After setting up the blower, Lu Fan didn't rest. He cleared and cultivated the ground in the camp, making the area in front of the shelter more flat and open.
He then repaired the house and equipment.
The next day, Lu Fan's blast furnace was finally ready.
The blast furnace's outer shell glowed with a warm hue, like freshly baked bread. He tapped it with satisfaction, and the furnace emitted a dull thud. He muttered to himself, "This blast furnace does a good job."
Next comes the burning of charcoal, the fuel necessary for iron smelting.
Lu Fan found a lot of wood and used a sharp stone to cut it into roughly the same size pieces.
"This wood looks like it was smashed rather than chopped..." Lu Fan couldn't help but complain, after all, the tools were too crude.
Then he put the wood into the blast furnace, packed it tightly together, lit it from below, and sealed the opening while it was burning to prevent it from burning too much.
While burning charcoal, Lu Fan began making molds.
He found some soft soil, crushed and kneaded it with his hands and a wooden stick, and then made mud bricks.
After checking the amount of iron sand, Lu Fan decided to make a dagger and an axe.
He carefully carved two grooves into the mud brick in the shape of a dagger and an axe.
As he worked on the mold, he muttered to himself, "This mold has to be made well, otherwise when the molten iron is poured in, what comes out will be a 'mishmash'."
As viewers watched Lu Fan make the mold, they flooded the chat with comments like, "Lu Fan's skills are amazing; he can even make molds."
"This dagger and axe must be really cool."
Yu Rui also leaned closer to the screen, her eyes sparkling. In the past two days, she had become a fan of Lu Fan.
Wang Tao: "It seems Lu Fan is going to become a 'wilderness craftsman', that's amazing."
After the mold was made, the charcoal was almost ready as well.
Lu Fan began to smelt iron. He first put his hands together and prayed, "May the Bodhisattva bless me and I succeed."
He first lit the charcoal in the stove and then used a blower to blow it continuously from below.
The fire immediately ignited, crackling and popping.
Gradually, the flames changed from dark red to orange-red, and the temperature rose sharply.
Seeing this, Lu Fan was overjoyed; the iron-smelting temperature had basically been reached.
He put the iron filings into the groove in the center of the furnace, which extended all the way to the outside of the furnace. This groove was something Lu Fan had prepared in advance.
As Lu Fan continued to blow on the stove, the fire grew stronger and stronger.
At the same time, he focused intently on the changes inside the blast furnace, adjusting the strength and angle of the blower from time to time to ensure that the iron sand could be fully heated.
The viewers in the live stream stared intently at the screen. Wang Tao exclaimed excitedly, "Look at Lu Fan's moves! He's so professional!"
Zhao Hangjun explained: "Iron smelting requires reaching a certain temperature, usually between 1200 and 1500°C. The role of the blower is to help reach this temperature while providing sufficient oxygen."
Yu Rui also became nervous: "Lu Fan, you must succeed! I'm so worried for you."
When the iron shot turned red-hot, Lu Fan quickly added some charcoal powder that he had prepared in advance and sprinkled it onto the iron shot.
Charcoal powder acts as a reducing agent; when iron sand reacts with carbon, iron is extracted.
Lu Fan couldn't help but sweat after squatting in front of the blast furnace for a long time.
After nearly half an hour of burning, the iron sand in the blast furnace finally began to melt and turn into molten iron.
Looking at the molten iron he had produced, Lu Fan felt a great sense of accomplishment.
He carefully placed the mold into the outlet of the groove, and the molten iron flowed into the mold along the groove.
At the same time, he kept muttering, "Don't mess this up for me."
He checks the temperature of the mold from time to time to ensure that the molten iron cools evenly.
The viewers in the live stream cheered: "Wow, he did it! Lu Fan has successfully forged iron!"
"That's amazing! Lu Fan is a true genius!"
Wang Tao excitedly praised, "Lu Fan is really amazing. He actually trained to the point of being in iron. This is almost a historic moment."
Zhao Hangjun couldn't help but applaud: "Lu Fan has created a miracle!"
As the molten iron gradually cooled, it solidified into the shapes of daggers and axes, their surfaces black yet revealing a metallic luster.
Lu Fan smiled with satisfaction: "That's great. With iron tools, I'll be much more at ease in the wilderness."
He picked up the dagger and axe and examined them carefully. Although they were somewhat rough, they had the basic shape and function.
Lu Fan found a relatively hard stone and began to carefully polish the ironware.
He started with the dagger, holding the base of the dagger with one hand and using a stone in the other to sharpen it back and forth along the blade.
After sharpening it for a while, the blade of the dagger gradually became sharper. Lu Fan tried to use it to gently slice the leaves of the trees around him, and the leaves were easily cut open.
He nodded in satisfaction: "Now it's usable."
Next, Lu Fan began to sharpen the axe. The blade of the axe was wider and thicker than that of the dagger, making it more difficult to sharpen.
He gripped the axe with both hands and rubbed the blade repeatedly with a stone.
As the polishing process continued, the blade of the axe gradually became sharper.
After polishing the ironware, Lu Fan began to attach wooden handles to it.
He found two suitable wooden sticks and shaved them into the appropriate shapes.
Next, we dealt with the dagger.
He flattened one end of the stick and then used a tough vine to tightly bind the dagger and the stick together through a small hole left at the end of the dagger.
He checked the dagger handle as he tied it, making sure it was secure and reliable.
After finishing, he tried holding the dagger and found it comfortable to grip and easy to use.
Then he attached an axe handle to the axe.
The viewers in the live stream watched Lu Fan's entire production process and flooded the chat with comments: "Lu Fan's skills are amazing, he can even make his own weapons."
"These daggers and axes must be very powerful."
Zhao Hangjun happily analyzed: "With a dagger and an axe, Lu Fan's productivity and safety will be greatly improved."
After finishing everything, Lu Fan was exhausted. He had been busy all day and had hardly rested.
The sky gradually darkened.
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