I was so excited to see the furnace. It was made of clay and used an hand blower which was cranked to add the air and increase temperatures. They were using coal at first it seemed to get it hot and then charcoal.
It was interesting that the design is so familiar to me and is very similar to what I was building only a few months earlier in Ireland to smelt iron in. Some designs and are just timeless !! and universal!!
We got involved and were allowed to help with the process. This is when the addition of the copper from Mumbai was added to the pot. I was cranking the blower for along time. It probably took 4 hours to get up to melting point . I was also pouring the hot metal but was a bit too excited to remember to get Sam to take any photos on my phone. We have it all on film though and e waste the movie is defiantly in the pipe line!
The hot molten metal was scooped from the main crucible in a small pot and poured in to each mould individually . There was a team of people working together to cast a load of moulds that were all ready and it was great to work alongside them.
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