Capt Wolf Posted February 18, 2018 Cast iron is a valuable commodity in the islands. It's very expensive to ship iron from the mainland, so an iron foundry is an important part of a growing settlement. Here is the iron foundry in Weelond: The iron ore and charcoal needed for the blast furnace are kept in a storage house, near the furnace, but accessible from the street for easy delivery of the raw materials: The furnace is kept going for days on end without cooling down and reaches temperatures of nearly 2000 degrees (note the worker's protective facewear): When ready, a worker breaks the hole to allow the liquid iron to flow out: The molten iron flows into channels, where it cools... ... and is cast into ingots ("pigs") that can be used by blacksmiths to be formed into various items. Here piles of iron ingots can be seen in the background while a customer discusses delivery arrangements. A view from the street: Additional views: Spoiler From above: Without the roof: With the addition of this iron foundry, which will be licensed as a medium factory, Weelond is now a Large City! ---------- This was built and photographed by @Drunknok as my prize from his Merrynight challenge. I think he did an excellent job! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ayrlego Posted February 18, 2018 2 hours ago, Capt Wolf said: This was built and photographed by @Drunknok as my prize from his Merrynight challenge. I think he did an excellent job He sure did! This is the best rendition of the smelting process that I’ve seen here. Factories are probably something I would never have considered building without the EGS, but when done like this with the processes shown are probably some of the most interesting builds. Great work here with both the MOC and write up! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bodi Posted February 19, 2018 Wow, all these details, I especially like the molten iron. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Professor Thaum Posted February 19, 2018 Yes ! that's a very good one @Drunknok I like the furnace doors ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maxim I Posted February 19, 2018 Great job Drunknok! It is one of your best builds yet! It looks very realistic and well-thought. I can only applaud this! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Dee Posted February 20, 2018 @Drunknok , very nice depiction of a blast furnace. It's fairly simple but I'm impressed with your building speed. It may be a bit small, but of course there are lots of reasons to build at reduced scale. The pigs being cast in the sand are a particularly nice touch, and the shed looks nice too. Generous initiative! Oh, and it looks like you bought Clayface, too... And to whoever was involved, building up the settlement to "Large City" status was quite an achievement! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roadmonkeytj Posted February 20, 2018 Very nice build indeed weelond is lucky to have such a fine operation Question on the fire ... Is that a light brick inside or just clever flashlight placement? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Braunsfeld Posted February 20, 2018 The pictures seem to have disappeared... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt Wolf Posted February 20, 2018 18 minutes ago, Captain Braunsfeld said: The pictures seem to have disappeared... Are you viewing from your phone? Some people have trouble viewing pictures I post from their phone. And glad to see you're still here! You've been quiet in BoBS for a bit. We need some classic Captain Braunsfeld adventure! On 2/18/2018 at 1:18 PM, Ayrlego said: He sure did! This is the best rendition of the smelting process that I’ve seen here. Factories are probably something I would never have considered building without the EGS, but when done like this with the processes shown are probably some of the most interesting builds. Great work here with both the MOC and write up! I really enjoy the "process" builds as well. I did the write-up, but Drunknok's pics made it easy. On 2/18/2018 at 6:45 PM, Bodi said: Wow, all these details, I especially like the molten iron. Yeah, I liked that effect, too! On 2/19/2018 at 1:58 AM, Professor Thaum said: Yes ! that's a very good one @Drunknok I like the furnace doors ! The doors, along with the glowing fire. On 2/19/2018 at 2:59 AM, Maxim I said: Great job Drunknok! It is one of your best builds yet! It looks very realistic and well-thought. I can only applaud this! Agreed! He certainly delivered on his mini-challenge prize. 1 hour ago, Captain Dee said: @Drunknok , very nice depiction of a blast furnace. It's fairly simple but I'm impressed with your building speed. It may be a bit small, but of course there are lots of reasons to build at reduced scale. The pigs being cast in the sand are a particularly nice touch, and the shed looks nice too. Generous initiative! Oh, and it looks like you bought Clayface, too... And to whoever was involved, building up the settlement to "Large City" status was quite an achievement! Yep, sized to fit, and I gave him a bonus for the speedy delivery. I'm the mayor of Weelond, but lots of people have contributed to its growth. Oktoberfest helped. 