The day was first of January. In a busy city. It's the first day of new Year and most people are home with their families but 4 men and a dog was inside a forgery .
There was an 17 years old boy working on a Smith. He walked into the workshop and there already people bussing around all the other remains appreciate and masters daughter. They have started setting everything up and have warmed up the furnace.
Before we start to forge it is important to warm it up or else the forge will crack. I have prepaid for this moment for 2 weeks and I will make sure I everything perfect. Thought Raymond.
I looked at the bloomery. It was at chest high tall and the base diameter was a metre wide. The inside of the furnace is not a straight cylinder but more like ane egg, tapping towards the top. The wisest part 'the belly' would be around 45 cm.the opening at the top would of the chimney would be narrower.
Feeling pretty confident that this furnace is warm evenly. He started dropping charcoal from above. He filled it till half way and at the same time a pair of bellows was started to pedal by Madame Smith and her daughter. They were in a perfect rhythm to each other as if they have done this a million times.
From time to time he would replace master's daughter. Before long the charcoal was evenly lit like a pure bed of charcoal.
This is where it starts. He took a shovel and poured in the roasted and crushed iron sand.
For the last 2 weeks he was not just studying Smithing he was also make the ingredients concentrated. The modern knowledge he has and with the power of humans most advanced database Google Ai he can up ways to increase the yield of the bloomery furnace.
First he tackled the charcoal. Charcoal is the best type of fuel for the current furnace but it's not the best grade of charcoal. So he concentrated it by using the retrort method. Instead of burning the fire wood and wasting 70 percent of mass. He heated it without oxygen.
He made a kiln with an iron pot inside it and a tight fitting lid with a iron pipe leading out from the lid.we placed fire underneath and around it with scrap wood and low quality wood. As the wood got hot it released the yellow thick sticky smoke pouring out of the
Small pipe .
This is what the old method burnt off using its own fuel. But with the new method we use low quality fuel to start heating it up and use the wood smoke from the wood as the fuel as it is flammable.
This gave a much better 50% better yield and a consistent charcoal without pockets of unburned wood or ash.
Second one was much more complex as they brought fine crushed iron ore that was crushed under a stamp mill. That was a custom job.
Then he used gravity separatin, he built a long wooden trough and add wooden bars called ruffles. He then placed the washed and sorted iron ore on top and ran a steady stream of water stream over it.
The water washed over the ore and lighter particles are washed away and the heavier iron rich particles resist the push of water . They sink and get caught behind the riffles in the bottom of the sluice.
Raymond did an extra step by separating the dust particles from the ore by magnets. This gave him a high yield of concentrated iron ore.
This was one of his trump card in his forging process.
3 men were watching Raymond work and they were noting his actions. Mr Norton was keeping records of how many kilos of charcoal and iron he was using too.
Raymond added a layer of iron then a layer of charcoal . Another layer of iron then charcoal. This was repeated till the inner chamber was full. As the time goes by the level of charcoal, ore mixture starts to fall. But he has to keep it full all the time.
As this was happening the mother and daughter due constantly pumped air into the furnace. The sound of air change from a quiet whisper to a roar. The flames leaping from the chimney turns color from red to orange, to a brilliant, almost white light. This is the heat we need.
As the iron begins to form the remaining impurities starts to melt like a glass type liquid called slag. It will trickle down the furnace.
Raymond went near the furnace and pry opened a small door at the base of the furnace. He took a long rod and taped the charcoal inside to break open small openings in it. A brilliant, fiery orange River of Milton Glass flow out.
It looks beautiful thought Raymond. After it stopped flowing he closed the small door back. This was the first slag tap it took around 2 hours from the first charge of iron ore. It took an hour to warm up the furnace and another hour to lit up the charcoal bed.
This process carried on for four more hours and the iron ore was all added. Then for the next 2 hours he kept on adding charcoal for 2 more hours. This was to ensure the last of the ore has had enough time and heat to be fully reduced into metallic iron, and to allow the iron particles to begin to gather and consolidate deep within the furnace. The bellows are still pumped hard.
The sun has went past the middle and it was around 3 pm slowly the color of the flame goes from blinding white yellow to an eternal blue.
Raymond knows the time have come, he ordered the blowers to stop and he and a fellow junior apprentice Alex prepared to open the bloom.
Mr Norton saw them pull out the bloom. It was not as expected. Usually most blooms are very bright orange-yellow but it would be mottled with darker, cooler patches and dripping with liquid slag. Its light would seem somewhat "dirty." But this one looks clean a uniform, brilliant white-hot light. It looks clean.
The group of 2 was added by another person, he was carrying a large sledge hammer. Alex with the bloom, new guy with the sledge hammer and Raymond with a smaller hammer.
Alex places the bloom on an anvil near the furnace. He makes the judgment and guides the sledge hammer. Raymond took the first strike and a small shower of white sparks spread but nothing compared to a regular bloom. But this was a good thing for Raymond as this indicates a much higher concentration of iron in the bloom.
Raymond and the others repeatedly striked the bloom consolidating it . When it cools they would put it back into the forge to reheat it. This repeated for one long hour . They beat the bloom into a rectangular bullet and around 4 they finished forming it.
Everyone was tiered and sweating. Raymond was tired and breathless. It was a long 11 hours.
Raymond had a small smile on his lips. He knows he had succeeded the first step. A high quality wrought iron and the yield around 18 kgs. It was hard for Alex to handle such a big bloom and he have never experienced such a heavy bloom. Usually the billets are around 5-8 kgs but this time it was more than double.
Master Smith, Mr Norton and sir Willam came running towards the anvil and they looked at it incredibly. Then they looked at the boy whom made this. He was covered in soot and grease. He had a small grin on his lips.
