Hearth Steel Update

Now that I am with power again, I was able to do a spark test for carbon content. The first smelt yielded a ~2.25lb puck of very dense material. I tried cutting it in half with an angle grinder, but I need to get it to a chop saw if I want to be realistic about it.

A quick spark test yielded the following--

The sparks are nice and long with a slight feathering on the ends. The density of the sparks is decent, and much more active than the mild steel I used as a comparison. (I am no metallurgist and have no idea what these results mean. With luck, someone more informed than I will be able to help me here.)

The second smelt produced far more material, this being a small bit of it. These two pieces that broke off during consolidation straight out of the hearth weigh in at ~.75lb, and the remaining majority was too heavy for the 2.5lb scale by more than a pound.

The spark test for this one suggests something different.

Instead of the same long, straight sparks, these are very fluffy and feathery. It is difficult to see in the pictures, but any slower shutter speed made them too dark to see.

Notice how they do not spray out to the sides as much. What to make of this, I have no idea. More information to come soon!