Less than a month to go!
Gentlemen,
For the last two days I have been really interested in what Tim Zowada has been doing for his smelting projects. I was wondering if maybe this would be something that you are all interested in doing at the 2020 meet. there are alot of moving parts in this as i have done alot of research into it. So with that be said maybe this is something we might want to look at.
If all goes well I'll be there again in 2020 so I'd say heck yeah :D
I wonder if anyone knows Tim Zowada well enough to coax him into coming to the Texas meet.
How cool would that be....
Pete <:-}
Well Mike Blue also smelts and makes steel from black sand, and he has been known to attend the meet on occasion. I have so much black iron sand in this area it’s crazy. If we are going to plan for this I can start mailing iron sand to Charlie’s.
Well....If anyone starts smelting, they will be asked to take a shower! :deal:
Rezdog to bad you live so far away or I would get strut load from you
My question is where would we do it?
At the Twilite.....In YOUR room!:roflmao
Conducting a tamahagane smelt raises a lot of issues. Primarily one of safety. I seriously doubt that the city of Burkburnett, or any city, would be pleased with this occurring within the city limits. Each of the smelts that I have attended have usually occurred out in the country where there is less risk of fire from the large volume of ash/sparks etc that the process generates.
Charlie Lewis is the only person who can answer this. Personally I would not allow it. To much risk of starting the neighbors home on fire.
Sorry.
Right. It's a pretty major investment in time also. Build the kiln, then fire it all night to end up with a bloom, then fire it for another day for the wootz.
The all nighters could be fun, but someone would have to stay sober.:boohoo: I doubt that we could get very far in four days without all of the equipment being pre built.
I'll bet that that video of Al Pendray was three or four days and everything was sitting there and proven.
Thats why I posed the question. I would love to be a part of a smelt, but the location and time would really be a factor. Volcanoes are cool though...
im sure you can do it at the Twilite, they seem to be a lax place, and sometimes they have entertainment, ask the guys who were there a few years back!
I was thinking of a foundry furnace and making crucible steel, as opposed to making a Bloomberg furnace and refining ore. At some point, when I get to it, I intend to try to make crucible steel from black iron sand. I exchanged a few emails with Mike Blue, at some point I want to spen a few weeks at his place helping him and learning about his process.
Long story short but I have worked in an old iron mine in southern Mn.
There is iron in many places to get if it is sand or not.
I think it depends on how much slag there will be from impurities in the ore.
I still like the idea of combining many old blades into making a new one.
More of a skill and learning experience.
I am certainly on the learning end of things but think there will be enough skill and experience to pull this off.
Crucible steel and bloom steel are made by different methods.
The crucible steel is far easier.
I have see mike blue make some tamahagane at Spring Valley Minnesota blacksmith meet
And also saw Rick Furrer make crucible steel at the same place.
You do not need to take the bloom steel abd then put it in a crucible.
Today was a rather busy day. I stabilized a bunch of chrysocolla rock for future use. For this batch we used waterglass (sodium silicate) because it does not cost much, about $20/gallon and it works very nicely.
The rocks not on the grate are what we did today.
Attachment 301431
...and another detail pic of one of the stones ....
Attachment 301432
.. and here is a cabochon i made from some bloody basin agate sourced here in Arizona.
Attachment 301433
I would be interested in some rough Bloody Basin Agate.
Randy you are just rockin that lapidary stuff.
I am taking Kringle orders
State your wishes or live with what I bring
I read some time ago on their website that they have a Bourbon flavored Kringle
Yum
Pete <:-}
Cherry cheese cake. And if all works out I will have a bourbon pecan pie made by my southern home cook for you Dave
There will also be some homemade cinnamon rolls and biscuits landing for all to enjoy--
Looks like some of the guys on a quest to loose a bit of excess might get set back just a bit :w
tonite I don't care I,m drinking excessive amounts of knob creek I have gained back 7 freaking pounds the last 3 weeks,, im want kringles
This meet will be my midwinter break.
If I gain 5 pounds in 5 days then I will just have to deal with it in March.......
well tim, gay sera gay sera
HAR!..........
Tried a donut shop chain new to our town a few weeks back with my daughter. They had an "Elvis" donut topped with bacon bits, chocolate icing, and some peanut butter. Remarkably delicious, but after our one morning binge on a few awfully rich donuts, we decided we could not handle a donut trek except infrequently.
Great treat donuts but certainly nothing I care to eat on a regular basis, especially when costing $2.50 each or $12.00 per half-dozen. Sugar's one helluva drug, huh?
Please excuse the tangent if I read the implications of Kringles all wrong (mostly going on supposition and one tiny clue).
Just ordered a brush knot to possibly make a brush at the meet. No plan on handle material yet.
I had not considered making brushes as a possible at the meet. I have a lot of pacific yew of that interests you.
Let me know and I can put a piece in my luggage.
Is there a lathe somewhere in the shop?
Pete <:-}
There is a wood lathe and a small metal lathe.