Working With Antimony Options

Does anyone have experience working with glass of antimony? I am not very experienced with alchemy, but I am just interested in producing the glass for talismans and evocation work (or at least test claims by J. Lisiewski that it works). I recently obtained some antimony trioxide and have had some difficulty working with it.

I first tried a small amount in my furnace at 1500 degrees f. as this is the temp. that antimoy trioxide is supposed to melt at 1200, and it fumed away. It turned orange as it fumed and left a small orange clump that was not glass.

I then tried using my torch, which uses mapp gas and oxygen. Because it fumed away the first time, I tried a mixture of borax and antimony trioxide, 1:1. I heated the mixture in a small crucible, think button sized, and poured a few drops that came out clear. I then tried the same process using a slightly bigger crucible. The problem was the top portion would vitrify(?) but it would remain a powder underneath as the top was heated.

Last, I tried a mixture of borax and antimony trioxide, 5:1. I placed a layer of it within a small circular iron dish, about 2 inches diameter. I heated the layer, which took a long time, which bubbled up then became glass. I then added more powder and continued heating till I had the entire dish bottom filled with molten glass. I placed it in the furnace to let it cool slowly, but it cracked anyways. I did the same process again, re-melting the cracked glass with some more of the mixture. Once again, as it cooled, it developed multiple fractures. I managed to glue them together as I have nothing else to do with broken glass. Oddly, this final piece was of a grey/blue/black color.

The next thing I will try is heating up my furnace to the max, 2100 f., which takes a long time and try using a graphite crucible with enough pure antimony that some glass will form even if it fumes away a bit. This seems like the best idea from the beginning, but with it fuming away in my first test it has me wondering if this will be hot enough.

I have a copy of the Triumphal Chariot, and all it really says is to heat it unless I missed something. If anyone has any experiences I'd like to hear them. I'm tempted to use the glued together antimony disk for a talisman as it doesn't look shoddy.

I do not have the answer myself, yet at least, however although I suspect someone here probably does have the answer directly, I found a book in the library all about antimony - uses, preparation, etc. etc., it's fairly long. It will probably describe more about antimony than you'll ever need to know.

It's in the library here at sacred-magick.com under 'alchemy' near the bottom.

Although i'm interested in practicing alchemy in general, I plan to pursue the manufacture of antimony for the same reasons.

peace
V

I decided to read over Wang Chung's Antimony a bit more thoroughly and found one line that says that "with antimony sulphide the trioxide melts without decomposition, forming the so-called antimony glass." It also says this:

Antimony Oxysulphide, Sb2S2O or Sb2O8.2Sb.2S3.—This can be
obtained by imperfectly roasting the sulphide. The substance thus
obtained, on being melted in a crucible, gives upon cooling a
vitreous mass called " antimony glass."

I unfortunately skipped labs in chemistry class so I'm not sure what the significance is of the sulphide. Is it to act as a flux, as thats what borax does to my understanding. It seems to be the calcined antimony in Triumphal Chariot hasn't had/ isn't supposed to have all of the sulfur burned off yet, being "imperfectly roasted".

I guess I made an error in getting pure antimony trioxide. I'll try again by adding sulfur, or getting the sulphide.

I do not have the answer myself, yet at least, however although I suspect someone here probably does have the answer directly, I found a book in the library all about antimony - uses, preparation, etc. etc., it's fairly long. It will probably describe more about antimony than you'll ever need to know.

It's in the library here at sacred-magick.com under 'alchemy' near the bottom.

Although i'm interested in practicing alchemy in general, I plan to pursue the manufacture of antimony for the same reasons.

peace
V

For anyone interested, here is a brief note. I have a scholarly critical edition of "Basil Valentine, His Triumphant Chariot of Antimony" by L.G. Kelly (with annotations of Theodore Kirkringius 1678 ) so it has a footnote that may not be in other editions.

pg 60. footnote 83 "According to J.W. Mellor,Chemistry, IX:577, this is not quite as pure as Basil thinks: a yellow glass has 100 parts of antimony trioxide to 3.35 of antimony trisulphide, and as the proportion of the trisulphide increased it becomes an orange-red."
*This footnote is made to the claim that the yellow transparent glass of antimony made is "Pure Glass of Antimony".

