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Hot Iron - Morton's Ironworks at Blists Hill
Generally twice a year for 2 or 3 days, the Blists Hill Museum operates its historic rolling mill, demonstrating how wrought iron was traditionally forged and rolled.
An original furnace is used to heat wrought iron billets, usually obtained from suitable wrought iron scrap. This is then hammered using the steam hammer into an ingot of a size that will run through the rolling mill (driven by a steam engine).
A hot bar will be run through the rolling mill several times to reduce the cross section to a desired size, either in the form of roughly square bar or flat strip. Traditionally, these bars or strips would be further rolled in the finishing mill which reduced the cross section even further, producing small rectangular bar or circular rod.
Today, the output is made available for historic restorations for which genuine wrought iron is the essential material.
Despite the cost of the operation - around 8000 litres of fuel oil alone is necessary to fire the boiler for the steam engine and hammer, as well as the furnace - no extra charge is made on the days when the event is held.
An original furnace is used to heat wrought iron billets, usually obtained from suitable wrought iron scrap. This is then hammered using the steam hammer into an ingot of a size that will run through the rolling mill (driven by a steam engine).
A hot bar will be run through the rolling mill several times to reduce the cross section to a desired size, either in the form of roughly square bar or flat strip. Traditionally, these bars or strips would be further rolled in the finishing mill which reduced the cross section even further, producing small rectangular bar or circular rod.
Today, the output is made available for historic restorations for which genuine wrought iron is the essential material.
Despite the cost of the operation - around 8000 litres of fuel oil alone is necessary to fire the boiler for the steam engine and hammer, as well as the furnace - no extra charge is made on the days when the event is held.
Created: Fri, 3 Aug 2012, Updated: Fri, 3 Aug 2012
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