Does anybody have a good idea for using or disposing of oxide/scale?

The stuff I am talking about is what collects around the powerhammer anvil, especially when using a gas furnace.

I have done a bit of a search and could not find anything apart from possibly giving it to a potter to use in a glaze or adding it to the ballast in concrete.

Save it for your bloomery (or someone else's)

Till it into your garden, orchard, flowers. This only uses up a relatively small amount, and is persistent so you don't need to keep repeating the process.

Phil

I smelt mine back into iron---it's the easiest iron ore to source---if you are a smith!

it can also be used as an abrasive though not so hard as silicon carbide or aluminum oxide.

Mixed with vinegar it can be used to dye wood or leather. The higher the tannin content the darker it will go.

ron

I have a small can that I put it in and save it. When I have a forged item and for some reason have to do some grinding on it and want to get back the forged look, take some place it on the hot slick ground area and pound it in. You can't tell that it was ever ground (or filed) on.

I keep some around to sprinkle on flat bars when I'm texturing in the PH with flat dies, it takes the ''mill run'' look away real quick with just a subtle pitted look instead of hammer marks.

If you have enough of it you could sell it to a paint manufacturer to use in metalic finish auto paint. One of the steel mills here in Newcastle has a fair sort of forge plant, they have a bobcat to clean up scale on the back shift, and they tell me it goes to paint manufacture.

If you have a five gallon bucket of it you could use it for annealing by sticking your blade or other ironwork into the bucket of scale.

Like Phil said... I sprinkle it under the rose bushes.

I grind it up fine and mix with coal dust as a punching lubrication

I have used it as an abrasive, just rub the hand hammer face in it, and as a texturing medium if I want to lose a welded and or a ground surface, although depending on the subsequent finish I find a needle descaler brilliant for creating and blending a "hot scaled" looking surface.

I suppose I come somewhat closer to the odd tinful on the shelf than the bobcat loader bucket per shift, certainly not enough to warrant a trip to a paint manufacturer, but a bit too much to put in the household rubbish. I did start building up a pile beside the scrap heap, did wonder about putting it into the swarf bin and risk the wrath of the scrap dealer....

The leather dye and the quench idea sound interesting, will log those away for future reference

I use a mix of rennaissance wax and graphite for punch lubrication, but when punching under the hammer used to use the coke or coal dust as a release aid, more in faith than certainty, it still got stuck sometimes! I discovered the graphite and wax thing on behalf of a student I was helping hot punch aluminium which kept adhering to the punch and leaving ragged holes. It does tend to dry up in the pot and you need to keep thinning it down with white spirit but works well. I have just started mixing the graphite with Molyslip metal lubricant and that seems to stay liquid indefinitly, just doesn't smell as good when burning off!

ISTR a number of years ago being told that scale was also used in Chinese Traditional Medicine; but I don't remember what for.

I won't log that one away until you do remember! It may have been to help with anaemia but it might have been a 'cure' for nagging mother in laws!

I've heard of lead for your "pencil, maybe it was supposed to be Iron!:)

i personally quite like mine, like a snake shedding its skin or something, a resonant remnant :) detritus interests me tho.... like the dyeing idea too....

I see scale as having energy in it. Positive energy. I have some at the bottom of my pile around the anvil that came from Yelin's shop. I never clean it down to the bare floor. I leave some energy there at all times around the anvil, vise and power hammer, and now press.

randy i got you! me too :)

Never caught on to the Scale has Energy bit but now that you mention it... :) I never like to clean it ALL up. Seems it's good to have a little bit at least around the base of the anvil/Stand.

A shop with *no* scale = a shop not doing stuff!

I smelt mine back into iron---it's the easiest iron ore to source---if you are a smith!
snip

I did not pick up on this first time around, could you enlarge on your smelting process? I was having a look and I suppose I have a builder's wheel barrow full, what sort of quantity out for energy in are we talking?

http://jhbladesmith.com/making-steel/japanese-tatara.html?lang=en

Great description here.

Phil

What would Kieth Richards do???

It makes a great media for the tumbler!

Keith would lite it up ! ! ! (or.....never mind, )

if you add some aluminum powder and gring the scale into powder as well you will have thermite! interesting stuff for sure, but very dangerous!