Mark Green Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Hi Gang, New stack built. Burn on for next Sat. Does anyone remember where that ore came from at the F&B? NJ, PA, and who brought it? I'm sorry I forgot. That will be what goes in next. Again, be carful roasting that ore, if anyone plans to. It was very explosive. It was shooting ore, and burning wood 30+ ft from the pit. For a good 30 min. It roassted up nice and magnetic though. Mark Green I have a way? Is that better then a plan? (cptn. Mal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Green Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 Hi Gang, OK then, the most fun part of smelting (NOT), crushing up the ore. I got busy after work crushing up the roasted (popping) ore from the F&B. It was a bit easier to crush then before roasting, but still twice as hard as any other I have worked with so far. My cool high tec ore crusher. Wheelbarrow, piece of cast iron, and my field fix, RR anvil. After an hour or so. All of it is very magnetic. A good sign I guess, as long as it self fluxes well. I plan to run this as is. No additives at all. Jesus is coming down to play, I guess we will see how it works. Mark Mark Green I have a way? Is that better then a plan? (cptn. Mal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZebDeming Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Can't wait to see! Zeb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Green Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 Hi Gang, So, we made some steel from the F & B ore today. Jesus, and gang, came down, and we ran through 40 lbs of the "popping" ore. It went very well. Here are some pics. Jesus filmed most of it, so some vid to come later. https://picasaweb.google.com/106800196895572422821/FatherSDayWeekendSmelt# Mark Green I have a way? Is that better then a plan? (cptn. Mal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis mcadams Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Looks like a great way to spend a Saturday!! I gotta get over your way sometime soon for a smelt and see if I'm worthy to chop charcoal for the dragon!? Denis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Hernandez Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 (edited) It was fun. As usual when Mark works with a new ore, it turned out great the first time around. Here is the video: <iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mprtHmEzXjI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Edited June 25, 2012 by Jesus Hernandez Enjoy life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Looks like fun! Nice gooey slag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZebDeming Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Thanks for sharing! Looks like alot of fun. Mark, you're getting really good at birthing those blooms, you're making it look easy, I hope to someday get half as good as you guys at this. Zeb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Green Posted June 17, 2012 Author Share Posted June 17, 2012 Great Vid Jesus! You were able to capture the blue flame just fine! Zeb, just like anything, it just takes practice. Dennis, come on down. I will try to post here, and I always post on my FB page about a week ahead. Alan, Yup, that slag was very nice. It was kinda in the med. runny range, as to my experience. It was one of the easiest tapping slags ever, or it may have just been the furnace design. My older tuyere was starting to get a bit short. The side-wall on the tuyere side got a bit cooked. I may try to repair a bit. The paper form I used this time around had a coating on the inside that hurt my curring a bit, and made for a few more cracks then I like. I feel the taper of a slight cone shape is best. The i in. tuyere pushes quite a bit of air. And that force splashes back over the tuyere wall eroding it a good bit. With the 12 in stack, there is more room, and I don't have this problem. But, we only went through about 65 lbs of charcoal, and made steel, so it is a pretty good trade off. Next dragon will be a cone of sorts. I have a good pile of wood slats now. And have arranged for a good bit more. Great fun Jesus. Mark Mark Green I have a way? Is that better then a plan? (cptn. Mal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Thomas Obach Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Nice work ! these are some Great posts just a question.. why the thick wall copper pipe ? less chance for the ore to stick to it.. i'm a little baffled as to why the attraction to copper Greg North Shore Forge & Ironworks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy S Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Great job. Nice lazy, hazy blue flame on top.... cant ask for it to run better. Video said it all...good job Jesus. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Green Posted June 17, 2012 Author Share Posted June 17, 2012 Greg, The copper tuyere will not melt in the furnace. Copper sheds heat so well that you can have they tuyere, 3-4 inches inside the furnace, if you wanted to, and it will not melt. As long as you have enough length outside in the air. I went about a dozen smelts with my last one that was only 15 in long. The new one is 24 + in. It should last a good while. After a while, it will erode a bit, but only a little. After cleaning up the smelting area, and doing my honey-do list, I needed to empty out some propane tanks, so, I put the smaller piece of the bloom I had and did some compacting, as well as getting my Anglo-Saxon hammer heat treated. My forge it having some trouble getting to good bloom welding heat, but I cranked her up, and worked this one piece down a fair bit. It was starting to crack in one spot, So i went to cut it, and she broke off. Oh well, I will work on these ssome more, and maybe soon press the big piece. Time to rebuild my forge. Got my hammer just about finished up though. Mark Mark Green I have a way? Is that better then a plan? (cptn. Mal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy S Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 The hammer turned out great. Did you expect more bloom from that much ore? Not that I wouldnt be happy with that return on an unknown ore. I know.... you never know until you do it, but I was just wondering what your expectations were... Looks like its starting to consolidate some. I