Blacksmithing - Shop Floor Steel - Smelting Foundry - Steel Making - Works

[@Moonfleet41]

Chandler, someday you'll realise that you DO know what you're doin' and not keep sayin you dont...i follow maybe four people on the whole of youtube, and you're the first one i open when the mail comes in..... i love your videos most because we share the same mantra on life.."How hard can it be"... ! Great to watch a craftsman.!

[@bunkgearz99]

well said!

[@lebommjohnson8101]

+1 from here, too !

[@Atillathepun]

I think that's the charm of this channel. Chandler doesn't claim to be an expert, he learns by doing and brings us along for the ride.

[@JustTex]

agreed

[@samlynn79]

Fancy seeing you here, Del!

[@verdatum]

Chandler, I've done a couple smelts in my time, and I'm quite the nerd on the topic. To an extent, you over-carburized your iron. Part of your bloom went past the point of high-carbon steel, and on into the range of cast-iron or pig-iron. Those were the unforgeable brittle parts. If you want to try this again, you can do two things to help reduce this: lower your airflow. When you have a constant blower running, things start to operate a little less like a bloomery, and a little more like a blast-furnace (which intentionally produces pig-iron). Lots of carbon-dioxide ineracts with the iron, and it absorbs too much carbon. Second, you can pelletize your ore. Basically, get some powdered clay, mix just a little into your sweepings, add some water. You want something that behaves sorta like dirtballs, where it holds it's shape pretty well when you compact it. The consistency of greensand, if you know what that means. Then take this and roll them into roughly 1'' balls. Bake these on a low temperature or leave them in the sun to dry out. Then, when you do your smelt, the combination of 1'' oxide balls, and roughly 1'' chunks of charcoal will allow the iron to get up to temperature without the iron having so much surface area exposed to the gas at once that it gets too much of a chance to absorb all that carbon. The ball shape also gives channels for the hot gasses to travel, and helps to prevent clogging up your tuyere. You're less likely to get as much high-carbon chunks out of this method, but, you're also less likely to get the aggravating brittle stuff. If some portions of the bloom have too high carbon, but you are careful to weld them into the lower-carbon steel of the bloom, then it is eventually possible to distribute the carbon by folding and take the brittleness out (the repeated heating also allows the dissolved carbon to move around very slowly within the proto-billet). But, because it's such a pain in the butt to avoid it crumbling, you want to keep this to a minimum.

[@Thalanox]

If you start with overly brittle iron like this, then is there a way to siphon the carbon away from the iron?

[@borttormcpe4275]

Thalanox what the Japanese did fold it a lot to burn off carbon. I'd just recommend melting it with plain iron it will bring the total carbon lower

[@Thalanox]

borttor - Do you mean adding an existing high quality iron to the attempted iron melt? Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of trying to refine iron from ore in the first place?

[@borttormcpe4275]

Thalanox what is true. Joe the problem is he was taking already high carbon steel and any further carburizing which would end up causing is to essentially just become pig iron

[@esven9263]

I know this is a year after the fact but I think the bits that crumbled were just over carburized iron but I think the reason the other pieces were machinable was because he made phosphorous-steel with the P coming over from the charcoal. Phosphor compounds are common fertilizers for a reason and are readily taken up by many farmed trees, so a high phosphorous content would be likely in modern bulk charcoal. Given the complete lack of an oxidizer in his smelt to convert it over to liquid P2O5 which would have come out in the slag it's an alloy that would have readily formed and high phosphorous content will keep the iron from taking up carbon. That would have prevented the over carburization he had with the other piece where the iron over saturated with carbon which then fell out as it cooled and critically weakened the structure. High phosphorous steels were actually sought after in antiquity because they machined more easily, didn't over carburize and offered some corrosion resistance. Iron from Scandinavia (particularly the region of modern Denmark) was known for these properties from historic accounts. Phosphorous steel also explains why the piece he tested from the knife he was forging from it was both brittle and not very hard. I don't think it has super high phosphorous content but I do think that's what kept it from being over carborurized in the first place so that it consolidated into a workable piece.

