Our AD trucks have lots of "pot metal" and i know it when i see it; but what is it made of? Where does the name "pot metal" come from? Thanks, just a thought this morning!
An opinion can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_metal Google search for "What is pot metal?" returned: Definitions of Pot Metal on the Web: Any alloys which do not have gold, silver, or platinum as a component. Also called White Metal www.zulumoon.com/glossary/P-glossary.htm often called base or white metal. It is composed of 92% tin with added cadmium, lead and zinc. Used to form the first stage of costume jewelry. reviews.ebay.com/Vintage-Jewelry-Terminology-for-the-Novice-Buyer_W0QQugidZ10000000001308820 Pot metal is a term used to cover many, many different mixtures which do not have gold, silver, or platinum as a major component. www.daysofelegance.com/glossary.html A silvertone alloy of tin, cadmium, lead and zinc, also known as base metal or white metal. www.emcity.com/glossary.htm glass that is one colour throughout, the gather is taken from the pot in which the coloured glass is formed by adding metal oxides to the molten glass. The medieval pale green tint was created by adding beech ash to molten glass. www.hertofglass.co.uk/6.html Alloy of metals used to make inexpensive and costume jewelry. stores.ebay.ca/yoyolzs-World-Eccentricity-Charm/GLOSSARY.html cast iron used for making cooking wares an alloy of copper and lead used especially for making large pots wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn Pot metal refers to an alloy of inexpensive, low-melting point metals used to make fast, inexpensive castings for toys, tool parts, phonograph and Gramophone components, and automotive parts and accessories. ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot metal
Dang Bill! I thought you were a computer guru, not a metallurist! They should have named it pit metal, not pot metal!
Many years ago when I was an apprentice (Machine Tool Fitter) we used to reload bearing when they were worn and hand scrape them to fit the shafts an absolute pig of a job!! took for ever. Over here in the UK we called it "Babbitt" we made ours from mainly tin and a dash of lead . Gerald
News Flash ! What do you think is in the rod bearings of ALL 216 Chevy engines ? POURED BABBIT ! Scraping babbit to selectively fit a shaft , is a bit of an art form , some big machinery still uses this technology , Naval Vessles did into the 1970's that I know of .
Pot metal has a bad name because it was used for thin stuff, like horn rims etc. .But actually it is pretty strong if cast into big chunks. I built a small lathe one time and used pot metal castings for the headstock. In thick parts it is really stable. Jim
