for $23.68. I don't know if that's a fair price or not
Reply:Originally Posted by SRO1911breakin my heart, its getting hard to find good antimony and linotype is all but extinct.   Good ideas though - might have finally found a use for a 18 pound block of "ruint" lead I've got stashed away.  (btw  it only takes ONE zinc clad wheel weight to spoil a whole pot)
Reply:Wayne you really got me scratching my head on this hammer.  I've had the mind to make one for a while but couldn't for the life of me remember where I had seen someone cast them. Turns out I saw it on Frank Ford's site. He made some small hammers for his guitar work. He made some simple molds from aluminum stock.http://www.frets.com/HomeShopTech/Pr...eadmallet.htmlNot as fancy as the Cook molds but something anyone can build readily.
Reply:Thanks for posting this Wayne.  Im going to add semi-soft hammer to my needed tool list.Miller Synchro250 bought new 1997Millermatic200Miller Bluestar 2E . AC/DC 16hpBluestar 2E , DC Miller Thunderbolt225 AC/DC ArcLongevity 60 plasma
Reply:Originally Posted by irish fixitHmm. Interesting that mold looks identical. The handles on mine say Lawrence H Cook Inc. Providence RI on them. I bet that the ones you found are someone who bought the rights to the set I have. . . .
Reply:Originally Posted by Oldiron2Yes, the zinc forms intermetalic compounds that aren't very soluble in the lead, and easily forms oxides that make it worse too. Some bullets used to use zinc washers on their bases, so it was easy to get mixed into the brew salvaged from a shooting range. Arsenic is a good hardening element, but again is hard to find. Copper has some hardening effect, but I don't know how much. It may combine with any zinc present to be more of a problem than good.I understand that the tubing used for carbonated beverage machines used to be pure tin; I have some hanging on the side of my mill, but haven't even checked its density to be sure what it is. I ran across some Linotype a good while ago, and got a bunch just out of principle; at the rate I'm going, I'll never use any of it. Once had 2200 pounds pf pure sheet lead in the driveway....If lead is so bad, can I please have some depleted Uranium?  Wonder if it's as hard to work (machine, forge, etc) with as Tungsten is?
Reply:Originally Posted by denrepBuy rights?  In Deeetroit they probably just copied 'em, and labeled 'em as their own besides. Thanks, 'iron We'll have Alfred add a pinch of each  to the next pour.As you can see in the picture, the last batch was a little on the soft side.
Reply:The company out of RI was a hammer service, they would come around to the shop weekly and swap out the beat up hammer for a new one.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:Interesting. I noticed this morning that the name on the molds is different. They have Charles H Fields on them.Millermatic 252XMT 304'sDynasty 280DXHypertherm PowerMax 1250Miller Trailblazer 302 EFIOptima PulserXR feeder and XR Edge gun and more athttp://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm
Reply:Originally Posted by mla2ofusBoy, Forhire, it looks like someone is having headspace problems.  Nice pictorial, Irish!! I can see how babbit hammers would be very handy. Are they used in the bridle making process or did you just decide to do the hammers while the babbit was hot for the bridles?                                                  Mike
Reply:Originally Posted by Oldiron2If lead is so bad, can I please have some depleted Uranium?  Wonder if it's as hard to work (machine, forge, etc) with as Tungsten is?