Now I have a guideline to follow for just how much of the sulphide is needed, and one of the factors in the color produced.

I'm not much on glass,metals are my thing,but I seem to recall that you have to melt it in a vaccum in order to keep it from shattering.

I got some antimony trisulfide recently and tried to make the glass this morning. Used 10 grams of trioxide and .4 of the sulfide. I used my coal furnace, and had unsatisfactory results. After three tries I had an odd piece of grainy orange matter, and two clumps that are metallic. I little shard came off of one of the metallic clumps, and when cleaned off looks ruby red and almost transparent but the rest of the clump looks like metallic antimony. Back to the researching stage.

Being frustrated, I fired up my muffle furnace after posting this. waited till it was about 1600-1700 degrees f. Made a mixture of 20 grams trioxide, 1 gram sulfide, 2 grams Borax. After the powder melted down, I took out the crucible and added more. Tried three times, and produced glass with each pour. The problem seems to be that the oxide and sulfide burn off leaving antimony metal, which clumped up together like slag. The glass poured smoothly, then the slag comes out mixing in with it. The pieces were very brittle and broke and had some of the metal on the back side.

My coal furnace must have been too hot before. The method though does seem to work, just need a bigger crucible for more powder to melt and a ladle to scoop the slag off before pouring.

greetings,these are methods to solve the fuming issue.
totally fumed antimony is useless,the soul of antimony leaves the substance.

Pound and grind to a fine powder and dissolve in a water or Aqua Regis, which will be described below, finely so that the water may conquer it. And note that you should take it out quite soon after the solution so that the water may conquer it. And note that you should take it out quite soon after the solution so that the water will have no time to damage it, since it quickly dissolves the Antimonii Tincture. For in its nature our water is like the ostrich, which by its heat digests and consumes all iron; for given time, the water would consume it and burn it to naught, so that it would only remain as an idle yellow earth, and then it would be quite spoilt.

or

Take Vitriol one and a half . Sal armoniac one pound, Arinat one half pound ,Sal niter one and a half pound, Sal gemmae one pound, Alumen crudum one half pound. These are the species that belong to and should be taken for the Water to dissolve the Antimonium.

Take these Species and mix them well among each other, and distill from this a water, at first rather slowly. For the Spiritus go with great force, more than in other strong waters. And beware of its spirits, for they are subtle and harmful in their penetration.
When you now have the dissolved Antimony, clean and well sweetened, and its sharp waters washed out, so that you do not notice any sharpness any more, then put into a clean vial and overpour it with a good distilled vinegar. Then put the vial in Fimum Equinum, or Balneum Mariae, to putrefy forty days and nights, and it will dissolve and be extracted red as blood. Then take it out and examine how much remains to be dissolved, and decant the clear and pure, which will have a red colour, very cautiously into a glass flask. Then pour fresh vinegar onto it, and put it into Digestion as before, so that that which may have remained with the faecibus, it should thus have ample time to become dissolved. Then the faeces may be discarded, for they are no longer useful, except for being scattered over the earth and thrown away. Afterwards pour all the solutions together into a glass retort, put into Balneum Mariae, and distill the sharp vinegar rather a fresh one, since the former would be too weak, and the matter will very quickly become dissolved by the vinegar. then distill again.

the alchemist flask is the conjurer triangle u see all sorts of colors,smells.and so on,you see angels demons,evoking, banishing...powerful forces bonding and separating..its the legacy of aeons and aeons of wisdom.

Resources :
-(De Oleo Antimonii Tractatus.)
by Roger bacon
-Fr. Basilii Valentini, (Triumphal Chariot of Antimonii)
Summi Philosophi & Chemici.
-Tract on the Tincture and Oil of Antimony by Roger Bacon

This post has been edited by azareth: May 28 2009, 03:55 PM

though there is a much easier,simpler,more effective method,I cannot reveal it as I took an oath.
antimony method does work,but it would be not the most advisable method.hint : its basically the same process but using other elements,its a reaction that occurs,to form the first substances being bond together they form the philosopher's stone and the secret elixir of life.

peace
Azareth