Babbit

What is babbit metal? Why, it is an alloy composed of copper, tin and antimony. The quantities of each used vary with the toughness or hardness of the metal desired; and if my memory serves me right, this allow was named after Mr. Babbit, who was the inventor and patentee of a metal composed of the above-named metals.

The materials used in the manufacture of the coin were silver and babbit metal.

To pack the box, first insert next to the ring I a ring of round asbestos packing, then the smallest set of babbit metal rings; then insert alternately two coils of asbestos and the next smallest babbit ring, and so on, as shown on drawing, until the box is full, taking care to place the asbestos H and the metal rings G so that the joint spaces between the ends do not come together.

The original "babbit metal" for lining bearings is a "tin-base" alloy containing about 90 per cent. tin, the remainder being copper and antimony.

After removing the cap and wiping the journal dry, a set of leads is taken (for babbit bearings, soft lead wire should always be used. Never use fuse wire, as it will cut into the babbit rather than compress, as it is very hard.)

In plants where the engineer has charge of the shafting, pulleys and belts, the bearings will sometimes get hot, and if this continues too long the babbit may melt.

However, this impression is misleading, for to produce reliable and dependable babbitted bearings the workman must be trained, the babbit metal carefully selected, temperatures kept within well defined limits, and the tinning process and handling of the shells, mandrels and metals during the heating and pouring process must be given careful study and consideration.

True babbits are tin-base alloys strengthened by the presence of antimony and copper, and occasionally containing lead.

The caps for these journal-boxes or bearings may be Babbited by this same jig, and they would, of course, exactly conform to the other portions of the bearings in the frame. […] This drilling jig is a negative of the interior of the frame. It has two sets of bearings, c d and e f, which are at right angles to each other, and which set in the longitudinal and transverse bearings that have been made and "Babbited" in the cast frame, and thus steady and hold it.

[…] a T mandrel centering in the cylinder or recess bored in the head of the frame or bed being used to babbit the main shaft boxes, this mandrel being provided with collars properly located so as to establish the length of the babbited surface in the box […]