[@Rouverius]

I'm only two minutes into this but I'm telling you now. Even if this is ends as an epic "failure," I salute your curiosity and boldness to posting you results. OK, back to the video.

[@misoman]

Ditto, ditto a thousand times! And...it wasn't a failure at all in my book, good show chandler!

[@Traderjoe]

Agreed! Congratulations! Now, we do not want to think about what's in our lungs 😊

[@dahoff63]

Who crapped in your cornflakes?

[@dahoff63]

+Brad Mordy Sorry, I meant to reply the other guy. Their comment was pretty dickish.

[@jeffzepkowski6471]

Rouverius any reason you have chain on your anvil

[@liamhall886]

Man I freaking love a smart man unafraid of making mistakes. Joy to watch. Thanks m8

[@rom65536]

I think something you could have done differently is to leave the fan on and give it more time in the "foundry" to burn off more of the crud. Now you're going to have to rely on the old "heat it and beat it" method to clean it up. But honestly, what you've done right there is pretty much the original definition of "magic". You turned dirt into a material of unparalleled power. You did what the Hittites - the original blacksmiths back almost 4000 years ago - considered magic.

[@dantuck5552]

this^^^

[@johnotakum]

actually, he's done something very similar to the japanese method of turning low quality iron sand into the high carbon steel they use in katanas. I found the whole video alot of fun to watch.

[@Skwisgar2322]

The problem is he used cement blocks as his refractory. he eventually would have melt through them and it would have collapsed. as it was all the blocks that melted away ran down into the bloom contaminating it.

[@johnotakum]

Skwisgar2322 precisely, but for a first time doing something he'd never tried before and improvising his tools, he did a fantastic job and came up with something ALMOST good quality.

[@frog8220]

i was about to write this! from what i know, the first iron was basically swedish (or as you say japanese) sand people fished ut of the bed of some ice cold river, then put in a fire a lot, then smashed it a lot, then had the most advanced piece of technology there was.

[@wyoblacksmithtools3097]

I think that the best thing about this video is that it brings out the curiosity and amazement of trying new stuff just cause you gots to know! Just like when you were a kid and everything was an adventure and the thoughts swirling around in your head were so exciting! The actual outcome had nothing to do with accomplishing something in the conventional sense. I am 70 years old, and I hope I can be amazed until the last day. Thank you!!!

[@HAL_9001]

Hey, Chandler. Try putting your magnet in a plastic bag when you're separating the metal. Makes it easier to pull of the magnet, and you don't get slivers in your fingers as often. :)

[@JerrySwatsell]

I was actually thinking that when I first saw that pile. Your comment was a spoiler of sorts.

[@carriestearns7665]

Yummy

[@renegadescout]

"Everything old is new again", Thanks to KZbin and the internet . I've done this myself a few times in the mid to late 90's( As well as making Blister Steel and Shear Steel).. and got my inspiration from other smiths that had done the same things before me. I'm glad to see others are still having as much fun trying things that are new to them.

[@23chaos23]

EXCELLENT work for your first time and such a VERY crude setup, things to do next time Prep, making bloom steel takes a lot of time and respect from start to finish, not just consolidating the bloom. So getting you charcoal ready before hand is a good idea, and the wet ferrous sand although not the worst thing would be better dried out. So getting your stack built up so its less likely to burst, as the bloom forms it expands and will create a lot of pressure. also the hole at the base is very important for keeping an eye on your temps and for letting (like blood letting) the slag near the end after 3/4 of the charges are in, this will make consolidating the bloom easier later as well. there are many more things you could do but ill leave it to you to enjoy the process of discovering them, once again you did an amazing job there, and lady luck was most definitely on your side this time. well done sir, you deserve a cookie :)

[@bobvb]

Fantastic learning experience for all of us. I have been interested in blacksmithing for 50+ years but never got around to trying. Things like this really make me want to do so. Thank You. Bob

[@gregg4]

I could watch Chandler all day, even if he's just scooping up dirt.

