Heavy hammer

I don't think so unfortunately I need to get in contact with a professor  of metallurgy  I think and pick  their brain about the best course of action for to tackle it. But I'm determined if it's possible to make it happen haha

11 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Can you share with us where you got the idea that the bloomery would separate Ni from Fe?

I miss understood the separation between the metals and the corresponding temperature but you cleared it up! I'm currently researching the easiest way to remove them and I found a way to do so that will remove cobalt as well. Another impurity present in the Campo del Cielo meteorite.

55 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

BTW what's the Iridium content of the Campo del Cielo?

3.6 ppm Ir. And dont mind my ignorance, but wouldn't the low melting temperature of nickel and high temperature of iron be what seperates it in the bloomery? 

44 minutes ago, Stash said:

The result is generally not referred to as a bloom

Okay if the result isn't a bloom, would the process still reduce it to a more pure form of the iron alloy to begin with? 

10 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Bloomery smelting removes oxygen from iron ore; if you already have iron then you are not using the primary effect of a bloomery furnace

So In trying to seperate the nickel from the iron you shouldn't smelt it? I plan on bloomery smelting the meteorite to seperate the iron from the nickel and other impurities phosphorus and a few others that are at the ppm level.. I have raw iron to then fuse with my other ingredients in a crucible to try and make wootz.  I was thinking bloomery process just to process the meteorites down to mainly just iron

35 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

how do you plan to smelt it?

Can't you crush the meteorites just like iron ore and smelt them in a furnace to produce bloomery iron?

10 minutes ago, Frazer said:

think TP's point is you smelt ore, but you melt steel. Different processes different names. It helps people like me who get confused

Out of curiosity are you

So wouldn't crushing the meteorite and melting it to create bloomery iron be smelting? Or do I have my terminology off? And I have been smiting for 7 years now and shoeing horses for 4(not that it counts or matter) I have a lot of time in conventional hands on smiting not so much the terminology so if I mis represented what process I will be using I apologize 

Yes sir I loved the documentary I've wated it over and over again. It's what got me into making crucible steel then I found al pendrays work some years later and here we are haha

3 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

As meteorite metal is already metal and not ore; how do you plan to smelt it? (Or reprocesses it to make it better to use...)

Edit I miss read your comment: I plan on smelting the meteorites to reduce the phosphorus and nickel content. The metal composition is well know for this meteorite that's why I choose it. then i plan on lightly working them under hammer to consolidate them. I feel like that's the best process to ensure as little impurities as possible get to the crucible stage. 

T

19 minutes ago, Buzzkill said:

Hope that helps.  Good luck, be safe, and share your results with us when you succeed.

Thank you so much I will definitely share with you all. And I will read that thread immediately, I have contacted Daniel I hope to hear from him. And what is Rics user name I'd love to converse with him on my journey.

Alright guys, I'm starting this thread because I hope to embark on the process of making wootz. However I always wanted a steel of meteoric origin. So I'm going to  be smelting iron from a campo del cielo meteorite and combining it with other materials in a crucible to hopefully achieve true woots from the stars. I'm going into this with the mindset I will have plenty of failures and setbacks and it may even be impossible. However I am beyond determined to make reproduced wootz and im excited to share that journey with you all. I will try and record every aspect of the processes in detail for all of you.

Exactly! I'm on the journey to recreate REAL wootz I'm very excited. And believe me the process will be shared here for all 

48 minutes ago, Frazer said:

No hard feelings, just a general housekeeping note.

Thank you I will do that from now on! I appreciate it and I will try to reach out to the other user!

37 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Traditionally Zag was used; have you read the thread on Wootz Etch at bladesmithsforum.com ?  

I have not, but I will now! I believe in a video I watched al used nital witch will probably be what I do. I'm trying to follow his work almost religiously, i apologize for asking when I knew of nital and had just forgotten it

34 minutes ago, Frazer said:

I'm no metallurgist, but I remember the patterning of wootz has to do with the carbides that precipitate out (I think the vanadium facilitates this).

