Charcoal Making

An interactive full day workshop led by Alistair. First the group learnt the history and theory of charcoal making and then took to the outdoors. They erected the charcoal burner and then loaded it with wood, mostly hardwoods such as oak, which has a very slow burn. The kiln was then sealed with a large lid.  To make charcoal the burn must be slow and incomplete so that the wood dries out and its structure and capacity for burning remains.  This process – converting wood to charcoal – takes about 14-16 hours and produced ready-to-use lumps of charcoal and some artists charcoal.

Blacksmiths who prefer charcoal to coke still use woodland-produced charcoal.  Also, charcoal is still used industrially for some metallurgical processes and as a filter to remove organic compounds from water and air.