Finishing the Build...

 ... in early preparation for the October 13th bloomery iron smelt at Wareham

The standard furnace build here by DARC uses a mix of rough thirds of powdered clay (EPK), course sand, and dried, hand shredded, horse manure (last year's droppings). This last adds short pieces of softened grass that act to bind and leave spaces for steam to escape to limit cracking.

 

When done, the exterior is wound with rope to help prevent external sagging (seen at the bottom of the image. The furnace body was 20 cm tall at that point.

The interior is filled with a dry mix of half sand, half wood ash (from the wood stove). This acts to both stabilize the structure, but also pull moisture from the wet clay. This image taken roughly 20 hours after the lower portion had been finished. The darker ring in the packing next to the walls shows absorbed moisture.

 

In high 20's C clear Ontario weather, the soft clay had already dried to 'leather hard, when work resumed the next day'. Because I had some concern about the relative moisture between this layer and the next one to be added, I had incorporated a 'Beardsley Break'. A depression is made on the top edge with your thumb, creating a U shaped channel. In this way if the expected crack develops between the two additions of clay, the channel will both lock the new upper section in place, but also serve to limit / prevent any working gas seepage at that band.

Finished clay build. Furnace is actually straight!

The bulge at about 40 cm is because the section of previous furnace had thicker walls than the fresh clay build below. The internal diameters match. This is the first time I have attempted to directly re-use a section of an earlier fired furnace.

Total shaft height at 62 - 65 cm.

 

I am expecting some cracking problems with the mating of fresh (shrinking) and old (stable) clay sections. Once the furnace has air dried and then gently heated, it will be bound with fencing wire to brace any cracks Iike the loop seen on the re-used section. (The rope is removed when leather hard)

I intend to mount four pieces of angle iron into the inner corners of the block plinth to ensure stability. All in aid of being able to re-use this furnace several times, hopefully.

Upcoming Iron Smelt

Sunday October 13

the Wareham Forge, Grey County, Ontario

All day : Early start (8 AM), expect delayed extraction (early evening)

This smelt will be a continuation of the recent evaluation of a mechanical system that mimics a Norse type twin bellows. This continues trials undertaken at Smelts 94 and 95

- Past experience with lower air volumes suggests this will be a longer and slower burn. 

- This will be a roughly 20 - 22 kg ore smelt, with the expectation of a smaller (3 kg?) bloom.

- This is a fixed experiment (not teaching), but those visiting can expect the usual 'Darrell rambles on'.

- There will be limited opportunities for direct participation.

This is an 'Open Invitational' event. Contact Darrell via e-mail if you wish to attend.

 

Furnace base, metal form in place for first clay additions

I have positioned the furnace to the SW corner of the smelting area, back towards the low retaining wall. This will place the tuyere to the right hand side (the side seen here), with extraction towards the open side (left in image). The standard concrete half blocks used as a base plinth, packed with charcoal. I have framed up the extraction arch side (bottom made with two clay bricks) and created a pocket based with charcoal fines for the purpose of collecting tap slag.

First course of clay build, after form removed.

 

I have been taking advantage of the atypical hot and clear weather for mid September to prepare the materials and doing the build much earlier than has been done in the past. Starting Friday past, I have made up a batch of analog, which is drying nicely in the hot sun. Two afternoons were taken to generally prepare the working area and hand shred enough dried horse manure to make up the needed two batches of the standard clay / sand / manure mixture that has become the standard here. Yesterday the first batch was made up and applied, building the bottom part of the furnace to about 20 cm tall. This mix was a bit on the soft side, so the spiral rope binding was placed a bit closer spaced than normal. This course may be left an additional day to ensure it is stable enough to support the next course addition. There is part of the wall cylinder remaining from the last smelt (94, as seen in this image). I hope to save some work and materials by trimming the edges square and placing this ring as the top section of the new build.

The intent is to retain this furnace body against future smelts. The reason for placing the furnace to one side of the area is to leave room to also construct another stone block furnace, like the one used for Smelts 82 - 84, 86, 87 (only with a bit more care to even construction). This with an eye to a potential special event marking Smelt 100 / 70th in November 2025.

Days Go Down

 

 

“Things you held high, and told yourself were true
Lost or changing, as the days come down for you.”

 

You had an image of yourself, ‘a dream you held inside your head’.

Some of it might have even been true.

A person you imagined you could become, and strove to achieve, simply wished you could be.

And maybe you got at least part way there?

Or maybe not so much, more like a suit of clothes you used to cover over the realities.

And now the years are wearing you thin, steps once sure are stumbling.

That facade worn and faded, the sagging reality visible in the tears.

Like the faded photographs, your memories are magnified or diminished. 

You had believed the world was what you could make of it, but more and more you find that striving lost to the raw inertia of the masses.

The Dream buried under ever accelerating changes and a default to mearly ‘what it is’, leaving you feeling shipwrecked on an unknown foreign shore.

 

Opening lines by Joni Mitchell 

Image is the Wareham pond, October 2023