Ghost Turds: Steel from Dirt

fod

fod

a la sombra
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Dec 6, 2006
Messages
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Went to Keven Cashens

Made steel from dirt

It was cool

Next step is to make sword from steel

That will be cool too.

Here are some pics

The Ferrite Phantom:
A backyard scale smelter
Notice the blower has a observation port and a water cooled tip
ghostturds004.jpg


The magic dirt
ghostturds005.jpg


Charcoal, the fuel and carbon source
ghostturds006.jpg


A look down the peephole mounted on the blower inlet
ghostturds014.jpg


Kevin pounding the the steel "bloom" to the bottom of the smelter
ghostturds019.jpg


Here he is removing the steel from the bottom of the smelter
ghostturds016.jpg


The fresh, hot bloom getting its first whacks in the power hammer
ghostturds022.jpg


Reheat in the forge
ghostturds030.jpg


Consolidating and folding to make it consistent throughout
ghostturds036.jpg
 
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Thats about as cool as it gets! Now will there be anyone out there that can
heat treat it??? LOL
Ken
 
How about adding a few words of description so us unfortunates will have a better understanding of what is being done? I don't think we have any dirt like that around here.
 
Hmathews said:
How about adding a few words of description so us unfortunates will have a better understanding of what is being done? I don't think we have any dirt like that around here.
Click to expand...

Done.

It took perhaps six hours of adding the iron rich "dirt" and charcoal to the top of the chimney They began another "run" to make sure there was enough to make a sword. Note the smelter survived and was immediately put back into service.

The main thing I took away from this was that making steel is very approachable goal for the properly motivated.

I hope to see more attempts at this happen. It was labor intensive, but not too bad for the well prepared. Of course, Keven ran amok like the proverbial madman with a plan.

I just tried to stand out of the way.:D
 
Wow, I was planning to do that but never had the courage ... Thanks for this thread. I'm sure like me, there are plenty others now thinking : "Uhmm, now how much castable refractory should I buy, where can I find iron rich sand locally :rolleyes:"...

fod said:
... Of course, Keven ran amok like the proverbial madman with a plan.

I just tried to stand out of the way.:D
Click to expand...

:p:D:thumbup:
 
galadduin said:
Wow, I was planning to do that but never had the courage ... Thanks for this thread. I'm sure like me, there are plenty others now thinking : "Uhmm, now how much castable refractory should I buy, where can I find iron rich sand locally :rolleyes:"...



:p:D:thumbup:
Click to expand...

Seriously. It was not as intimidating as I expected. Could be a two weekend deal...make the smelter one weekend and run it the following.

Others took photos, so I am sure more will pop up.

You will need to see others for the finer details.;)
 
I will be going back either later today, or in the morning. If I don't get a pic of the finished blade, I am sure someone will.:thumbup:
 
fod said:
Kevin pounding the the steel "bloom" to the bottom of the smelter
ghostturds019.jpg
Click to expand...



...is it me, or is Kevin starting to look like Malak from the "Conan the Barbarian" movies?:D

conan_3.jpg



Good to see things are going well there - I'll bet everyone's having a blast. Wish I could have made it...
 
Thanks for the descriptions! Makes things a lot more clear. So what would be a guess as to what kind of carbon content he ends up with? I can't wait to see the sword.
 
I made it back today for the heat treat to test portion of events.

Hopefully someone got some pics of yesterdays events.

Into the quench
smelt042.jpg


Inspection
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The Mighty Tool
smelt064.jpg


Close up
smelt057.jpg


Kevin wielding the mighty tool
smelt067.jpg


Nasticles has fallen!
smelt076.jpg
 
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Looks like an awsome time and a fantastic blade!:D
Thanks for taking the time to share the pics.:thumbup:
Mace
 
Kevin Cashen was generous enough to give me the leftovers from the second bloom, which turned out to have a high percentage of cast iron. No problem making high carbon steel, the issue is keeping the carbon down. I have been working today with the leftovers and am happy with the result. I have a bit more forging to do, but I currently have a billet of finished steel to work with at the moment. I'll post some pictures when I'm done.
 
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