Chapter 1 Henry Bessemer and the Age of Steel
In this chapter, we’ll discover how civilization moved from the Iron Age to the Age of Steel, and we’ll explore the basics of heat treating and metalworking.
At the start of the Industrial Revolution, the state of the art in the field of iron metallurgy was the puddling furnace. Iron workers loaded crude iron ingots into the furnace and then continually stirred the molten metal with long iron rods through a small hole. This took great skill and practice; an experienced puddler was accepted in the industrial community as a highly skilled craftsman.
Puddling was an exceedingly difficult task. ...
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