First wootzsmithforum calculator batch of steel. Pure iron, W2, and graphite. 300 grams total. No lid. Bottle glass. Aiming for 1.5% carbon. Beautiful melt absolutely mesmerizing to watch the dance of molten glass and molten steel as the magnetic fields of the induction forge keep everything turning and churning throughout the entire melt. For solidification I slowly turned down the induction forge input 50 amps every 5 minutes and watched the surface of the pool through the bottle glass slag (shade 5 welding glasses). The "moment" of solidification looks like someone drops a square of cloth on the pool as a field of crisscrossing lines spread across the surface. Absolutely beautiful.
Continued my slow downward ramp through solidification until I could see no further interplay between the steel and the slag, turned off the machine and buried crucible et al in vermiculite to cool
Had so much fun decided to try a second run with clean cast iron (unknown alloy assuming around 3% carbon), pure iron, and the tiniest chip of lathe tool carbide. 300 grams total. Same procedure as above
I will roast these later this week and see where I end up!
First wootzsmithforum calculator batch of steel. Pure iron, W2, and graphite. 300 grams total. No lid. Bottle glass. Aiming for 1.5% carbon. Beautiful melt absolutely mesmerizing to watch the dance of molten glass and molten steel as the magnetic fields of the induction forge keep everything turning and churning throughout the entire melt. For solidification I slowly turned down the induction forge input 50 amps every 5 minutes and watched the surface of the pool through the bottle glass slag (shade 5 welding glasses). The "moment" of solidification looks like someone drops a square of cloth on the pool as a field of crisscrossing lines spread across the surface. Absolutely beautiful.
Continued my slow downward ramp through solidification until I could see no further interplay between the steel and the slag, turned off the machine and buried crucible et al in vermiculite to cool
Had so much fun decided to try a second run with clean cast iron (unknown alloy assuming around 3% carbon), pure iron, and the tiniest chip of lathe tool carbide. 300 grams total. Same procedure as above
I will roast these later this week and see where I end up!
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A short clip of todays melt. The mesmerizing dance of steel and slag
A short clip of todays melt. The mesmerizing dance of steel and slag
Uploaded files:Sharing fires, Sharing wisdom
I did not build this induction forge, it's a US Solid and cooler we use for classes at Artfire Michigan. But I am interested in building or rebuilding as a student of mine cooked the first induction machine we got having it's cooler set up wrong... So anyways I have an extra minus a few parts that might be fun to tinker with.
If you haven't played with induction yet as a smith you are missing out - it is a total game changer! I was a hold out for a while but now can't see life without one. Just the ability to walk into a cold shop and have instant heat without lighting the forge is amazing but the fact we can reach melt temps without a furnace in a matter of minutes opens so many possibilities and they are down right affordable with no consumables.
I did not build this induction forge, it's a US Solid and cooler we use for classes at Artfire Michigan. But I am interested in building or rebuilding as a student of mine cooked the first induction machine we got having it's cooler set up wrong... So anyways I have an extra minus a few parts that might be fun to tinker with.
If you haven't played with induction yet as a smith you are missing out - it is a total game changer! I was a hold out for a while but now can't see life without one. Just the ability to walk into a cold shop and have instant heat without lighting the forge is amazing but the fact we can reach melt temps without a furnace in a matter of minutes opens so many possibilities and they are down right affordable with no consumables.
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My kiln is down, darn pid is toast so just got these roasted the other night during open forge. Now that I have some of the super secrete stuff from the store did up a couple more melts of random concoctions (totally unscientific) just to play with things.
One thing I did want to note I tried instead of ramp down with the induction, this time I placed the molten crucible in a coffee can lined with 1 in Kao wool that I preheated with a torch. While the top surface of the puck looks better and is more jeweled, there is a good amount of prosperity just under the surface... So induction ramp down has some merits letting the gas escape. Maybe a hybrid method next? Would you pull it just before or just after solidification?
Side note whacking on some really unusually hard steel I believe I may have broken a bone in my hand... Work continues of course but updates on hard steel may be slowed
My kiln is down, darn pid is toast so just got these roasted the other night during open forge. Now that I have some of the super secrete stuff from the store did up a couple more melts of random concoctions (totally unscientific) just to play with things.
One thing I did want to note I tried instead of ramp down with the induction, this time I placed the molten crucible in a coffee can lined with 1 in Kao wool that I preheated with a torch. While the top surface of the puck looks better and is more jeweled, there is a good amount of prosperity just under the surface... So induction ramp down has some merits letting the gas escape. Maybe a hybrid method next? Would you pull it just before or just after solidification?
Side note whacking on some really unusually hard steel I believe I may have broken a bone in my hand... Work continues of course but updates on hard steel may be slowed
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