Both Mr Norton and William looked at master Smith with amazement.
"Master Smith you have taught a monsters talent. I have never seen such a huge billet from a furnace this size." Mr Norton exclaimed.
Master Smith was still in amazement. He was woken up from his thoughts by inspector Nortons words. Master Smith didn't know his student was so talented.
2 weeks ago the boy did explain to him the importance of concentrating the ore and coal but he didn't think it would double the yield. This is a brakethrough in forging itself. It was soly Raymond's credit. He didn't come up with a thing. Master Smith thought to himself
" It was all master Smiths teaching" spoke Raymond as if reading master Smith mind.
He doesn't want his trump card to be revealed yet.
Master Smith took the billet and weighed it
"18 kg" spoke master Smith. Everyone in the forge gasped. This is incredible that's what everyone was thinking.
Raymond spoke up. " Thank you everyone for your help today. Without you I won't be able to make this . So the credit goes to everyone." Raymond bowed to everyone who helped forge it.
Everyone else quickly bowed back and hurriedly replied
"we were just assisting you. It is your own skill master Raymond." Everyone there even started to address him differently.
Making such high quality iron itself is a huge thing and making it at such quantity is something else. Maybe they just saw the birth of a genius.
William was observing the guy from the start. He has a confident aura around him and a small smile on his face. It's as if he has everything in his control.
Willam congratulate Raymond.
"Congratulations Raymond. I think this is the finest billet I have ever seen in my life. Not even grand masters at the royal forge can't make something like this."
"Thank you your honor but I can't be compared to grad masters. I still have a lot to learn." Raymond outright denied. But if Willam could read minds. He would have heard 'they are no way near me'.
William smiled and nodded at him. Raymond smiled back too.
Raymond was not finished yet. He still have one crucial step to do before turning in for the day. Annealing. Making the hard stock into a soft and workable form.
They heated the billet back . This time Raymond had a sharp cutting chisel with him he placed it ant the center and the sledge hammer fall down in it fast soon a deep grove was formed which he heated and fold it over this was repeated 3 more times.
He splited the refined billet into 2 parts first around 10 kg and 8 kg . The smaller one would be used to make parts of flywheel and the bigger one would be further split onto metal straps, rod for the spindle, mane screw, flat blanks for gears, tool cutter and engaging latch.
He quickly forged the flat cylinder for the hub of the flywheel and few spikes for it. They will be single a flat strip of heavy metal around 30 kgs as the end part he bends it to a circle and attach the spikes and hub to it .
Then moved on to the smaller parts. He made rectangular bars of various width for everything else other than the spindle rod and main screw And finally made the first rod the one for the spindle and the bigger one for the main screw .
He Hammered a perfect cylindrical ride one that is a meter in length and 4 cm in diameter, that would become the main screw and smaller one with 40 cm in length and 2 cm in diameter.
Raymond made sure that the rod is round as possible and straight as he can. To make sure he placed it on a flat surface and rolled it . He re-hammered it till he was satisfied.
Then he took the spindle, main screw and few other parts and started slow heating. He heated them to an even dull cherry red color.
Once they are an even red heat . He took them out and bury them in dry sand. This will allow it to cool down slowly and evenly overnight. This relaxes the metal and relieve the stress from hammering.
Then he turned to his final step of the day case hardening of the tool cutter. Since he is going to cut wrought iron he needs something that is stronger and harder than wrought iron . And the best option was to buy a harder steel like iron from cementation process it yields a denser iron alloy but it's a rare commodity and they couldn't buy it in time.
So he went for the second best option is case hardening. It's a process where pure carbon is slowly infused into the surface of the metal by sealing it in a carbon dense container and heating it constantly for hours. Then it will be quenched immediately trapping the carbon atoms instead the metal. Making it extremely hard.
Raymond prepared multiple seats of them as the biggest disadvantage is after every sharpening the outer layer will be shaved off and the inner soft layer will be exposed making it dull and unusable.
He place the metal piece inside a tightly sealed box which was densely packed with carbon powder.. he placed it under the forge and stepped back.
This will go one for few hours but he don't have to supervise that as he needs to get his rest for tomorrow.
Today was just the forging part but tomorrow is the smithing. He had to be at full strength.
Master Smith spoke up.
"Everyone we had a long day and everyone is tired how about we take few hours of rest and continue tomorrow."
He looked at Mr Norton and sir William.
William looked around and agreed.
"Yes let's take some rest "
Mr Norton agreed too.
William walked forward to Raymond and shook his hand.
"Mr Raymond am excited to see what you are going to make tomorrow I can't wait to see.
"Thank you my lord I wouldn't disappoint you." Replied Raymond
Willam left after his pleasantries. Mr Norton also walked past him just nodding.
After they both left master Smith looked at Raymond and hold him by his both hands and said.
" I am so proud of you my boy. I think you are going to change the world." Within the last 2 weeks interactions Raymond shared lots of knowledge with master about material science and mechanics. He felt like most of Raymond's thoughts are so profound and sometimes whimsical. He sometimes wonder if they are true. It not because he doesn't trust Raymond but simply because of the implications.
But today he was proved wrong, slowly Raymond started to show proof for everything. And he simply wants to see how much this boy can go.
Master instructed towards the rest of the apprentice and. To keep the fire burning till the process is over. After around 4 hours master will come down here and quench them.
They both left towards the house. As the walked by they saw opposite to masters house 2 new tents are up and there was some activities going on.
"I guess they brought there on accomodations with them. Being reach must be nice" master simply made a remark.
They both went home to rest.