[@dimitriwolf]

Dude, you're not dumb, no one is expected to know everything. You got a nice learning experience from it and on top of that, it was a success! Cheers to ya bud!

[@jboshoff4048]

Chandler Your are amazing. Work that block into a blade and dump it in acid the pattern would be amazing. Ps the other commenters mentioned about the carbon content of the bloom. Some of that bloom is cast iron thats why it was brittle but fold and weld is the why to go to consolidate that steel into a homogenised billet

[@jboshoff4048]

I would also like to see that flaring gasses at night!

[@hjelkrem79]

Holy cow, that was freakin cool.This is what i love about KZbin-land, sometimes you see authentic stuff like this and it makes you want to throw your tv out the window. Loved it

[@nathanielanderson8753]

you should try etching it

[@weeruz]

Yeah! Etch it!

[@lahaya237]

i whas waiting for it the whole video

[@kevet1968]

+Daniel Leca Only because Daniel here doesn't know what you're talking about...

[@TankEpidemic]

I really appreciate the "what if" experimentation. That's how humans learned about this stuff and I myself like to dabble in it from time to time. It's a good thrill.

[@BeyondHomeCooking]

Man thats pretty cool, claiming material just like the smiths of yore. Good one. Pretty happy for you bud.

[@capnbillsezimjustsayin7477]

I've watched scores of videos about blacksmithing, building your own forges, and building your own furnace. I learned more from this man than I have in all of those videos combined. I'll bet the first people who forged iron in the Middle East did so pretty much the same way he did with much coarser raw materials,and it was only by reheating, pounding, folding and shear perseverance that they were able to make an incredibly durable metal out of iron ore.

[@El_Chompo]

I love your attitude man. Doing things just to find out what happens and for fun. I could do that kind of thing all day. Loved how your railroad spike knife came out. That video hypnotized me. I need a forge of my own!

[@cabbage0dusk]

I was gutted when i thought i was gonna have to search for a second half of this video, definitely worth while keeping this project all as one part!

[@BlankPicketSign]

This was such an endearing video! What an AWESOME journey!

[@Prairie_Barbarian]

This. Goddamn this. You have every right to be proud of what you accomplished. You took the shit off your shop floor and made it back into its original form. I'm a metalworker, and I'm aspiring to be a blacksmith like my grandfather and my ancestors before me. And all I have left to teach myself is trial and error, and as you put it, "see it on a KZbin video" lol. You're not afraid to take chances and do something new, and post it for all the world to see. You're an inspiration, dude. Keep it up.

[@timhyatt9185]

Congrats! you've made a sort of primative form of tamahagahne...it's pretty workable results given the very "trial" nature of your set up there.. Tamahagahne is is spongey like that when it first comes out.....it has to be hammered into flat-ish fragments....it is those fragments that get stacked up together, heated to forge welding, and hammered into a solid mass for reforging into a larger blade... if you do any more gold panning, try using the black sands that you would normally toss out when gold panning....you'll wind up with much the same...

[@chandlerdickinson]

I have saved all my black sand, just for this reason..

[@shadarnott1334]

thats awesome, I always wondered if the magnetic black sand you find when gold panning could be smelted into iron.

[@beast0382]

Isn't Tamahagahne used in the traditional way to make katanas? I do remember watching a documentary on Katana making a while back

[@5in1killa]

Yeah, Japan's iron comes from black sand.

[@Unertl16122]

U should make a knife out of it

[@louwrensbekker8948]

The best video I have seen on KZbin. What you have done is recreate the history of blacksmithing with the dust off of your floor. Can't wait to see what creation comes of it. Best ever I tell you. Blessings from South Africa

[@kengamble8595]

I think it's cool as shit man ! I could not stop watching even with needing to do other things ! I guess you could say that it's an alloy of some kind but if asked...... what kind and how many ! 😞 You said a few times that you didn't know what you were doing but I've got news for you , NO ONE knows what there doing the FIRST TIME ! Enjoyed it, thanks !

