Not much to clarify Josh. This is a good summary of the whole process, and a very good piece to defuse the need to have all sorts of high test equipment. If a simple system does the job, so much the better. I notice that you substitute the human computer for the digital controller in this arrangement. That saved you about 400 bucks right there, but then you don't have to feed or entertain a digital controller....LOL.
I'm lucky. I have the good equipment, but I still baby sit my salt pots. Even for the thin section blades I make, I soak them for at least 3-4 minutes. I can see the limitations of doing that in a more aggressive atmosphere like an open forge because you have to make the blades thicker to account for the scaling. But you can design a simple, controllable forge like Josh's that will "hold" at a temperature and that's the secret to beating the grain growth problem.
It's all good stuff. Being aware of the variables is the key. Controlling them with the tools you have and being able to explain how you approach them is really helpful, especially when educating customers.
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