DanielC Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Some pics I found of our past exploits. The first pic is our last haul we made in a day, near a half ton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Thanks, Daniel, I believe I've seen rocks like in the second and last picture. When I was a kid I played in the woods every chance I got and if only I could remember where I saw those rocks I might be good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeToWaste Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 I've been trying to post all day and can't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeToWaste Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 Hi Daniel C, I started this post because I couldn't find magnetite ore online in small batches(under a ton). Magnetite seemed a good starting point due to the logic, good ore equals a better bloom. Doing more research now based on your questions. Thanks for the perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielC Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Well honestly, I havent noticed a considerably better quality bloom from magnetite than from limonite. Magnetite wants to turn into steel more readily than limonite in our experience, but it has to be ran differently. For instance, we find magnetite in the raw form, before it is eroded into rivers. Some of our magnetite has had Ti in it just like the japanese deal with in their ores. Some have Al in concentrations up to 20%, and since Al doesn't alloy, it is luckily bled off in the slag, though must be ran hotter than runs of say limonite to get that Al bearing slag juicy. A lot of what we do is built upon several years and over 100 smelts of research. To put it in perspective. An average size smelt to obtain a 10-15# bloom can easily consume around 150# of charcoal, and depending on the ore, 50#+ of that. Few people have a real successful smelt on their own on their first try. So that initial investment of charcoal, clays, air supply set up, and time could all be chalked up for a learning experience. Then say you tweak this or that for the next smelt, and the next is more successful than the last, and this repeats until you have a working stack and method. By the time you reached this point, you could have easily spent $1000, and probably more. Just a few things to consider. I have seen magnetite sold on ebay, along with red iron oxide. Limonite is all over the US though. Check mining charts in your area, and prepare to go hunting for rocks in the woods. Google maps is your friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeToWaste Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 I appreciate the insight, not the type of thing im likely to figure out on my own(without your level of experiance). Your videos were one of the things that got me thinking about doing this in the first place, seemed like a good time. Found some magnetic material in a creek today, hoping I'm on the right track. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 We once bought 100 mesh magnetite that was sold for pollution control; as I recall the shipping cost more than the material but there was a 400# minimum order that we split up a couple of ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielC Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 7 hours ago, TimeToWaste said: I appreciate the insight, not the type of thing im likely to figure out on my own(without your level of experiance). Your videos were one of the things that got me thinking about doing this in the first place, seemed like a good time. Found some magnetic material in a creek today, hoping I'm on the right track. Thanks again. I'm not saying don't do it. Just expect a lot of head scratching at first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeToWaste Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 No worries. Head scratching is kinda my thing. I expect a fair bit of failure in most anything I attempt. Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeToWaste Posted December 11, 2015 Author Share Posted December 11, 2015 Magnetite, I think... It takes to a magnet and scratches the back of ceramic tile like graphite...very heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielC Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 When dealing with rocks, also keep in mind that a good rule of thumb is, it's usually not worth smelting I'd it contains less than 50% iron content - for the most part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielC Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Sort of off topic but I don't feel like making a whole thread for it. This is a small chunk of bloom steel recently made that I threw in an electrolysis bath. I thought it was rather beautiful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeToWaste Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 That's the most interesting thing I've seen all day. I did a bit more reading in reference to your comment about rocks but was left with one question...any easy to ascertain the % Fe in those rocks without an analysis? A rough guess even? A DIY type thing? Not planning on smelting with the rocks, unless its practical, just thought that piece was worth keeping, found a huge pile of mostly clean black sand to smelt. Thanks in advance for any responses, they are appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielC Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Other than analysis, is smelting. There isn't any visual ques that I can ascertain. Infact in the past what we though were the best rocks in our strata turned out to be not so much after analysis. Our best Fe content came from a mixture of several with an Fe content above 84%, with limonite. An example of our mixture can be shown below in analysis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeToWaste Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 I've never sent a sample out for testing, and was wondering, is it expensive? I would like to know what's in those rocks out of curiosity but kind of need to know with the sand so we dont waste our time or resources on something doomed to failure. Hopefully its not cost prohibitive. Thanks again. Was just looking and found limonite mines not too far from here, maybe worth my time to scratch around the woods out that way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 In the USA state geologic surveys may have some analyses of ore beds as identifying possible mineral resources was a reason for their existance! However orebeds are not consistent. A proper assay method is to smelt some and see how much metal you get from a recorded amount of ore. It takes only a few percentage points of Fe to make a rock look very rust red! Takes a lot more to make it a decent iron ore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeToWaste Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 Thomas, thanks for responding, that's what I was worried about, I may have to send some of the magnetite ore out for testing. I scavenged it just outside a magnetite/ilmenite mine and have read that the presence of Ti can complicate the process and unbeknownst to us confuse our results. Would hate to ruin our chances before we even started. I was also wondering if the black sand pic I posted looked like it was worth using as is, assuming its doesn't contain too much Ti. I collected 150+# of ore that is about 3/4 strongly magnetic and hope its usable(asking a lot from a pic only, I know). Thanks again for your time and experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielC Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Ti in our magnetite in our experience forces us to run our smelts hotter and slightly faster in result to fully liquify the slag. High amount of Ti are found in the black sands in Japan as well, and they too have to work their smelters accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeToWaste Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 DanielC, thanks again. Going to study up on Japanese iron making. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanielC Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 We have a friend at a University that does it for us. As far as how and what he uses, I do not know. I don't give it out because it is a favor from him and I wouldn't want to bombard him. I could ask what they use though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeToWaste Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 Oily sheen and orange rusty slime in a drained beaver pond a few miles from home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Traditionally they would hunt for bog iron nodules with their bare feet. STRONGLY DO NOT ADVISE THIS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeToWaste Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 I was thinking more like a shovel, bucket and about a gallon of soap. I read that sometimes the ore is found 3 or more feet down, that would be some serious barefoot digging. It occurs to me that people not accustomed to seeing a man wading up to his waist in beaver pond sludge holding a trenching shovel and a plastic paint bucket might think something was wrong... I should come up with a good response to questions, " I'm looking for my lost dog", or "I literally just woke up here, can I have a ride?", or "I'm looking for bog iron.", all will probably get a similar response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Strongly do not suggest "she's buried here somewhere!" though it might get the pond dug up with a backhoe.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimeToWaste Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 I just laughed so hard i woke my wife. That is the greatest idea I've ever heard. Remember how Tom Sawyer got the neighborood kids to paint the fence? My luck they'd find someone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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