No this is great info thank you! You are correct the pattern is not dependant on etching IT is dependent on the carbide structure throughout the steel. However to make whatever pattern I do get stand out a little more I plan on doing a short Etch. Thank you a bunch!

On 1/24/2022 at 8:58 AM, JHCC said:

In fairness, SLAG, Heavy hammer is not talking about casting, but about making crucible steel. The former is indeed quite dangerous (transporting and pouring liquid metal and all that), but I believe that making crucible steel does not involve moving the crucible while it's hot, let alone pouring out its contents while they are liquid.

Thank you this is what I'm talking about. Through al pendrays process the crucible will be left to cool overnight with the furnace. No transportation of molten metal will occur.

On 1/24/2022 at 8:46 AM, JHCC said:

Welcome to IFI!

Probably the best source for this kind of information is your workshop instructor, who will have knowledge of what's locally available in your area (which you really should include in your profile settings, as this forum has a worldwide membership). They may also be able to help you get materials from local suppliers that don't usually deal in small quantities.

I will add my location! I'm in the USA west coast. I will put it on my profile. I have all the material I need besides the crucible. I'm just trying to make sure I'm not going to over carbonize my steel in a graphite clay crucible. That's why I mentioned the other 2 types above. I read that molten steel can leach carbon from graphite crucibles. Every video or article I've read I can't find the material al used for his crucible just the material he used to seal it. I did just order Dr verhoevens book on their study.

On 1/24/2022 at 9:27 AM, ThomasPowers said:

John, crucible steel used to be teemed, eg: "Men teeming crucible steel at Jessops' Brightside Steel Works, Sheffield. c. 1911."

The problem with leaving it in the crucible is removing the "puck" without breaking the crucible.

There used to be a fellow on Sword Forum International that was making his own steel alloys using a thermite process; but as I recall he had to stop when even with using expensive PPE he was told he was going blind...(a couple of decades ago.)

And of course Dr Feuerbach's Thesis on "Crucible Steel in Central Asia"  had quite a bit of information on the crucibles that were made and used over 1000 years ago.

One suggestion is to call the company making the crucibles and asking what they had for higher temps.   You might also check and see if Verhoeven/Pendray  have  mentioned what crucibles they were using for their Wootz experiments.

I know that Huntsman had a major issue with getting crucibles he could melt steel in.   (BTW Have you read "Steel making before Bessemer, vol 2 Crucible Steel"  Kenneth C. Barraclough? You might try to ILL it just as background info.)

And as mentioned; this website on the WORLD WIDE WEB has folks from over 100 different countries participating on it's forums; unless you are willing to pay for international shipping and money conversions and Customs Charges; it's a good idea to list at least the country you are in!

 

I don't mind if I have to break up the crucible at all most I have seen run around 50$ for the size I need and although I'd like to avoid it its not a big issue. I believe (from what I've gathered of Al's work) if you have enough flux (crushed bottle glass) removing the cake once the crucible is cooled isn't an issue. However I asked about crucibles because I'm worried using a graphite crucible will cause the steel to stick to the crucible or worse leach carbon from the graphite.

Thanks for the response! I've been doing weeks of research and I'm planning on trying my hand at wootz following al pendrays methodology. I was wondering what the best acid would be for steel in this category as far as I know carbon iron and vanadium are the most prevalent metals the rest are in ppm.

What is yalls choice acid for etching steel? I have used a few different acids and I can get really good results with mild steel and ferric chloride but for high carbon steels it doesn't affect. What acids and process have worked for yall? I usually put a piece in for a long period 

Hey guys! Im about to embark on the long journey to make my own steel. I want to do crucible steel and im having trouble finding a crucible for sale with a cap included that can fit 2 and a half pounds of material. I've been doing research for a few days now and I cannot seem to find a silicone carbide or alumina-mullite crucible that would work for this. Most graphite clay crucibles are rated to only 26 or 2700 degrees and iron won't melt till 2800 and the foundry needs to be around 3000 degrees before the steel will for from the ore. So can yall please send me some links to any crucible that meets these requirements. Thank you so much in advance!