35 minutes ago, Roadmonkeytj said: Very nice build indeed weelond is lucky to have such a fine operation Question on the fire ... Is that a light brick inside or just clever flashlight placement? I want to know the answer to that, too. @Drunknok, can you reveal? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Braunsfeld Posted February 20, 2018 3 minutes ago, Capt Wolf said: Are you viewing from your phone? Some people have trouble viewing pictures I post from their phone. And glad to see you're still here! You've been quiet in BoBS for a bit. We need some classic Captain Braunsfeld adventure! I've been building space & adventure stuff ... I will be back with the 2nd part of that story of the "8 Provinces". And no, I am viewing from my PC, as always. I can see a lot of pictures, but none on this post. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Darnok Posted February 20, 2018 Thanks everybody for the kind words! @Capt Wolf came up with the idea and provided a lot of excellent source material, which made the build surprisingly easy and straightforward. The "downsizing" was both for a lack of bricks and the ease of building and presentation. Doing it "right" would look much more impressive, but I lack the means to do so. 1 hour ago, Roadmonkeytj said: Question on the fire ... Is that a light brick inside or just clever flashlight placement? 27 minutes ago, Capt Wolf said: I want to know the answer to that, too. @Drunknok, can you reveal? It is a lick brick, plus some transred and transyellow bricks inside. 21 minutes ago, Captain Braunsfeld said: And no, I am viewing from my PC, as always. I can see a lot of pictures, but none on this post. Weird. The "raw" pictures I provided Capt Wold with can be found in this album, that should hopefully work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted February 20, 2018 Wow this is a great idea ...I love how you have managed the realization of this beautiful MOC! Very skillful! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Dee Posted February 20, 2018 12 minutes ago, Drunknok said: The "downsizing" was both for a lack of bricks and the ease of building and presentation. Doing it "right" would look much more impressive, but I lack the means to do so. Totally understood. I've been grappling with how to do this very same thing within the limits of my own collection. On 2/18/2018 at 12:00 PM, Capt Wolf said: The molten iron flows into channels, where it cools... ... and is cast into ingots ("pigs") that can be used by blacksmiths to be formed into various items. Allow me one small correction: due to its very high carbon content (which is absorbed from the burning coke/charcoal that fuels the blast furnace), pig iron is far too hard and brittle to be forged; a blacksmith could heat a pig iron ingot properly and hammer it endlessly, and rather than forging into something useful it would eventually just crack apart. To be forged, first it would have to be refined (decarburized) in an air furnace (chafery/finery furnace), yielding wrought iron, which is the material of choice for a blacksmith. Raw pig iron ingots could be melted and cast into useful objects without further refining, but sometimes it was slightly decarburized even for casting purposes. Other than that (and the lack of lime for flux) this is an accurate portrayal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roadmonkeytj Posted February 21, 2018 Correct on the iron pig iron became pot iron which eventually became ductile iron aka grey metal ... It is only good to be melted and molded ... It can be milled and drilled but not hammered to shape Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Braunsfeld Posted February 21, 2018 I saw the pics following that other link. Fine MOC! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt Wolf Posted February 22, 2018 On 2/20/2018 at 3:17 PM, Captain Dee said: Allow me one small correction: due to its very high carbon content (which is absorbed from the burning coke/charcoal that fuels the blast furnace), pig iron is far too hard and brittle to be forged; a blacksmith could heat a pig iron ingot properly and hammer it endlessly, and rather than forging into something useful it would eventually just crack apart. To be forged, first it would have to be refined (decarburized) in an air furnace (chafery/finery furnace), yielding wrought iron, which is the material of choice for a blacksmith. Raw pig iron ingots could be melted and cast into useful objects without further refining, but sometimes it was slightly decarburized even for casting purposes. On 2/20/2018 at 7:17 PM, Roadmonkeytj said: Correct on the iron pig iron became pot iron which eventually became ductile iron aka grey metal ... It is only good to be melted and molded ... It can be milled and drilled but not hammered to shape My bad on that part of the write-up. You are both correct. That's what I get for winging part of the write-up rather than sticking to my source material. Thanks for clarifying that part of the process for us! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites