Chapter 322 The Great Achievement of Grey Iron Casting
In the East, large-scale pig iron smelting has always been a national-level project.
There were as many as sixty-four large state-owned iron factories in the Western Han Dynasty. They used clay blast furnaces to produce molten iron and refined it into carbon steel, thus achieving the power of the Han Dynasty's iron cavalry. It was that kind of large iron factory that almost started smelting.
It will not stop unless the blast furnace is eventually corroded by the molten iron. In that kind of smelting, the craftsmen provide ore and charcoal, and even coke made from coal into the furnace. The craftsmen on the other side always estimate the temperature of the furnace and control the output.
The opening and closing of the slag outlet of the taphole.
However, the Ross tribe does not have such strong industrial strength to ensure the continuous operation of an "iron-eating monster". However, the blast furnace was stopped because there was no raw material. As long as the internal debris is cleaned up before the next use, the furnace itself will be damaged.
The damage is not big. In other words, the biggest damage is actually the damage to the price/performance ratio. Because in an iron plant with a very stable supply of fuel ore, it is really unbelievable to have a blast furnace suddenly shut down.
Rurik was mentally prepared to accept that the furnace would be forced to shut down after completing the smelting of the ore. Ah, at worst, the furnace would start up again after the new ore is in place.
The red flames soared up along with the gray-black smoke. The flames and thick smoke from the furnace proved that the temperature of the furnace was too low.
Rurik was silent for a while, "Klavason."
"exist."
"Perhaps the furnace will continue to burn until tomorrow. We will burn all night long!"
"Ah? Do it again?! Didn't we harden it just now?"
Apparently, Klavasen was referring to the initial hardening of the furnaces for the incineration operations.
"This is different!" Rurik corrected: "We are serious now. We must keep the furnace at the temperature limit before adding ore."
Klavasen could see that Rurik obviously had a thousand words. He was a boy with great wisdom, but there was no way he could understand it in a short time.
Fortunately, don't ask too much, just follow Rurik's orders strictly.
For Rurik, he expected that the blacksmiths would not be able to operate a blast furnace without a teacher. Even if Rurik only had a theoretical basis, he chose to be worshiped by the blacksmiths and was the only one who could guide people how to use this method.
He is the only technical consultant whose furnace can produce molten iron.
The long heating furnace operation continued uninterrupted until close to noon the next day. Those mercenaries who sweated all night have now become a group of strong hired fishermen. Just like the mercenaries, the new arrivals
Many people also went into battle shirtless. Under the sun, their sweaty backs fully proved their hardships.
"It's really hard!"
Seeing this bustling smelting scene, Rurik had to sigh with emotion.
Klavasen and Kawei, who were always paying attention to the flames, finally waited for the moment they longed for.
Kawei hurriedly ran close to Rurik, who was watching. He pointed at the flames: "The yellow fire will last for a while. My dear, we shouldn't waste any more time."
"Okay! Start putting in the ore!"
"okay!"
No matter how much sweat he shed, it was all for this moment. Rurik looked at Kawei's running back, paying special attention to his linen clothes that were soaked with sweat.
A large amount of ore was thrown into the furnace, and inside the furnace at this moment, the chromite ore acting as refractory bricks had built a strong insulation layer, taking in all the hematite and magnetite.
All the prepared ores were thrown in, and the flame color turned red almost instantly.
Kawei frowned deeply, knowing that the temperature of the furnace suddenly dropped sharply.
Klavasen's brows were furrowed, and he stood next to Rurik and asked nervously: "It turned into red flames, what should I do?"
"It doesn't matter, I know what's going on."
"Ah? Is this also in your plan?"
"Yes, everything is according to plan." Rurik suddenly turned his head and said, "Klavason."
"exist."
"It is impossible to smelt all the ores in less than two days! Kawei will continue to lead his brothers to serve this furnace around the clock, and you. Since you are opposed to the direct condensation of molten iron on the sand and gravel, just make it for me.
A lot of clay molds! I don’t have any requirements. Ultimately I need a batch of square cast iron ingots, so it must be easy to make the corresponding molds.”
"This..." Klavasen asked hesitantly: "Then why don't we cast the tool directly?"
"Forget it. Wait until we are ready for the second smelting. As for those iron ingots, I will teach you new smelting techniques in the future. Those iron ingots are the raw materials."
Rurik was just showing off. Although Klavasen was curious, he didn't talk nonsense because of the heavy tasks on his shoulders. He no longer even looked like a spectator, and immediately became worried about his fellow blacksmiths, most of the potters in the tribe.
.
On one side is a blast furnace that has eaten a belly of ore and is undergoing a long period of roasting. The melting of molten pig iron is slowly happening at a relatively microscopic level. The changes onlookers are destined to turn into a furnace of molten pig iron.
On the other side, it was the blacksmiths and potters who gathered together for a small meeting, and a pottery-making movement started in the chaotic streets of the tribe.
Because a piece of news spread like wildfire!
There are rumors in the tribe that the great Rurik needs a lot of pottery. As long as it can hold the molten iron, Rurik will give the pottery maker a sum of money. Almost all the people in the tribe who know how to make pottery are devoted to this
In this money-making operation, their idea was extremely simple. Their purpose was to obtain a reasonable bounty from the richest leader's family in the tribe to supplement their family income.
When Rurik felt that the smelting had reached a level where iron could be tapped, it was already the third day after the ignition.
Within three days, the tribesmen produced a large amount of pottery of varying quality, and burned pottery and charcoal without restraint, causing the entire tribe to become a mess.
At least a large number of pottery vessels have been prepared to hold the molten iron. No matter how bad the quality is, it is still better than letting the pig iron cool directly on the sand and gravel.
The lengthy furnace challenge challenged the patience of all participants.
No one has kept statistics on how much charcoal was consumed. From the bright smiles of the charcoal burners, Rurik was sure that they made a lot of money.
Rurik was standing next to the stove, specifically twenty steps away from the end of the taphole. He didn't want to take the chance of being killed by the spray of molten iron.
At the same time, after hearing the news that the molten iron casting was about to be completed, when the sky was just bright, a large number of tribesmen rushed to gather early and gathered near Klavason's house. One after another, as many as two thousand people came together.
The spectators turned away, and they pointed at the still lively smelting site, whispering to each other continuously, and the noise was extremely noisy.
Rurik became the center of attention.
He got up early in the morning just to stand by the stove and witness a great moment. He also wanted to take advantage of the hot molten iron to gain more popularity for himself while the tribesmen were watching.
Everyone is waiting for Rurik's instructions.
Klavason and Kawei stood next to Rurik, facing a very tense moment. Their hearts were beating wildly and their bodies were shaking uncontrollably.
"Are you nervous?" Rurik, who was as calm as water, asked knowingly.
"Of course. Soon... we will witness a miracle." Klavasen said.
"A miracle? No. You will get used to it from now on."
Rurik was really confident. In the past, he often observed the color of the flames coming out of the furnace mouth. There was even a period of time when the mercenary operating the blower worked too hard and more air was continuously injected at high pressure.
The hot flame at the furnace mouth has turned yellowish white!
What does this mean? If you had clairvoyant eyes, you would probably be able to see that the hottest hearth of the furnace has almost reached the level of perfection.
Oh, it doesn't make sense if two days of high-intensity burning can't smelt pig iron.
"Now, open two exits?" Klavasen asked cautiously.
"Then let's start. Open the slag tap first, wait until the slag is almost flowing, and then open the tap hole!"
"Okay!" Klavason immediately handed over this glorious task to his son Kawei.
Young Kawei, armed with a special long-handled shovel, began to take out all the clay that blocked the slag outlet.
The furnace is a solid shell, and only individual holes are weak points. The clay that blocks the slag outlet is resistant to the erosion of the slag and is easily hollowed out.
The slag outlet was cleared. When Kawei pulled out the fire tongs, he saw that the silicate slag was completely in magma state. They had turned into a very thin paste under the extreme high temperature. Under the pressure of the slag in the furnace, the slag was released.
A stream of magma spurted out from the mouth of the slag. Kawei was so frightened that he sat directly on the ground. He didn't even bother to pick up the fire tongs and rolled to the side, looking at the slag that was still pouring out like "mountain spring water".
I couldn't help but hold my chest and lament that I almost lost my life.
This scene shocked all onlookers, and Klavasen was worried about his son, who almost sat on the ground.
As for Lilia, she was supported by someone to witness what happened today. When she saw that her husband was almost injured, she almost fainted.
Rurik tried to remain calm as much as possible. He did not want to panic under the gaze of thousands of onlookers. He tried not to panic, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead suddenly, and continued to order Kawei who had just stood up:
"Don't be afraid, it's just slag! Once it's gone, open the tap hole! Be careful, the molten iron spurts out like spring water. Be careful not to get burned!"
"Me! I understand."
Kawei was frightened, just like a child touching a cup filled with boiling water for the first time. After he was scalded, he would never touch boiling water again in his life. The same was true for Kawei. He learned a lesson.
Be extremely cautious when opening the taphole.
At the same time, the mercenaries were ready with a large amount of pottery for receiving molten iron, and all the casting molds were lined up.
Klavasen did his part to bring a carefully crafted clay crucible specially used for smelting bronze. Through Rurik's explanation, he estimated that this crucible was the only one that was not afraid of being corroded by molten iron.
This is indeed the case. The temperature of molten pig iron is not much higher than that of molten bronze. A crucible with a large amount of refractory ore has a higher melting and disintegration temperature.
The taphole at the bottom of the furnace was pierced!
The moment it was pierced, Kawei realized that something was wrong. He felt a strong pressure, and his hands could hardly control the iron rod of the poker.
"Everything is ready! The iron is out!"
Kawei roared and pulled out the fire tongs instantly. At the same time, an iron stream so hot that it was almost white, like a small stream, flowed in the iron canal.
Rurik's eyes widened. He was not happy for a moment because of his great success. Instead, he just rushed forward and urged the mercenary in charge of the pottery to collect the molten iron until almost the pottery was pushed away.
The pottery containers whose task is only to hold the molten iron and let it naturally condense into white iron are being pushed away one after another. The hot iron fruit is indeed corroding the walls of the pottery, but the molten iron itself is cooling rapidly, and its almost white color is slowly changing.
Red becomes dull.
The hot molten iron is still flowing continuously. Due to the reduction in the capacity of the molten iron in the furnace, the pressure has weakened a lot, making the flowing molten iron no longer so violent.
This is the moment Klavasen has been waiting for!
Suddenly, his crucible was aimed at the iron trough and filled with a pot of molten iron.
"Hey! Good time for casting." He chuckled and clamped the crucible with the tongs. While Rurik was stunned, he pointed the "mouth" of the crucible at the feed port of the largest mold.
The hot molten iron pours into the mold as smoothly as spring water, but it is filled with a lot of flames.
Some of the vents reserved on the mold are also spewing invisible hot gases, and the mold itself has become a very hot existence.
In a place where Rurik could not see, a large cast iron pot was rapidly forming. The complete molten iron for smelting iron, after all, is fundamentally different from glass. When it cools to the critical temperature, it quickly hardens into dark red.
s solid type.
Seeing that there was still a little molten iron left in the crucible held by the tongs, Klavasen stretched out his head to knock it, and shook his head: "Oh, the capacity of my crucible is too large."
"Is the casting completed?" Rurik's attitude was anxious, but a natural desire to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages made him dare not approach the casting site rashly.
"And those axes."
"Then hurry up and get it done. I hope to see your cast soon."
What Rurik actually wanted was to quickly get a long-awaited large iron pot, and Klavasen naturally understood that his old friend was eager to mass-produce the axe.
All the prepared molds have been cast, and the molten pig iron stored in the entire furnace has been collected in a short period of time.
The molten iron contained in a large number of clay containers is condensing rapidly. They are naturally cooled by the wind blowing in uncertain directions. Some people with very few eyes stand on the roofs or on uncut trees in some settlements, watching.
The legendary changes of molten iron in a large number of pottery vessels.
