An American forge is a continuous-operation hearth that produces wrought iron directly from finely crushed iron ore. Evolving from the traditional Catalan forge, it features a deeper hearth and relies on a constant feed of charcoal and ore rather than batch processing. The intense heat and reducing atmosphere yield a spongy mass of iron that is subsequently hammered to expel slag.
Heard on the job
They rebuilt the old American forge to demonstrate how local ore was turned into wrought iron before blast furnaces took over.