Iron Production

Sledgehammer in action. From Furskog, 1923

A sledgehammer was used to produce bar iron from pig iron. While pig iron resulted from processing the iron ore in a blast furnace and could not be used for forging, the bar iron could be used for forging. This processing of the pig iron to bar iron can be seen as the predecessor of today's steel production.

The bar iron production required two raw materials - pig iron and charcoal. The pig iron was molten down in a hearth by means of the char coal, where after it was hammered under the sledgehammer until its content of coal had decreased from around 4% to 0.5%. The process also resulted in considerable amount of dross.

The ruin of Svartåhyttan with roast oven, water wheel and the water channel. Photograph taken 1890 (from Furuskog, 1923).

The charcoal was produced in the large forests around Dömle.

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