[@fergardla]

for what i saw he did and what i understand of chemistry he made construction steel probably the hardest tipo of it cos the proportions of coal and iron, also assuming that all the powder in the buckets were iron, but i could be wrong cos im basically calculating this from probability in the proportions of the materials i can be wrong

[@Murlockingqc]

He also used the hardest piece and forged it together. The other piece will be a softer steel.

[@kevet1968]

+fergardla From watching his channel it's probably a mix of good carbon steel with a little less mild steel.

[@shepardsforgeh2031]

i am a novice blksmith. but a,13,year welder who is no stranger,to,a,4lbs hammer. ive got multiple cirtifications and i know metle! you inspire me so much i cant even tell you. thank you so so so very much,for your vidios all of them! i,have,learned,so much,from,you and i am,so appreciative! i,just wanted,to say,thank you!!! sincerly Heath H!

[@davidreed9916]

MAGNET....

[@chandlerdickinson]

VIDEO...lol... i used one...

[@davidreed9916]

yes, i saw after I posted but couldnt be arsed to delete my comment. great project Chandler!

[@АлександрБолбат-ы1у]

Small tip. When you collect iron like this wrap the magnet in a plastic bag or fabric so it would be easier to separate iron from the magnet itself.

[@lukexr125]

That's clever. There's always a way, grandad normally knows lol

[@b5a5m5]

Ball mill it first, then magnet?

[@sherlockholmes4769]

The Rocky Balboa of Blacksmithing! Can't be stopped! Well done!

[@BobbyDukeArts]

could have used a magnet to pull the steel out of those piles.

[@BobbyDukeArts]

great video btw. subbed

[@danhinchliffe7622]

Bobby Duke Arts Good thinking but doesn't metal lose magnetism at certain temperatures? Or is that magnets?

[@BobbyDukeArts]

+Dan Hinchliffe Yes but when cooled, it regains its attraction to magnets. I was referring to the the room temperature dust he swept up.

[@m4xwellmurd3r]

I would use a metal pan with magnet under the pan, wash the dirt so all that's left is the steel. then you pull the magnet off and you're left with only steel.

[@1PoodleKing1]

m4xwellmurd3r but then you miss out on the oxidized iron that isnt magnetic.

[@jeremiemoon1748]

Awesome job, Chandler. Be proud of what you accomplished. For a few bucks, and a few hours of work, you went from dust on your floor to a bar of steel in your hand. Again, awesome job.

[@colsoncustoms8994]

That's awesome man

[@lesliejohnson2982]

A LOT of carbon from the charcoal maybe? Think it would improve, strength wise, if he had put it in a crucible on top?

[@colsoncustoms8994]

Leslie Johnson Yeah, I would think a sealed crucible would allow some control over the carbon content. Someone else said maybe borax added in? Not sure that that would help with the carbon, but may draw off some of the impurities.

[@caveofskarzs1544]

It's hard to get a crucible that will hold the temperature to melt steel, and even then, you might end up with cast iron instead of steel. There's some other things that can be added to help prevent impurities in the bloom, like, I think, silicon carbide, but I'm not sure. I guess I need to watch some videos on KZbin. xD

[@lesliejohnson2982]

Colson Customs I don't think the crucible would need to be sealed - just keeping the material up and out of the charcoal should provide enough of a barrier. (My opinion only). Have you seen the channel Cody's Lab? He does a lot of metal refining, and it is really interesting.

[@colsoncustoms8994]

Leslie Johnson Cody's lab is great.

[@tylerdurden4080]

Chandler you freaking genius, I never thought of using good old fashioned dirt as an insulator. Brilliant!

[@andrewmunger2223]

"We got volcano heat" HAHA!!!! Dude, why can't you be my neighbor.

[@sirspikey]

Most used words in this video: "I don't know what I'm doing" Stop degrading yourself, if you wanna try something try it! You don't have to make excuses for your curiosity! Keep 'em coming!

