Bill Furgeson

[ncbearman]

What ever happened to the Antimony Man and his site. I'm sure some of you ol' timers on here know. He was one of the first guys I talked to about mix when I first got back into casting. Had good stuff for sale on his site too. I believe he was a retired chemist?

[5Shot]

He passed away several years ago. The company disappeared.

[Kent Fowler]

He told me he was a metallurgist. I had a conversation on the phone with him, about alloying with some LETS antimony and alloying flux I had, about 25 years ago, when ordering some tin from him. When I received the order, he included a rather lengthy handwritten note about what we had talked about. It really surprised me someone would take the time to do that. He seemed quite the gentleman.

[5Shot]

He was fun to talk to for sure - could hardly get off the phone once he started. Definitely a wealth of information, and a big loss.

[ncbearman]

He told me he was a metallurgist. I had a conversation on the phone with him, about alloying with some LETS antimony and alloying flux I had, about 25 years ago, when ordering some tin from him. When I received the order, he included a rather lengthy handwritten note about what we had talked about. It really surprised me someone would take the time to do that. He seemed quite the gentleman.

Very cool. I knew he was some kind of "science guy." And I agree. He was a kind gentleman. Willing to share his knowledge.

[jimofaz]

Bill Ferguson had Alzheimer's at a later stage in life and the family (Bill's daughter, IIRC) had to close the business in or around 2013. Pretty sure Bill has passed. He was the most knowledgable lead alloy metallurgist it was my pleasure to have ever known. His treatise on fluxing alone is worth it's weight in gold. I too, have received antimony and flux orders from Bill with hand-written notes about recipes, alloying methods, flux fume hazards, etc. He is sorely missed! Jim

[ncbearman]

WOW! Those things would make for a good sticky on lead and lead alloys. The antimony man sticky!

[sleeper1428]

As has been noted, Bill Ferguson was a first rate metallurgist who was more than willing to share his knowledge. He bought out a portion of LETS (Leading Edge Tool Service) from Tom Novak quite a few years ago - in the mid to late 1990's as I recall - basically the portion that involved the sale of tin, antimony, fluxes and alloying equipment (plumbers furnaces, Rowell ladles, skimmers, 20 and 30lbs cast iron lead pots, etc) and operated it for several more years. While his inventory gradually decreased, he continued to supply boolit caster's needs for as long as he was able. I was fortunate enough to have had several telephone conversations with Bill and as I said, he was always more than willing to help you out with any metallurgic or casting problem you might be having or to answer any question(s) related to metallurgy in general. A truly remarkable gentleman who will be missed.

sleeper1428

[jimofaz]

re: "The antimony man sticky!"

Here is my sticky-starter contribution.

jim

159957
159958
159959

[Porterhouse]

I think this is over due. We must have sticky regarding Bill. I wouldn't be shooting nore casting today without him.

[ncbearman]

I think this is over due. We must have sticky regarding Bill. I wouldn't be shooting nore casting today without him.
Interesting. I take it you knew him well.


re: "The antimony man sticky!"

Here is my sticky-starter contribution.

jim

159957
159958
159959
Thanks Jim. Good stuff in there. Notes you compiled or were these from Bill? Or both?

[jimofaz]

The notes were from Bill, mostly from 2010, before his progressive illness took firm control. There are many more, available in the members-only file section on 'Yahoo Groups' CB-L, BP-L, and Shooting-BPCR groups. I do not want to take the liberty of copying them w/o permission of the list owner, Chas Hamilton.

I did not know Bill as well as I would have liked. We did spend a lot of good times having technical phone discussions. I was finally able to meet Bill in person many years ago when he & his son made a large cast boolit alloy delivery to a big range-wide shoot going on up at the then-Black Canyon Range in Phoenix. One of Bill's close friends was Greg Cameron of Sierra Vista. AFAIK ... Greg is still down there, but I have no way of contacting him. Some of his stories of younger Bill's early small fixed-wing aircraft exploits (for the CIA no less ... IIRC) would curl your hair. While I never spoke to Bill about his past service to the USA, so I cannot verify the veracity of Greg's accounts. Always sounded like it would make a great book tho ........

[shooter93]

When Bill passed we lost a HUGE asset and a very fine gentleman in the shooting community.