Jwindle

Thank you so much! I'm excited to get back out there! I finished building a forced air burner. That actually makes a lot of sense I poked a hole directly to the bottom to see if it was melted, probably dragged a lot of garbage into the charge. I will definitely be trying a few things this coming weekend, can't wait to give it a go! Also! The oyster shells reminded me of a article I had read that shellfish actually contain higher levels of vanadium. That triggered a thought that potentially trace minerals could be introduced by other ingredients tossed in. Potentially a carbon source high in chromium or other trace elements. I wonder if supplements even? I don't know how they have been altered for the body, though. Sorry, got sidetracked on a rabbit trail. But thank you, I appreciate your help and time! I will be sure to share on the forum as I play around!

Good morning! I sifted 11 oz. Of magnetite and mixed it with .2 oz of powdered charcoal and mixed both very together before putting them in the crucible. My train of thought was that the carbon added should be just the percentage of the desired carbon content. Perhaps my math was off too, I have been known for that! I didn't use flux, kinda an ah,ha! moment there when you mentioned it! I sealed it with glass and cut out a piece of kaowool placed that in the mouth of the crucible and sealed everything with refractory cement and fired once it was hard. I fired it for about 3.5 hours and let it cool overnight in the foundry. ( Just shut it off and let it sit) I was using a foundry I had previously used to cast aluminum and brass for knife bolsters and was wondering if perhaps remnants of brass may have something to do with it? Also its a Venturi burner, maybe not enough heat? I was pondering a switch to forced air/ propane might be better anyway. Thanks!!

Hi there! I'm a Newbie to crucible steel and to this Wonderful wealth of information! I fired a batch of magnetite sand and charcoal and got an interesting puck. It seems very brittle and porous, so I'm wondering if its more closer to cast iron? I also wonder if I need more heat? It was fired in a foundry using a burner I have used for pattern welding for a period of 3.5 hours with an overnight slow cool. Would heating to a welding temp and attempting to weld be a good idea?