Smelt Prep

We had the smelt prep day this weekend. Some of the members of our Viking Age interest group were by, to help get ready for the upcoming DARC camp and iron smelt. (Somewhere along the way we realized we have to combine interests if we're going to manage to fit things in to peoples' calendars. Iron smelting seems to have achieved a guaranteed date, therefore if we also want to do a bit of period camping, and the occasions for pulling that off seem to dwindle as time goes on, then we have to start multi-tasking!) Yesterday, a new smelter needed to be built, since we eked the last bit of life and usefulness out of the previous one, when we tried the double smelt in the late fall.

*at the smelter shelter, after building the smelter.
*freshly washed from clay to the armpits...

* the messy business of making "Darc Dirt", which is an experimental bog ore analog. And here I thought that Darrell was the one who knew how to get messy!

* the new screen-y gazebo thingie, down by the pond and smelter shelter, where we can hide from black flies and mossies.

*Why your mother told you never to play with red iron oxide. What do you mean your mother never told you...?

Anyway, we're pretty much set to go. The Darc Dirt needs to dry out, and be broken up. Right now it looks like a bunch of trays of red fudge. Charcoal will need some crushing and sorting, but is a good job for on the day. There are always people who'd like to be involved, but don't need to set themselves on fire! (We reserve that special honour for the experienced smelters in the crowd...)