Casting bronze into bronze - making a palstave axe From copper flat axes, bronze flanged axes, then palstave axes, there was plenty of metalworking development through the early to middle Bronze Age. The addition of tin to copper reduces the melting point while increasing the hardness of the alloy bronze. It was used for making tools, weapons and ornamentation which were typically cast in stone or clay moulds. At some point in the Bronze Age, a metalworker tried something audacious. Casting bron