[@robmckennie4203]

"Those of you who are experts" Chandler, don't you know? Everyone on the internet is an expert in everything.

[@lesliejohnson2982]

My fave is the guys who are experts in childbirthing.

[@tonymengela]

Why cant a man be an expert in that? I helped birth both of my children quite well. Or do you mean knowing what the pain of child birth is? seriously your comment is pretty ignorant on every level.

[@jalex1873]

"I watched a couple videos on youtube!"

[@robmckennie4203]

***** I don't think they meant to imply that men can't be experts, plenty of OBGYNs are men, I think they were just talking about men who think they know a lot more than they do, and get arrogant about it. See: mansplaining

[@tonymengela]

Rob Mckennie It started having that feminist tone to it and I had a cringe moment.

[@phillipturner657]

been a fan for a while now Mr. Dickinson, gotta say you were one of my inspirations. You demonstrated that even if you don't have a bunch of fancy tools you can still do what you put your mind to. I started making knives 4 years ago and now hand forge all my blades (hunting, survival, fighting and kitchen knives). Thank you for taking the time to make these videos and all the best in your future projects. Respectfully, Phillip (Canuck Knives on Facebook)....yeah i am from Canada.

[@nathanielholland-pass4618]

"I watched a couple videos on KZbin" truly dangerous words

[@NKG416]

Hahahahaha you've made my day mate!

[@polerempel]

I've listened to several, I do not know what I'm doing. But in fact 90% of what we do is just a pile of experiments with theories that try to connect the facts. There's no need for so many excuses even knowing that KZbin brings together the most competent thinking minds in the world .. Keep up the great work!

[@beliasphyre3497]

You are an inspiration to all us dumbasses everywhere that watch a few youtube videos and say, "I think I could do that."

[@monkeythe1st]

Going to be sleepy at work tomorrow, but it was well worth staying awake a little later to see all of this video. You should be proud, that's some fantastic work.

[@-Honeybee]

Ever think to whip up a quick electromagnet to separate the ferrous steel dust from the other crap without panning? Just an idea. Cheers.

[@VTeslaV]

So cool to see an experienced Blacksmith Forging for the first time. Love his excitement!

[@rileyverellen0429]

Ask Cody from codys lab

[@thelukesternater]

Do this

[@thelegend-wk3nv]

Riley Verellen yes

[@tsukuyomiuno1051]

I would fucking pay for that greatness

[@WoodoakWilderness]

That was cool. nothing ventured, nothing gained. Thanks for having a go and sharing it with us. ATB

[@gavinjenkins899]

If ever there was a time to brag this seems like it!

[@THR33STEP]

Brother, yes you do deserve to brag about your creation!! 100% respect!!!!! Congrats on your success!!!!

[@TrillKump]

2:30 no, i don't think you're stupid. I think you're curious, as am I, so thanks for the vids. Thankfully, someone out there dorky enough to try all this crap and post it. Cheers CD and all ^^

[@TrillKump]

p.s.... don't get "pissed off" at lawnmowers. That's the sound of progress, perhaps not yours, but you want your neighbors doing well, believe me. They do your thing you do yours. Not good to confuse circumstantial events with downright evil intent by a jerk off neighbor. They just trying to cut the grass bro ^^ Can totally hear you anyhows. Something pretty satisfying about watching someone else experiment the shit out of stuff. Keep safe CD! I got my safety squints on @ 21:14

[@AtulaSiriwardane]

Thanks Chandler... From Sri Lanka... Our whole family watched it... and enjoyed.. Thanks again..

[@soulextracter]

Wow sir. You look like Chris Metzen.

[@Theserjtankianfan]

+1 because of your name.

[@cinda-girl517]

You did awesome here man. Way to go! Something to be damn proud of, so don't sell yourself short. I enjoyed this video immensely. Thanks.

[@GodzillaB210]

Shouldn't he have mixed flux into the floor sweepings before attempting to smelt it? Something in my head tells me he should have.

