Ric Furrer Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Hello All, I thought you may enjoy this rather long video (in two p[arts) of what six students accomplished at a five day wootz making class I taught at the New England School of Metalworking in October, 2010. They all did very well in unfamiliar circumstances. http://www.doorcountyforgeworks.com/Wootz.html the video is not meant to be instructional....but rather informative. Ric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim McCoy Posted January 2, 2011 Share Posted January 2, 2011 Thank you! The body of information you have collected through your own work and the supporting work of your filmographers is wonderful. Certainly makes one appreciate what it means to be able to buy ready made steel and how precious remaining pieces of steel from the past are. Also it was great to get little more info about the "truth" of Damascus. How many of us would heat and forge a single piece 50+ times to get a usable billet?? And how hard was it to wait for the next caravan for billets to work? I wonder. I enjoyed your videos a great deal ... now, out to the fire and the anvil! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Very cool! Thank-you for posting the the videos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddDuck Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 Excellent videos! I hope that you will be coming to Maine again before too long, I've talked to Adriian some about the class and he said it was great. Maybe it can become a regular thing...hint hint. Just out of curiosity, how many melts do you get out of a crucible, and are they SIC or just clay-graphite? If you only got a few melts it makes it some pretty expensive steel, crucibles aren't getting any cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Furrer Posted January 3, 2011 Author Share Posted January 3, 2011 Excellent videos! I hope that you will be coming to Maine again before too long, I've talked to Adriian some about the class and he said it was great. Maybe it can become a regular thing...hint hint. Just out of curiosity, how many melts do you get out of a crucible, and are they SIC or just clay-graphite? If you only got a few melts it makes it some pretty expensive steel, crucibles aren't getting any cheaper. These were clay graphite, which I do not prefer to use, but they are less expensive that the SiC type. We got from one to three melts out of these..depends on the phase of the moon and the way you keep your tongue, the length of the burn, max temps reached and how aggressive you need to be when getting the ingot out. I believe my record is four. I am working out making my own crucibles, but the mix is not ready for prime time yet. In the past of course they were one use items. Ric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Hey! Thanks for the presentation, I enjoyed it. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Those were great, Ric. Thanks very much. Mind if I ask a few questions? First, what was in the paper cups at the beginning? Looked like charcoal and I assume it was, but it sounded like you said something else. (It was hard to hear with the background noise.) What's the approximate temperature range for the ingots billets? It's tough to judge color by video. Finally, it sounded as if you might have been cooling the ingots to room temperature between forging cycles. Is that right? If so, what's the purpose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Those were great, Ric. Thanks very much. Mind if I ask a few questions? First, what was in the paper cups at the beginning? Looked like charcoal and I assume it was, but it sounded like you said something else. (It was hard to hear with the background noise.) What's the approximate temperature range for forging the ingots? It's tough to judge color by video. Finally, it sounded as if you might have been cooling the ingots to room temperature between forging cycles. Is that right? If so, what's the purpose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Furrer Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Those were great, Ric. Thanks very much. Mind if I ask a few questions? First, what was in the paper cups at the beginning? Looked like charcoal and I assume it was, but it sounded like you said something else. (It was hard to hear with the background noise.) What's the approximate temperature range for forging the ingots? It's tough to judge color by video. Finally, it sounded as if you might have been cooling the ingots to room temperature between forging cycles. Is that right? If so, what's the purpose? Matt, The powder in the cups was magnetite ore..with the last cup being charcoal. I forge around 1800F. Cooling allows the steel to fully transform from the austenite. Ric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunsmithnMaker Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 Ric, Was the magnetite specially prepared or did you just got to the local river and mine it yourself? As a hobby I do some gold panning from time to time and magnetite is plentiful wherever you should find gold. I've thought about ways I could use this material and if it can be smelted to form iron I'd like to give it a try. Your website notes that you will have a DVD out this year. How close are you to shipping? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Furrer Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Ric, Was the magnetite specially prepared or did you just got to the local river and mine it yourself? As a hobby I do some gold panning from time to time and magnetite is plentiful wherever you should find gold. I've thought about ways I could use this material and if it can be smelted to form iron I'd like to give it a try. Your website notes that you will have a DVD out this year. How close are you to shipping? The ore was concentrate (magnetically separated) which I got from a mining outfit North of Duluth. I have a lead on a large supply of similar ore, but not work on timing to get it. much of the existing ore from such mines are contracted out and getting a coffee can full is now near impossible. You sure can use the black sand from paydirt gold mines....and no doubt your steel form that ore will have a tiny amount of gold alloyed with it. DVD...no time period set yet....it is taking far more time than I thought....but I want it to be "right" and not a simple camera and guy talking. Ric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Ric, it looked in the video like you were preparing wrought iron for at least some of your crucible charges. Did I misunderstand what I was seeing, or is there some particular reason you decided to mix it up between wrought iron and direct reduction from ore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Furrer Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 It was up to the students..had a choice of wrought, magnetite or pure iron as the source material. Some are more traditional than others and they take such classes for certain reasons..I am sure had I offered to use animal skin bellows and charcoal for the melt that some would have opted for that....but propane is more controllable and offers a better success rate given the situation of teaching. Ric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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