Solomon's mine kept its diamonds, barely got out of that alive. Lost the girl, but finally made it home. Found another girl, but, alas, no more treasure.
Thanks. It is actually an aggregate of elements from several culturally-different Iron Age smithy set-ups. The result is pure me, although I have to acknowledge the debt to the far-smarter prehistoric smiths who developed them. So far all this operation has really cost me is about $6 in string. Everything else was just paid for in sweat. The dome (I will provide pictures as soon as I find out how to post them) was donated by a friend who had it lying in his yard, and wanted to get rid of it. Originally this project was going to be a fired clay dome-and-chimney structure, but this is so much better.
It also makes its own charcoal (functions as a retort), fires ceramic vessels (functions as a kiln), and can be set up to melt with a crucible. I have been taking pages of notes the whole way through its construction and metamorphosis, and photographs.
As to my work, sadly I have not had the chance to really start making pieces with it as of yet. The first ceramic project was to fire a replica of a heart-shaped Bronze Age crucible, so that melting and pouring copper could be done. The only iron work has been to test the heat range with a railroad spike, and it did that just fine (even with the absence of forced air, just natural draft). My first project will be to make a set of all-purpose wolf-jaw tongs so that I can stop using a pair of channel-locks. Then a punch, chisel, and second hammer. THEN I can actually start making things. It's all about making the tools to make the tools to make the neat stuff.
But I will, and I will be glad to share my work with all interested. My whole objective was to make myself a smithy that utilized only the raw materials I had available to me around my home steading. So far, so good.