[@victoriaevelyn3953]

i watched how a Japanese katana is made and dont recall them mixing flux with the iron

[@victoriaevelyn3953]

i didnt mention "chandler should make a katana" besides i dont even like katanas

[@nickwoo2]

I didnt use flux for my first oroshigane run and it turned out well. Homemade steel will never be as good as modern crucible steel but the japanese did not have shitty steel they simply did the best with what they had. I did use flux to compact and fold the bloom.

[@mark16443]

no, it separates when it melts. a bloomery is meant to melt the iron thus separating it from impurities in the ore which are then bled from the bloomery in the form of slag which accumulates around the bloom in the bloomery. in an actual clay bloomery it is separated by tapping the bloomery which allows the slag to drain and keep it from clogging the air inlet

[@panikrev175]

Forming an efficient chimney, and making sure the blast is hot enough helps to burn up excess oxygen. The Japanese sword makers would layer the charge with charcoal and iron sands or specially chosen ore. As the layers burnt down they would add more alternating layers and finally cap it with more charcoal. This would help keep air out and insulate the stack, ensuring that the draft is directed into the base of the furnace making the fire burn hot enough to adequately liquify the charge that it consolidates into a bloom.

[@verdatum]

I know a whole host of people who have been curious to try this. This is the first time I've heard of someone going through with it; love it!

[@rjperkins365]

"We got volcano heat" the best

[@popnsplat]

Chandler, I love your dumb ideas. These slow, long videos are simultaneously interesting, informative, and great background noise when I'm playing video games.

[@TheeBudGuru]

I'm no metallurgical expert, but wouldn't a crucible have worked better at melting that all of that together?

[@vaskovekta]

i was thinking the same, thats what i thought he was gonna use

[@Zoch]

Yeah, a crucible would have taken alot of the imperfections away i think as the metal would melt and go to the bottom and the slag would rise to the top and be easy to remove... But what do i know :D

[@Vsor]

It is very very hard to get steel molten. It's pretty much unobtainable without a crazy setup or an arc furnace.

[@jalex1873]

I would say he got about as much as he could out of this process without going crazy. This is basically a downsized blast furnace, the main difference between what he did and what typically happens in a blast furnace is that he did not add any slag formers (typically limestone)which would help to protect the molten pool and allow it to puddle a little more nicely. The result is called pig iron which isn't good for much because it is nearly saturated with carbon and contains many other impurities which causes it to have pretty poor formability (as he found out). Further refining would often use oxidation to pull a lot the impurities and carbon out and manganese would be added to pull out excess oxygen and sulfur. Backyard steelmaking is not for the average DIYer.

[@kevet1968]

+jalex1873 You gotta remember though. Most of the dust he started with was high carbon steel.

[@traceyosterlind14]

Its a beautiful thing to try something learnie! Thanks, Chandler! It takes a confident man to show us his learning process.

[@proscriptus]

Only thing I didn't like about the long video is I couldn't stop watching and I was supposed to be working.

[@Blackobluna]

I'm enjoying the nature show narrator in my head commenting on how his thought process develops and his smashing technique changes.

[@philipmintz727]

Perhaps you might have had a better yield and a better steel if you had done a couple of things differently; first, run a magnet through the floor sweeping to eliminate as much garbage going in as possible - garbage (slag) that you had to try to get out later; second use a crucible over the charcoal to keep carbon (from charcoal) out of the iron as much as possible - too much carbon makes iron brittle as you learned by snapping the steel after forging. Steel mills force air through the molten steel to remove all but about 1% of the carbon.

[@DBHHellhound]

Philip Mintz You tell him :)

[@alsio2]

This is one of the most interesting videos I have ever seen. I couldn't stop watching till the end. I got on board with your enthusiasm. Keep making videos for the "What If People" like me.

[@marcelw6440]

Just goes to show you that nothing is impossible if you have a beard.

[@GordanCable]

Forging something from your shop sweepings ought to be a right of passage for you blacksmithing types. Way to go!

[@manboutuomaeley4311]

lots of expert black smiths in these comments

[@CoverMyMouth]

Always...

