Our smelts # 38 , # 39 in Fall of 2008 had tested the general work dynamic around the Hals style construction, plus use of a bellows plate and blow hole system. (This method does not use a tuyere, and has been researched and tested by Michael Nissen of Denmark.)
Field drawings of Icelandic Three & Four |
Icelandic Five will serve two purposes:
1) To re-acquaint the team to the Icelandic system
2) Reduce the furnace wall thickness to 3 cm.
I cleared out the remnants of the 2008 furnace and built a new furnace yesterday (Thursday).
At the end of the last smelt, a plastic pail had been placed down the interior of the furnace. A metal cover was placed over the top. Normally liquid water seeps through the earth bank every spring.
Portions of the lower part of the original solid clay walls. Roots have grown into the clay over the last three summers, actually helping to re-enforce the portions of the walls that remained. |
The hole remaining in the earth bank after all the previous wall material had been removed |
The
first layer of the furnace wall. The metal rule is 3 cm wide, and was
used as a gauge to set the rough thickness of the walls. Note how the
shape is determined by the hole in the earth bank. |
Finished construction, with old sand/ash packing fill. This will both help dry and stabilize the soft clay. The two boards
placed against the front surface hold the exposed wall in place |
Today (Friday) later in the day, I will remove the packing material. Then a small tap arch will be cut in the front. For this smelt the standard ceramic clay tuyere will be used, mounted above the taping arch. Extraction will be from the top.
Finally, a small wood splint drying fire will be started. The ideal would have been to have constructed the furnace much earlier, and allowed it to air dry for several days.
For smelt day tomorrow, roughly 20 kg of DD1 (red oxide bog ore analog) is already on hand. A small amount of previously prepared (crushed and sized) charcoal is on hand. The remainder required will have to be worked up while the furnace is pre-heating.
Stay tuned!
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