bet a few flatten and stacks later it will fall right into line. Keep up the good work! Smelters everywhere are watching! Randy Skidmore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Green Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Randy, We cut it short at 40 lbs. Due to that fact, the bloom was likely just starting to form well. I cleaned up near 3 lbs of bloom fluff, and partially reduced ore. I think if we had gone the full 50+, the bloom would have been much bigger. the ore seemed very clean and high mag. Just my thoughts on it. Mark Green I have a way? Is that better then a plan? (cptn. Mal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy S Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 OK, I can see that. I was thinking that it looked like some nice ore from the pics... I did one run with some ore that was little more than magnetic sandstone (after roasting) and only got a couple lbs of iron from more than 35 lbs of ore.. talk about gooey slag! it was like cold taffy coming out of the furnace. nasty stuff. But I had to try it. If you want me to try something, just tell me it cant be done LOL. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Thomas Obach Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 thanks Mark that is interesting that it won't melt.. i didn't know that by the way that hammer is awesome North Shore Forge & Ironworks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Green Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 Hi Gang, Well, I got home from work and decided to do another smelt with the 25 lbs of Saturday's ore, mixed with 20 lbs of easy brown ore I had sitting in a bucket. I wanted to try out the new tuyere system before this stack died. It had a good tilt going already, and I wasn't very happy with it anyway, so I fired it up, and went to town. Boom!! awesome nugget from the 45lbs. Wonderful slag all around, and the new tuyere worked great, once I figured out the tweak. Awesome Picasa pics, of the c-section that I had to preform to get this puppy out, coming later. Here are a few. 8+ lbs, got it cut in half, and one haved again. To tired to do the Picasa just now. Mark Mark Green I have a way? Is that better then a plan? (cptn. Mal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Green Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 New Picasa bloom porn of yesterday's smelt. https://picasaweb.google.com/106800196895572422821/MondaySBloom18June12# Mark Green I have a way? Is that better then a plan? (cptn. Mal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZebDeming Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Very nice looking bloom! It seems like your brown ore is quite the catylist to getting some nice iron. I wonder if some of the brown ore slag crushed up and mixed with some different ore would work as well? Zeb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Green Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 That could be an experiment one day. I'm saving a lot of it. I plan to do a 80/20 easy brown/ local high T magnetite smelt soon. The 50/50 was ok, the 60/40 seemed better, now the 80/20. I made that hammer out of the 50/50. The blooms from this weekend seem quite nice, and is looking like .6-.8 steel, using very little charcoal. About 1/1.5. I like the smaller stack. It is a big savings in charcoal, and the blooms are easy to cut, and work with. The monster blooms are fun, and impressive, but can be a bugger to cut once they are cold,( or hot!) especially if they are good solid chunks, and you don't have any big boy toys. Maybe, I will try a smelt with the magnetite, and 25% easy brown slag. I think that would be interesting. Or, I can send you some, and you can try it. Mark Mark Green I have a way? Is that better then a plan? (cptn. Mal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Green Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Hi Gang,, So, it was only 93 or so today. So, when I got home I felt it would be a good time to roast the big pile of ore I had broken up a bit on Tues. While I had the very hot fire going, I made some Magnolia charcoal, for polishing work, on tsuba, and such. Cooking the charcoal in my ammo can roaster, on top of the big pile of ore. About 300lbs. of cherry hot, NC easy brown ore. Sweet! This should last me into the fall???? Anyone wanting some of the magnolia charcoal, just let me know. I have two pretty large trees in my yard, so I have an easy lifetime supply. Mark Mark Green I have a way? Is that better then a plan? (cptn. Mal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Ysselstein Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Hi Gang,, While I had the very hot fire going, I made some Magnolia charcoal, for polishing work, on tsuba, and such. Mark Mark, Interesting...I had not heard of Magnolia charcoal as an abrasive or a polishing compound...why Magnolia and not just any charcoal? Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Green Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Magnolia has a very fine grain, and for some reason is like a 3000+grit polish. It just does something special to soft metals of all kinds. I'm not sure why. It just does. It is a very expensive polishing charcoal in Japan. I have lots of Crape Myrtle as well, I may make a pile of that as well. I have two very large Saw tooth oaks as well. That is a traditional Charcoal used in the tea ceremony. I have made a lot of that for friends. It is an ok polish as well. Mark Mark Green I have a way? Is that better then a plan? (cptn. Mal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannes N. Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 300lbs of ore until fall... !!?? Reading all your threads of the last few weeks I have the impression that you run out of ore in three or four weeks... You are the "dragon" yourself, hungry for blooms! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Green Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Hehe, I guess your right there Hannes. In my smaller stacks, I can get great blooms from only 50 lbs or less, of this ore. So, It should go 6 runs or so, plus I have 3 other experimental blooms with the magnetite mixes, and one up at Jesus'. So, it may take me into the fall. Mark Green I have a way? Is that better then a plan? (cptn. Mal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now