Sabre Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 well i have lots o scale and i was wonderin if i could melt it back into steel along with my grindings from the chop saw? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I think chop saw or any kind of grinder has a lot of xxxx in it...not sure if you want to (or even can) melt that stuff and mix it in with your scale. I've never tried it, I think it was Thomas Powers who has posted on here that he's done the bloomery furnace thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Browne Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 I would not bother with it as any steel it would only produce would be of very questionable pedigree. Interesting exercise though....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabre Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 lol i guess not...waste o time and you would need alot and it may not be good quality Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnr Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 if you are running a bloom for the fun of it forge scale is nice to add to your basic ore. Finnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 No you cannot "melt" it back into steel as it's an oxide of iron. You can "smelt" it back into iron/steel using a bloomery set-up. It's fun to do but the stuff you get out of it has all the old-timey badness that smiths spent the last 2000 years of so trying to get away from. Rehder's "The Mastery and Uses of Fire in Antiquity" has plans for a "foolproof" bloomery in it's appendices if you are interested in trying it out. Having been part of a bloomery crew for about a decade I save my scale to use as ore... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welder19 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 The stuff from a grinder or chopsaw is not just steal, it has some of the material from the wheels mixed in with it and you would'nt want that in your new stuff. welder19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnr Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 In Hofi's BPs he uses forge scale for one of his punch lubes. I tried it and it works. Finnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrogPondForge Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 I used forge scale and torch table....stuff (dross?, scale?, splatter?) to make leather dye. Put a bunch in vinegar and let it stand for a while. If you put it on vegetable tanned leather, or anything with tannin in it, and it turns black. It works really well. Looks like it just is wet at first, then it turns black in front of your eyes. Really cool. You are making actetate of iron. Some people use steel wool in vinegar, not if you have scale around. MIKE FrogPond's Dad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnr Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 On Oak it makes poor man's ebony. Oak turns black almost instantly. Finnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeatGuy Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 I use the scale in welding flux. Equal parts fine ground scale, borax, boric acid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 I don't know how much of an uptake of AlO or SiC you would get in a fairly low temp bloomery; but you might get some nasty inclusions in the bloom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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