Where do you all get your ore from?

[ZebDeming]

I'm really wanting to smelt some steel in the spring here, and I'm wondering where everyone gets their ore from? I want to start out with a smaller smelt, so ordering and having it shipped isn't out. I'm in Michigan and have been thinking about taking the drive to the upper peninsula and contacting one of the taconite mines up there. That's quite a drive for only 50-60 pounds of ore and they probably wouldn't deal with the really small quanity that I want. Just wondering if there is a source for small quanities of ore.

 

Thanks

Zeb

[Jokke]

well, did you ever think of contacting your local water supplier?

Here in Germany we have very strict laws on how much iron is allowed in the water, so most of it is filtered out with special sands. The left overs are higher in Fe than most of the natural ores you will find, bind them with starch and try your smelt

I will be doing one smelt hopefully in late summer

and there are tons of the stuff lying around in the town I used to live

(in another place there is manganese in the sand)

since the stuff will be for free (the guy working there is a friend!), I am surely going to use it

 

(slow sand filters are the oldest type of municipal water filtration in the US, too)

go and talk with those guys

[ZebDeming]

Hmmm, rusty water. I know a few plumbers, hot water heaters out here in the country are often replaced because of all the iron sediment. Our water at home is damn near orange without the water softener, I'm gonna do some expirementing with the backwash water and see, only problem might be the brine thats used for backflushing the resin tank. Thanks for the insight.

[Jan Ysselstein]

well, did you ever think of contacting your local water supplier?

Here in Germany we have very strict laws on how much iron is allowed in the water, so most of it is filtered out with special sands. The left overs are higher in Fe than most of the natural ores you will find, bind them with starch and try your smelt

I will be doing one smelt hopefully in late summer

and there are tons of the stuff lying around in the town I used to live

(in another place there is manganese in the sand)

since the stuff will be for free (the guy working there is a friend!), I am surely going to use it

 

(slow sand filters are the oldest type of municipal water filtration in the US, too)

go and talk with those guys

 

Jokke,

What is the reason for limiting iron content in waterother than the wash looking a bit yellowish brown ?

 

Jan

[Jokke]

>>What is the reason for limiting iron content in waterother than the wash looking a bit yellowish brown ?<<

 

1.)the iron and the mangan stick to the pipes and destroy them in due time, so there was much damage and high costs in municipal water suplies due to that. So the main reason is the corrosion. That is why there are laws to deal with iron and manganese in drinking water (with us germans it is always a question of money, you see *grin*)

 

2.)newer findings show that maganese has a tendency to stick to prions, so they do not "bind" naturally to copper and are formed in other ways (more compact or dense)than usual and can not be deleted biologically - it is discussed that it may be a cause for plaque and BSE in the brains of mammals (like us)

 

 

as long as they use "greensands" for filtering, these can be used to get the iron in a smelt

it has been done before

 

iron from water

nice idea. "me thinks"

Edited February 14, 2012 by Jokke

[Jan Ysselstein]

>>What is the reason for limiting iron content in waterother than the wash looking a bit yellowish brown ?<<

1.)the iron and the mangan stick to the pipes and destroy them in due time, so there was much damage and high costs in municipal water suplies due to that. So the main reason is the corrosion. That is why there are laws to deal with iron and manganese in drinking water (with us germans it is always a question of money, you see *grin*)

2.)newer findings show that maganese has a tendency to stick to prions, so they do not "bind" naturally to copper and are formed in other ways (more compact or dense)than usual and can not be deleted biologically - it is discussed that it may be a cause for plaque and BSE in the brains of mammals (like us)

as long as they use "greensands" for filtering, these can be used to get the iron in a smelt

it has been done before

iron from water

nice idea. "me thinks"

 

Jokke,

Interesting..thanks

[dustin reagan]

I'm really wanting to smelt some steel in the spring here, and I'm wondering where everyone gets their ore from? I want to start out with a smaller smelt, so ordering and having it shipped isn't out. I'm in Michigan and have been thinking about taking the drive to the upper peninsula and contacting one of the taconite mines up there. That's quite a drive for only 50-60 pounds of ore and they probably wouldn't deal with the really small quanity that I want. Just wondering if there is a source for small quanities of ore.

 

Thanks

Zeb

 

Hi Zeb,

 

So far I haven't used proper ore...I've just used prepared red iron oxide powder (hematite) from ceramics supply places, such as: http://www.trinityceramic.com/raw%20materials%203.htm

 

I found it a little cheaper here, plus you can get black iron oxide (magnetite powder) as well:

http://www.alphachemicals.com/

 

My understanding is that doing some smelts with these prepared, high-purity ores are a little more foolproof than jumping right in with "rock" ores. I wouldn't know, as I've only done two smelts, each with the powdered red oxide...but I got iron/steel out of each smelt.

 

Dustin

[ZebDeming]

Thank you Dustin, I've been following your smelting exploits with great interest!