[@SkylordAz]

well there are the people like me who know a little bit because we do this ourselves as a hobby but we known we dont know everything becaue there is so much to know and it takes years and years of dedication. then there are the masters whl have done their years and know what their talking about. then there are the idiots who think they know everything because they watched some blacksmithing videos

[@manboutuomaeley4311]

SkylordAz those are the people I'm talking about lol the idiots who watch videos and are experts.

[@tylerdurden4080]

Manboutu O'maeley right

[@stephenv5668]

best cheep foundry i have ever seen on KZbin. you did awesome.

[@hindsight2022]

needs flux i think

[@hindsight2022]

i noticed you had rusty metal charcoal and in a shop i assume you have aluminum metal chaff as well .. might you have had a thermite reaction going on ?

[@vintonpassomonti7894]

Han Solo the flux would help clean it and make it purer

[@DaveBardin]

Awwwwsome! U hade me from the start. Loved it. And the noise u made when u forged welded those two pieces together! Outstanding... Carry on brother...

[@youbeadumass4138]

I’ve collected the metallic debris from my shop floor to use for polishing rocks. I didn’t think I could recycle it into usable metal. I’m glad I saw your video. I’ll give it a try myself! Thanks brother!

[@TetriTek]

You are like the Bob Ross of metal working. I really enjoyed this video and the fact that you started only having an idea in your head. Good on you mate, I'm glad things worked out and you were able to learn something from this. I learned a lot watching this as well, I love seeing people try new things and watch the process along the way. I'd like to try this myself someday if I ever have the tools and the resources. I've always enjoyed Blacksmithing.

[@ronamer1]

I am not big on making anything more complicated or work intensive than it has to be. a smart man would have just gone down to the store and bought a section of steel. but you ramped it up to an insane learning experience. there was not really much value in what you made, but I/we all learned an ENORMOUS amount, and for that, I thank you. some things can not be learned by simply going to the store and buying something.

[@twitchyourwhiskers]

Awesome job, Chandler. You did magic, you made a block of steel out of a pile of crap. You've got my vote.

[@trentszeponski1394]

I love these videos as much as any curios craftsman. One term I came up with working as a plasterer NOT drywaller is "trowel and error" to trowel your errors. Try your errors out because you will find in it succsess no matter what.

[@upinarms79]

Excellent work, dude. Anytime you can learn something and demonstrate something for other people who are interested in what you're trying to demonstrate, you've accomplished something. No such thing as stupid experimentation, only failure and success and the knowledge you gain from both. That's what we call SCIENCE! Now, while your experiment showed me is that I shouldn't expend this much effort and energy unless it's the apocalypse and I simply can not get steel any other way... it was fun to watch and certainly shows me some methods for recycling slag and shake, and that it can be done just fine with enough effort. Never be too embarrassed to experiment or show off your experimentation. Only the naysayers look ignorant for their lack of understanding of how we learn new things. Remember that the Celts were pulling peat out of bogs that contained iron traces from mountainside run-off and smelting it into what was known as "bog iron" as far back as 500 BC. Though they largely did this because they had to, as steel was very hard to get hold of in any other way and the results tended to have a lot of impurities unless you put a lot of effort into working them out. The Romans certainly weren't going to loan them some to fight them with, so they had to make do with what they could find without large-scale mining setups.

[@24kRobot]

That was satisfying to watch. Watching someone smith is calming.

[@as4000musicas]

You're awesome! you are a humble guy, and i can "see in your soul" a artistic touch. I've seen a bunch of foundry videos, primitive ones, factory style(ish), more modern ones. But your video is Really good, because... you "don't knew" what are you doing, but kept a spirit of adventure and experience. You are a truly Alchemist. not like those forging,tv style, shows with a bounch of equipment, and 'power' cameras, and super microphones, and movie sets. You are authentic, and we could really see you work effort in your video. Thank you for my experience seeing your channel.

