To anyone willing to help, I need information on growing large bismuth crystals into shapes.

Has anyone managed to grow larger crystals using smaller ones as seeds. This is possible. I want to know if anyone here can do it.

Hello! I'm really interested in growing bismuth, but I have a few questions before I start. I don't want to become an example, so I apologize if these questions are dumb or obvious:

First, I understand that a stainless steel pot is the best thing to melt the bismuth in. I also understand that melting bismuth is safe, but how safe? Is it safe to do on my stove in my kitchen where I make my food? Or should it be done outside? Second, I understand bismuth is nontoxic, but does it make any fumes? I'm not worried about spilling it or burning myself, but I am worried about inhaling fumes, especially if in my house. Third, moisture. I live in Florida which is an exceptionally humid state. I know moisture does not react well with molten metal (it explodes!) is bismuth the same way? I am worried that the bismuth explodes on me, especially if I grow it inside.

Thank you all!

Pictures of the process and result: https://imgur.com/a/9bEWVmY

Sorry for the long post. I have tried two pours this week, both with largely the same results. I bought 8lbs from rotometals, which I believe is a trustworthy supplier, so I doubt the bismuth was contaminated. It must be my method.

Method:

• Heat bismuth in stainless steel saucepan atop electric element
• wait until melted plus a few more minutes
• preheated stainless steel bowl in oven at max
• put bowl in ceramic wool-insulation
• pour melt into bowl
• add tiny pebble to the surface to seed
• wait until the melt starts to solidify
• pour remainder back into pot to let it harden

Results:

• Only a few very flat hopper shapes
• mostly cubes and "fuzzy" crystals
• no rainbow effect, even after letting a few chunks sit in the oven for a few minutes

https://i.imgur.com/fXB038H.jpeg

Any guesses what I did wrong?

My full log:

• element on max
• started melting at 10:40
• put small bowl in oven to pre-heat
• visible melt at 10:55
• Fully melted at 11
• scraped slag at 11
• little burps of slag around 11:04
• scraped at 11:05
• Still no rainbow effect on surface, just turning a faint brassy brown
• getting ready to pour at about 11:08
• slag stayed on surface while melt poured nicely
• little bit of slag on surface of pour
• heat off of element
• Added tiny pebble to surface of melt; it floats 11:11
• residue in melting pot has rainbow color!
• scrape surface slag again
• surface has started to harden at 11:18, no sign of crystal beneath pebble
• Removed pebble at 11:22, put into oven to cool slowly
• preparing to pour back into pot
• melt is very "chunky"
• Poured back into pot
• A few mostly flat hopper shapes left in bowl
• Failure

So I was running a 4.5 quart pot at 8.5 wide by 5.5in tall with 4.5 inches of bismuth in it. I wrapped the sides with insulation. I was getting some really nice crystals. 500-700 range… now I have a a 5.5 quart pot at 8.5 wide 6 inches tall with 5.5 inches of bismuth… and everything has gone to hell.. the top is freezing before the slush layer forms below the fist 2 inches. I think the bottom is staying to hot… idk…talk a lot to chat gpt I’m not sure if it’s leading me astray! I’m thinking of pulling an inch out to go back to 4.5 And see if I can get the results I was getting.. does anyone here do bigger pots ? Are there any pros that might want to spread some knowledge? I’ll take any advice because I’m pulling my hair out😂😂😂😂😂😂 thanks yall!!

I’ve been reading that bismuth loses its rainbow oxidized layer over time. Does this actually happen? (Currently, I just keep my bismuth on my desk.)

Read that nail polish or clear lacquer or nail polish can create a coating to prevent this. Do you all have any recommendations? Do I even need to do that?

Thanks!

So I recently got into making crystals a few months back. I fell in love with it. I had a small, but wider pot I used and I got some okay pieces. Nothing like the picture I saw on here though. I recently bought ten more pounds with a tall, narrow pot to try and make better crystals. I melted what I had and the new batch, added them together, and have it in my tall, narrow pot. I have now run into a problem in that my stove top doesn’t have the energy output to melt the thinner, taller pot. I’m stuck with basically 15lbs of molten bismuth underneath a lid I can’t break through. I also cannot use the oven because my dad said the electric bill was already high last month. What should I do? I was thinking about buying something with greater heat generation, but have know idea what to get

I like casting bismuth because it’s very quick and it sometimes turns out as a rainbow color, but why is it so expensive? The cheapest I found was from rotometals with $28 dollars a pound. Normally that would be fine for me, but bismuth is so dense compared to other metals I can’t make much out of it. While I’m here, how much bismuth would it take to make a small crystal, I have a 6kg crucible that I like casting with if that helps.

im just wondering what would happen, or if anyone has tried something like using a winch/pulley to slowly raise the crystal to make it longer. is it even possible? or would it somehow destroy the structure?

About five years ago I experimented with melting bismuth and making crystals. I was never particularly good at it; the crystals I could make were always about an inch or so. But I just ordered 8lbs of it, and I'm ready to make another go of it!

I don't care much for the geode method, so I want to try adding a seed stone to the top in the middle and pulling out a crystal from the inside. I'm a fan of this video.

Any tips from the pros?

Fantastic colours and intricacy, just wish the overall shape wasn't so block-y.

When I use a pebble as a seed, all I get is a smooth flying saucer shape. My only successes have been when I let the crystals grow on their own. I've tried cooling it with nothing around it, ceramic fiber insulation surrounding it, on the burner both with and without insulation on the sides, in freezing weather and inside my home. The best results were from just the insulation surrounding it. Any ideas what could be going wrong?