Making Steel from Dirt

Mike Blue, Randall Graham, Ric Furrer, making steel at Larry Harley's in May 2006. Lecture and Demonstration. Filmed by Christopher Price of The Tidewater Forge. 9 minutes.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• steel
• iron
• smelt
• bloom
• furnace
• tatara
• reduction
• ore

[dramey03]

so if i understand right you layer the charcoal, the charcoal powder and scrap iron in the shown way and thats how you end up with steel at the bottom from all of the massive temperatures?

basically everything is being destroyed and what you are left with is ash and steel?

[tidewaterforge]

@dramey03 Only charcoal (chunks about 1 inch cube) and iron ore powder are going in the top. No "scrap iron", that would be a grappage furnace, and is used for different things and has a different design. This technique is very specific to getting Japanese-style steel bloom at the end.

[mandyNdave]

If you layer in a copper oxide would you get an alloy or would you get copper speckled throughout?

[tidewaterforge]

@mandyNdave You would simply contaminate the steel with copper, which is not desireable. It can either embrittle or soften steel, neither of which is something you want in a blade of any kind.

[CakeDuck112]

minecraft led me here...

[andresderasfriend]

wow, extracting iron from dirt:) minecraft would be easy like this!

[shiftgood1]

I must say again that your idea about this "rocket" style nozzle for heat. Indeed, praise the Higher Power (a.k.a. God Almighty) for this invention. Some people don't seem to realize the implications of this ability to have less heat do a great deal. Thank you.

I say this after preaching for 10+ years and in lieu of the slow car sticker moment, part time labels on clothes, say so, THE BOX, Future consciousness "thief" detection unit,, contact me, and publish on trans cans too.

[vettefan73]

does it absolutely have to be iron ore powder or would the shavings from machining brake drums/rotors suffice?

[INvalidSYNapse]

So badass. I've always wanted to learn the depths of metalworking, forging in particular. I hope I get to try this out one day.

[ethunderburdman]

Are there any books or publications that have plans or describe the process in more detail?

[MrJohanasBilderberg]

All steel is is iron ore and coke.

The charcoal serves the same purpose.

While this is not surgical steel by any means it is steel,

Thanks for uploading.

Any videos of projects made from this steel?

[Turel12399]

hi there, do you have instructions on how to construct on of these? also would iron sand work in one of these forges?

[TAPICTURES]

Rostfreier Stahl ? ? ?

[1overthehillsfaraway]

NOT MAKING STEEL FROM DIRT... wtf you say that for? its iron from iron ore. Poor quality iron at that. Wanna reinvent the wheel next?

[drizzitdude]

@mynameismatt2010 I agree with this. Maybe some labeling would be nice. Was it Iron powder going in through the top with charcoal? I have no metal working experience so I apoligize if it is a stupid question. but I found this video interesting and would like to know more about it