Pete:

It does make sense. But it depends on the looseness of the terms, the generic component or the strict component. In many readings, the terms get intertwined and it's all 6s & 7s. And at one time before pig iron was at 95%, possibly when the ore was 1/2 that, the hearth, furnace & forge were one in the same or all in one complex. Now I am referring to low Earth or low hearths that were used to convert ore(early on) or pig iron to wrought iron. And this lead to the development of the puddling furnace. Note that we are compressing time over several hundred years. Also, maybe an example/type or pic would be beneficial, i.e. Catalan, Lancashire, Osmund(type referred to), Stuckofen, Blauofen, R.F. Mushet, Bessemer, Siemens(or Siemens-Martin), Price, M. Fabre Dufaur, Chenot process, ect.

Another interesting link: http://www.finspong.se/hafla/language/english.htm

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

Last edited by ellenbr; 01/10/08 12:55 AM.