Details of the next smelt listed in the sidebar in “What’s On”
If you would like to see what goes on and/or join the team, please email The Secretary.
The pictures below were taken at our smelt in October 2012.
There have been further smelts during 2013-19, at the Pippingford site, experimenting with different sizes of tuyeres and blowing rates. We have been operating with 2 tuyeres, opposite each other, with a total blowing rate of about 15litres/second, using an electric blower. This blowing rate would be quite hard work using our two hand bellows.
Reports of the 2019 Smelting experiments will be posted soon.
Hover over the image for the details.
![Scale … ore pieces about 350mm across. These pieces of as-found siderite iron ore [iron carbonate, FeCO3] come from the Benenden area of Kent. It has a high specific gravity of 3.9 when pure but is about 3.0 in practice. Any excessive sandy impurities [quartz, SiO2] or fossil shells [calcium carbonate, CaCO3] will cause the tap slag to become viscous and is liable to clog the bloomery furnace and stop the bloom forming correctly.](https://www.wealdeniron.org.uk/wp-content/gallery/test/Siderite-Ore.jpg "Scale … ore pieces about 350mm across. These pieces of as-found siderite iron ore [iron carbonate, FeCO3] come from the Benenden area of Kent. It has a high specific gravity of 3.9 when pure but is about 3.0 in practice. Any excessive sandy impurities [quartz, SiO2] or fossil shells [calcium carbonate, CaCO3] will cause the tap slag to become viscous and is liable to clog the bloomery furnace and stop the bloom forming correctly.")
![The ore being roasted in a wood-fuelled hearth to convert to the oxide [maghemite, Fe2O3], a magnetic form that is attracted to a magnet; a useful characteristic for checking that pieces are really iron ore. When roasted, the ore changes colour from grey to reddish-purple.](https://www.wealdeniron.org.uk/wp-content/gallery/test/roasted-ore.jpg "The ore being roasted in a wood-fuelled hearth to convert to the oxide [maghemite, Fe2O3], a magnetic form that is attracted to a magnet; a useful characteristic for checking that pieces are really iron ore. When roasted, the ore changes colour from grey to reddish-purple.")
![Tap-slag-run: Molten slag [fayalite, 2FeO.SiO4 or Fe2SiO6] is tapped from the bottom of the furnace, thus making room for a larger bloom to form. Note, the apparent waste of Fe (iron) is a necessary evil that reduces the free-flowing temperature of the slag and effectively flushes out the sand [quartz] and other impurities.](https://www.wealdeniron.org.uk/wp-content/gallery/test/tap-slag-run.jpg "Tap-slag-run: Molten slag [fayalite, 2FeO.SiO4 or Fe2SiO6] is tapped from the bottom of the furnace, thus making room for a larger bloom to form. Note, the apparent waste of Fe (iron) is a necessary evil that reduces the free-flowing temperature of the slag and effectively flushes out the sand [quartz] and other impurities.")