[@julianleischner3700]

I have never touched a forge or a smelter in my life but for some reason I find this stuff interesting ^^ Nice to see it worked out better than you expected.

[@frankfomkin222]

Holy Smoke Chandler,,,,, you the MAN!!! Your curiosity and patience is admirable!

[@numberboxgamer]

I've always wanted to do some of the foundry kind of stuff, and your video has, I think, pointed me much closer to where I need to be! Thank you so much for making this video! It was fantastic to watch!

[@TimidTortoise1988]

That's incredibly cool. Really fun to watch you turn your shop dust into something workable.

[@kevet1968]

I love it. There's not one of us who hasn't wondered the same damn thing and who doesn't have a container full of that shit waiting for the right time to try it! Thanks Chandler!

[@kevet1968]

I wonder if dog hair makes a good flux...

[@lttseng1]

Never hurts to try & share the info. I applaud you for trying & sharing the info.

[@larryholloway2869]

love the long videos and for someone that doesnt know much or nothing to be able to bring floor dust to a workable piece of steel

[@ThePillenwerfer]

Brilliant! At the start I didn't think you'd got a prayer but well done. The video length is fine with me as it was so interesting.

[@BENEMMETT1]

incredible work and also the fact you didn't give up even though it was looking bad when it was crumbling away , top effort

[@RobertasJasmontasInsane]

Great video! Don't be so hard yourself, you're doing what you like, trying new things and figuring on your own how it works. Definately looking forward to the final product out of it. You have a right to brag about a peace of metal you made from a dirt on the floor, at least in my oppinion.

[@jimandaubz]

Dagnabit.... I threw away my bloom when it fell apart.... I thought it was garbage. Now I have to revisit this. Good work man.

[@fourKeeps2020]

takes a brave man to experiment on youtube. especially with all the experts watching. your a legend still half way through the vid looking forward to the results

[@LucasVieites]

Halfway through the video I thought you were just crazy, at the end I was sure. Never thought you'd get any results but that just proves me wrong. Awesome video here, one thumbs up for you, well done!

[@FarmCraft101]

Awesome vid Chandler. You're an inspiration!

[@janneheikkinen9750]

These experimentation videos of Chandler are the friggin best thing ever :D

[@aarons9961]

Great video. I like how you didn't give up, and figured out you needed more heat and flux to get the iron bits to fuse together. Refining takes a lot of work, unless you can get insane temps to do a pot melt.

[@Camulus777]

Chandler man, for your first time making it from scratch you did an amazing job! You should be proud of that. Now you just have to decide what to do with it. You could keep folding it and working it and making it more workable.

[@StumpGreenwoodSC]

Holy poop man ! You turned floor dirt into metal ! I'm impressed man.

[@chrisj1982]

I love that this is how we found out new processes a long ago, just saying screw it and trying it.

[@AlextheAldrich]

Great video man. Love your humbleness and, "screw it, lets try," attitude. got my subscription. keep em' coming!

[@josephtudino508]

what a great video! Thank you for thinking outside the box and utilizing everything that's available to you whether it's with material or tools to be creative.

[@GunnySGT1911]

Dude, you rock. You kept saying you didn't know what you were doing, but your instincts were good. If nothing else, it was a success as a proof of concept. In truth you went beyond that because you ended up with workable steel. I think you might have needed a little more heat in your furnace, or contained the heat you had a little better. And perhaps the addition of something to work as flux....maybe the addition of a little sand to draw some of the impurities. Just a thought. Thanks for your videos and all the inspiration.

[@IgotHeliFever]

Love your Enthusiasm & Excitement - When you finally started to get a Billet, I was like Yes "He Did It" and I subscribed because I like your Infectious Attitude!

[@queazeproductions]

Loved it, don't care if it's long. I like to see the whole learning process. Keep it up!

[@tonusbonus]

Inspiration, my man. Inspiration. I hope all is well. Thank you!

[@jean-philippestiee3527]

congrats, Chandler! A nice 1st try, pretty successful. You mentionned the most important thing... You learned a lot.