Thoughts on what happened?

#1 · June 13, 2026, 3:04 pm

Good afternoon yall, yesterday I had a smelt that I redid this morning because I found i had left behind some 1095 in the vinegar bucket, so I tried to resmelt and what looks like what happened was there was a gas build up that couldnt escape, but I could be wrong, thoughts/experience with this please? Bottom layer puck from first smelt next to top layer this morning

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#2 · June 13, 2026, 3:17 pm

What is the top piece? Is that your slag layer or unmelted iron?

Judging by the ingot surface, it looks like you either have extremely high carbon or extremely high CFEs.

#3 · June 13, 2026, 3:23 pm

I think the top piece is a mix of both, so I'm guessing the bottom puck didn't absorb todays melt, which was just the high carbon steel that was supposed to be in the initial melt, and glass. What is CFE? I kind of doubt its extremely high carbon since the initial melt was calculated to be less than 1.0 carbon from what the forum calculator said, but I did add about 30 grams of carbon to todays attempt so it very well could be.

#4 · June 13, 2026, 3:25 pm

Never mind on the CFE, found some info on it. Very well could be since i used a mix of 1095, w2 and 01 with mild steel

#5 · June 13, 2026, 3:29 pm

Ahh I see, it could be a bit of both carbon and CFE. W2 and O1 are both pretty high in V, Cr, and some others.

Is this a coal melt? That could explain why the bottom ingot looks pretty good and then the stuff on top did not get hot enough to fully incorporate. The finer your starting material is, the faster it will become a liquid.

#6 · June 13, 2026, 3:33 pm

its a propane melt, Its safe to say I should have cut the pieces into much smaller bits. I ran the furnace longer today but seemed like it didn't get as hot as yesterday, but I didn't see much deterioration. Should probably get a hardier set up

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Thoughts on what happened?