Leaded Bronze

Leaded bronze is a type of bronze alloy that contains lead as one of its main constituents. It is primarily used for its excellent machinability, low friction properties, and resistance to corrosion. Leaded bronze is commonly used to make bearings, bushings, and other machine parts that require high wear resistance and low friction.

One of the key benefits of leaded bronze is its ability to self-lubricate. As the lead in the alloy wears away, it creates a thin film that helps reduce friction between moving parts. This property makes leaded bronze an ideal choice for use in applications where lubrication is difficult or impossible.

Leaded bronze is a type of bronze alloy that contains lead as the main alloying element. The addition of lead enhances the machinability of the alloy but reduces its strength and hardness. Lead also improves the alloy's resistance to galling, corrosion, and wear.

One of the key benefits of leaded bronze is its ability to self-lubricate. As the lead in the alloy wears away, it creates a thin film that helps reduce friction between moving parts. This property makes leaded bronze an ideal choice for use in applications where lubrication is difficult or impossible.

Leaded bronze is commonly used in applications such as bearings, bushings, valve components, and gears.

Gun metals, a type of leaded bronze, are commonly used in marine applications due to their resistance to seawater corrosion.

Gun metals are typically composed of copper, tin, and zinc, with lead added as an alloying element to improve their machinability. LG2 is a common gun metal grade, which is composed of 85% copper, 5% tin, 5% zinc, and 5% lead. It has good corrosion resistance and is often used in marine and offshore applications, such as pump components, valve bodies, and propellers.

SAE660, also known as bearing bronze, is another common leaded bronze alloy used in bearings and bushings due to its high strength and wear resistance. It is composed of 83% copper, 7% tin, 7% lead, and 3% zinc. SAE660 is commonly used in heavy-duty applications, such as earthmoving equipment, mining machinery, and heavy industrial machinery.

Holme Dodsworth stocks a variety of aluminium bronze, nickel aluminium bronze, phosphor bronze and leaded bronze materials, including round bars, hollow bars, rods, hexagon bars, sheets, plates, and square bars.

Grades we offer are:

  • PB1· PB102 · PB104 · NES838 · DSTAN 02-838 · CW451 · CW453· CUSN12
  • CA104 · CA105 · C63000 · C63200 · AMS4640 · CW307G · NES833 · NES834 · DSTAN 02-833 · DGS1043
  • AB1 · AB2 · C333G
  • CC483K · CC493K · C63000 · C63200 · LB2 · LB4C · LG2 · LG4 · SAE660