Also I poured the excess bismuth/tin into an ingot to use later... when I tried to remelt and make more ball the alloy would not cooperate and the balls would crumble and fall apart when released from the mold. The alloy seems to become unstable upon a second melt-or I was doing something wrong... Try it and please share your results!!! yours might be better than mine.
Ken
Hmmm. That makes me wonder about "fluxing" or some such treatment. The shattering doesn't sound good at all, especially with first-cast.
I wish I was more of a metallurgist (or even a little bit of a metallurgist) and could make some guesses about adding a third metal to the bismuth and tin along the lines of antimony added to lead and tin. Seems like a fruitful line of experimentation for someone that knew just what the heck they were doing!
![Roll Eyes ::)](https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/Smileys/default/rolleyes.gif)
I dumped my muzzleloading shotgun after many years of waterfowling when steel shot requirements finally arrived in Alaska. Bismuth shot was unavailable at that moment, and quitting was mostly a temper tantrum.
I'd hope not to quit if lead ball is ever universally outlawed for game, so I'm determined to be more proactive in finding solutions this time around.
Anyone care to speculate about fluxing, tempering or additional metals in the alloy mix?