Shaye olszewski

Well thank you it seems as if i have some links to look up.

From my knowledge, when something like a steel or iron blade is taken out of a forge at high temperatures and is given and extended time to cool it softens the metal. That why some blacksmiths will let their blade cool naturally for an entire day or so as to soften it enough to apply a good sharpen before actually performing the final quenching to finish the blade... That’s just to my knowledge though, I could be very well wrong... I hear though extended cooling hardens metals like copper. While cooling them rapidly however with a quench or such will actually cause the metal to soften. So different alloys can possibly behave in any number of varied ways.

I have been melting metals like aluminum, brass and XXXX even melted some glass before for a couple of years now... I've started doing this myself since about the age of 15... (I'm 17 now) I have had plenty of experience, but I prefer to do things the old way... (Charcoal or wood fed furnace, fabricating own materials and such) That is why I wished smelt my own iron bars for use, instead of buying pre-fabricated materials... So I was curious if anyone here has had any luck with melting down and casting iron? (In their own foundry) As I said I go by the old ways, so if you're just going to suggest that it's impossible or you need to use gas, please reframe. 1. It’s not impossible, my old wood fed foundry melted an iron rack which was holding my steel crucible... 2. I accidently melted my steel crucible... (I'm thinking of getting ceramic replacement) 3. Coal fed pit smelters have been used in ancient times to separate iron out ores... So I think that with the knowledge we have now a day’s hopefully I can manage to reproduce such results. I have been considering a small pit smelter design. They seem to be pretty efficient for holding in heat so long as made small and lined with good quality rocks. I also was interested in using this to melt copper to cast rings and pendants. For anyone who has any knowledge on this, I would appreciate to hear it. Pictures are also very welcome for their great to help inspire. Plus any side knowledge such as different fluxes and such to use is also welcome. I had actually done much research into it and have knowledge of how fluxes work on a molecular level and why slag forms (And not just due to impurities in the metal) and how iron is turned to steel once super heated and due to the induction of carbons in a low-oxygen environment. But as for fluxes for the use of different metals "I have hardly scratched the surface" I thank you for any replies, and am glad to of found this most knowledgeable of site. -Shaye Olszewski