Failed Attempt #1

Saturday 8-23-08
7:50 PM

The diagnosis is simple, we need more heat

After a crude experiment intended to discover the melting point of iron I have made a completely different discovery: that charcoal was never meant to melt iron. This is at least true of the charcoal used in my setup.

The Setup

A floor of bricks (which I intended to use to eventually build a makeshift kiln) supports a smallish pile of commercial charcoal briquettes. I would estimate the number at 20. I had planned on using a standing fan to infuse oxygen into the system. After happening on a leafblower, however, that plan quickly changed. The leafblower worked admirably and produced about as hot of coals as I can imagine are easily attainable. On top of the coals rests a bent sheet of stainless steel which holds iron filings I collected with a magnet from the garden. My brother ended up holding the steel sheet so it wouldn't blow away. I saw no significant color/state change in the iron. I am not ready to dismiss charcoal altogether though. Perhaps in a more enclosed setup with less heat loss to the environment and a larger pile of coals the required temps can be reached.


Side Note

I used a propane (this is probably true, but the gas may be different) torch to light the briquettes and after it became clear that these were inadequate I tried the torch. The iron glowed a bright red but refused to liquify as far as I could tell. Later I attempted to melt some copper wire. This was a roaring success and gave me a morale boost for future attempts.