Smelting Details

[gfish]

I've put up a page describing the smelting with tons of pictures and details.

In related news, I'd really like to try this again. Soon. In the Seattle area. Anyone have any ideas about where it could be done? I'm tempted to go do it at Golden Gardens as a very odd beach fire, but getting electricity for the blower would be a pain. If I got enough serious volunteers, I'd think about doing it with real bellows. Maybe Egyptian pot-bellows....

Comments

[niac.livejournal.com]

For your reference, serpentine is a metamorphic rock that is mostly silicates (in the form of chrysotile (hydrous magnesium silicate) and iron/magnesium oxides. Serpentine comes from the reaction of peridotite with water down in the mantle.

My thoughts:

I'd attempt to smelt copper with higher tech methods before replicating it with low-tech methods. It would be easier, and after understanding the easy way, the harder (and admittedly, more interesting) older way should be more accessable.

But I'm skipping the non-ferrous metals and going straight to iron.

[xmurf.livejournal.com]

It doesn't take all that much air, right? Ought to be easy enough to get a 12VDC blower and run it off a big battery or two. We have a bunch of big gel-cells (~14AH, I think) in the lab.