Iron Smelt - Wareham ON - November 7, 2009
Date:November 7, 2009
Location:Wareham ON
See also: Darrell Markewitz's ironsmelting site
Team: Ken Cook, Sam Falzone, Neil Peterson, Dave Cox, Marcus Burnham, Richard Schwitzer
Premise: - 1000 years ago the norse visitors at L'anse aux meadows attempted a smelt. We plan to reproduce that smelt.
- This marked the third of four smelts in a sequence designed to test several variables currently outstanding in our knowledge of the smelt.
- The smelting area was laid out as suggested by the archaeology of L'Anse aux Meadows, more photos of the furnace hut, and a discussion of the vinland furnace.
Furnace Design
| Type | Boxed Short Shaft, clay/sand mix, tap arch |
| Extraction | top |
| Diameter | 20 cm |
| Height | 68 cm |
| Volume | 21352 cm3 |
| Tuyure Type | ceramic tube |
| Tuyere height from base | 15 cm |
| Tuyere penetration into furnace | 5 cm |
| Tuyere angle | 22.5 deg |
| Base design | natural set base cm |
Burn Details
| Bellow Type | double bag (smleting) bellows |
| Avg Air rate | 700 litres per minute |
| Total Charcoal Mass | 28 Kg |
| Avg Burn rate | unknown min per 2 Kg |
| Ore Type | DD2 |
| Total Mass of Ore | 18 Kg |
| Burn Duration | 3.5 Hours |
Results
| Mass of Bloom | 2.9 Kg |
| Bloom Type | lacy |
| Yield | 16% |
| Notes | |
 |
Reports of all of our iron smelting efforts along with more articles and information are available on the "Iron Smelting in the Viking Age" CD from the Wareham Forge. Copies of the CD can be purchased here. |
Discussion:
This smelt added human powered air into the sequence
Conclusions:
Photos:
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Bellows |
Layout |
Building furnace |
Extracting |
 |
| | |
| Bloom |
Raw Data:
| CLOCK |
ELAPSED |
EVENT |
CHARCOAL |
|
ORE |
|
|
| |
|
|
UNIT |
COUNT |
UNIT |
COUNT |
TOTAL |
| |
|
|
bucket |
|
kg |
|
kg |
| |
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|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 9:35 |
|
start wood splints pre-heat |
|
|
|
|
|
| 10:30 |
|
start intermitent air |
|
|
|
|
|
| 11:09 |
1:04 |
fill with rough charcoal |
|
|
|
|
|
| 11:22 |
|
switch to graded charcoal |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
main sequence start |
|
|
|
|
|
| 11:40 |
0:18 |
charcoal |
1 |
1 |
|
|
|
| 12:00 |
0:20 |
charcoal |
1 |
2 |
|
|
|
| 12:19 |
0:19 |
ore as 3 @ 250 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
0.80 |
| 12:38 |
0:19 |
ore as 4 @ 250 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
7 |
1.88 |
| 12:55 |
|
drop slag bowl / tuyere to 30 • |
|
|
|
|
|
| 12:58 |
0:20 |
|
1 |
5 |
4 |
11 |
2.95 |
| 13:12 |
0:14 |
|
1 |
6 |
4 |
15 |
4.02 |
| 13:27 |
0:15 |
ore as 5 @ 250 |
1 |
7 |
5 |
20 |
5.36 |
| 13:41 |
0:14 |
ore as 6 @ 250 |
1 |
8 |
6 |
26 |
6.97 |
| 13:56 |
0:15 |
|
1 |
9 |
6 |
32 |
8.58 |
| 14:09 |
0:13 |
|
1 |
10 |
6 |
38 |
10.18 |
| 14:28 |
0:19 |
ore as 8 @ 250 |
1 |
11 |
8 |
46 |
12.33 |
| 14:45 |
0:17 |
|
1 |
12 |
8 |
54 |
14.47 |
| 15:03 |
0:18 |
|
1 |
13 |
8 |
62 |
16.62 |
| 15:15 |
|
last ore addition |
|
|
5 |
67 |
17.96 |
| |
|
remainder charcoal added |
1 |
14 |
|
|
|
| |
|
start burn down |
|
|
|
|
|
| 15:42 |
|
air decrease |
|
|
|
|
|
| 15:50 |
|
extraction |
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|
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| |
|
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|
| |
TOTAL |
charcoal |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
ore |
DD-2 |
18 kg |
|
|
|
| |
|
time (main) |
3:30 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
bloom |
2.9 kg |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
yield |
16% |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
gromps collected |
1 kg |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
AIR |
human powered via smelter bellows |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
5 primary operators @72 / sec |
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|
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|
|
| |
|
average delivery @ 700 LpM |
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|
Reports of all of our iron smelting efforts along with more articles and information are available on the "Iron Smelting in the Viking Age" CD from the Wareham Forge. Copies of the CD can be purchased here. |
Dark Ages Re-Creation Company