The luminosity of the molten iron that originally emitted a bright yellow light began to decrease, and the molten iron that was first contained had obviously hardened and turned dark red, and continued to change to gray-black.
Rurik put his hands behind his back and stared at the largest mold. He wanted to pour water on the mold to speed up the cooling. But he would not do this. The violent cooling would cause the iron pot to crack, which would be terrible.
.
It is a taphole with surging molten iron, but when no new molten iron flows out, it does not actually flow. A small part is always at the bottom of the furnace. They begin to naturally condense and once again interact with the chromium-iron alloy that has turned into the furnace liner.
mixed together.
The stove should be recycled. Rurik looked at the completely extinguished stove and couldn't help but shake his head.
Kawei shouted, attracting the attention of many mercenaries and hired coolies: "The stove is empty! I will seal the exit."
Rurik looked at him, and Kawei understood. A blast furnace produced a large amount of molten pig iron. It was closed because there was not enough raw material, and the next time it will be opened is unknown.
After a long wait, Klavasen estimated the molten iron based on the approximate setting time of the bronze, and he felt that the time was ripe.
He held the molten iron used to forge the steel sword in his hand and looked at Rurik: "Sir, it's time to look at the axe."
"Finally finished?"
"Yes."
Rurik nodded and walked over boldly. He saw Klavasen's strong right hand holding the molten iron tightly and beating the mold fiercely. The pottery, which had become fragile due to the erosion of the molten iron, broke into a large number of fragments.
After beating and casting, the pig iron ax blade was successfully cast, and it suddenly appeared along with a large number of iron bars outlining the diversion channel.
Seeing this feat, all the onlookers were stunned.
Those with excellent eyesight watched the excitement from a distance and began to exclaim. After a while, the exclamation of thousands of onlookers suddenly turned into a fierce roar.
Clavason simply smiled and bent over. He held his ax high and faced the sun in the sky, thanking God for his favor.
Pig iron casting was indeed a success.
Klavasen knocked down the four cast iron ax blades and pulled them down. As for the iron protrusions on the ax blades that were originally the drainage channels, it was no longer important.
The ax head has not been polished, and its appearance is very rough. However, its shape is specially made. You only need to provide a wooden stick and use hemp rope to tightly trap it on the stick. This cast ax blade can fully satisfy the needs of ordinary people.
In order to meet the needs of daily life, the only finishing process it needs now is to use sandstone to grind out a sharp edge. I am afraid that this task will not be done by the blacksmith himself, it will be the buyer's business.
The hot ax blade was poured with a bucket of water and became touchable.
Klavasen held four ax blades in his hands and approached Rurik happily to show off: "Look, we succeeded. We made the ax blades very easily."
Rurik was indeed happy, but the durability of cast iron tools was too poor. Perhaps the most useful tool it could make was iron scissors.
Rurik forced out a smile, pointed at the largest mold and urged: "It should be enough time, break it into pieces for me, I want to see my iron pot."
"There is indeed enough time." Clavarson felt itchy in his heart, and he immediately called a few strong men who were eager to try, and even his own son Kawei.
A group of people held their own hammers and started beating the largest mold while shouting chants.
The ceramic mold quickly disintegrated and appeared gray-black in broad daylight.
Seeing this, Rurik confirmed that the conclusion he had just drawn was extremely correct.
His eyes widened, not only in surprise that this was an iron pot that basically satisfied him and him, but also because it was gray iron, the most easily available cast iron.
Rurik's stunned look prompted Klavasen, who was eager for praise, to urge: "My lord, what do you think?"
Rurik immediately came back to his senses: "Oh, that's great. It's actually gray... gray."
This "grey" is really meaningful. Klavasen could detect the subtlety of Rurik's attitude, but he didn't know what it was.
What exactly does it mean?
Although in order to obtain carbon steel, Rurik wished that the blast furnace could directly burn white iron at a higher temperature in one step. Since all he got was dark gray gray iron, he did not lose at all.
Gray iron is the most cost-effective cast iron, and it takes over the burden of popularizing iron tools to the entire tribe and servants.