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The issue with bismuth is that it is a very brittle metal unless alloyed correctly. Rotometals sells alloyed pellets that are pliable enough to compress with pliers. If I were going to cast bismuth round balls, I would use the Rotometal shot as a source and test it on a stack of wet newspaper or a pork shoulder for penetration and fragmentation.
I have used 5% tin alloyed bismuth pellets dropped into shot. They were terribly fragile. I suspect that the molten metal hardens too much if dropped into cool water. Dropping into warmed oil makes more sense. With a cast ball, as long as the mold is preheated well, a slow cool should maintain the softness.
I have used 5% tin alloyed bismuth pellets dropped into shot. They were terribly fragile. I suspect that the molten metal hardens too much if dropped into cool water. Dropping into warmed oil makes more sense. With a cast ball, as long as the mold is preheated well, a slow cool should maintain the softness.
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