Everyone was kicked out, and it was still the old habit of craftsmen who kept it to themselves. The old fisherman only left a big hammer for him to attack, and Li Xiao, as the boss of Pidao, had the honor to watch.

This was an unavoidable choice out of fear of Li Xiao's position in Pi Island. As for Ao Canghai Mangui and Zhao Tiezhu, who wanted to come in the most, they were all driven outside to wait.

The fisherman asked Li Xiao to get a basket of eggs, picked up a dozen eggs and broke them into pieces. He carefully took out the egg yolks and sprinkled them into the hot red molten iron.

Pi Dao can produce very good quality coke, and molten iron can be easily obtained when the furnace temperature is very high.

After adding the egg yolk, the fisherman kept stirring with an iron rod. He didn't stop until the molten iron inside turned into blue fire!

At first, Li Xiao didn't understand why egg yolks were added to the molten iron. This is not egg soup! But after thinking about it, Li Xiao's eyes lit up.

Egg yolks contain a lot of phosphorus. The fisherman did this because he wanted to get phosphorus-added steel. Phosphorus-added steel can significantly improve the strength and hardness of the steel, but if too much is added, the plasticity and toughness of the steel will be significantly reduced, especially the lower the temperature. The greater the impact on plasticity and toughness. Phosphorus significantly increases the brittle transition temperature of steel and also reduces the weldability of steel.

Therefore, the phosphorus ratio requirements are very strict.

In ancient times, many swordsmiths used bones to make phosphorus-added steel, hoping to obtain iron swords with higher hardness. However, the addition of bones is difficult to control, so the fisherman was very smart to do this. The phosphorus content of egg yolks is relatively stable. And the quantity is easier to control than bones.

But how did he know that egg yolk contained phosphorus?

Li Xiao no longer dares to underestimate the native methods of the working people. Some of the native methods are very useful. For example, adding egg yolks to molten iron is the result of many generations of people summarizing this amount.

After finishing the phosphorus-added steel, the fisherman began to pour molten iron into the mold. In order to facilitate mass production, many parts of the gun receiver were made of castings.

While waiting for the molten iron to cool down, the fisherman asked Li Xiao to start a nonsensical chat. Li Xiao glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw a big hammer pouring large grains of salt into a bucket of water. He was also holding a stick. , constant stirring makes the salt dissolve quickly.

After the molten iron was completely cool, Mr. Yu opened the pottery mold and took out the casting inside.

The accessories were reheated. After heating, the old man took the accessories out of the stove and put them into the wooden barrel next to him. He only heard a "zilla" sound and a white mist steamed up.

This is the legendary quenching process. Yu Lao uses salt water to quench. It will further increase the hardness of the steel. Although in theory, what Yu Lao makes still belongs to the category of low carbon steel. But this kind of steel castings with added phosphorus , and then went through the salt water quenching process.

The hardness and strength of the castings are far beyond what Yunhao's tinkered steel strips can match.

"Try this thing. If it doesn't work, you've ruined my brand." Mr. Yu was very confident in his skills.

But it’s not good at all. Craftsmen are always willing to hide their secrets. If Li Xiao is not the boss of Pidao, and the fisherman despises Li Xiao very much, I feel that even if Li Xiao is allowed to look at it casually, he will not be able to tell the secret in one go. .

Sometimes these craftsmen are very much like children, thinking that the work done by the big hammer is very hidden. If the big hammer takes so much salt at once, no one will see it?

Seeing it through but not telling it clearly, craftsmen rely on this craft to make a living. This is also a common bad habit among craftsmen in this era. Even if the apprentice has worked for the master for a lifetime, the master will only work for him when he is dying.

, and then taught his unique skills to his apprentices

Although these things are all the methods discovered by the old fishermen or his senior craftsmen, they are really supported by chemical principles, which makes Li Xiao have to admire these traditional craftsmen again.

The sledgehammer worked very hard to polish off the burrs on the casting, and it took a while before the casting was polished and shiny.

Early the next morning, Mr. Yu threw the polished casting to Inatomi Yunao. Mr. Yu never had a good look at this old devil. If he hadn't seen that the old guy was old, he might have beaten him up.

Inatomi Yunao looked at the casting in his hand very carefully, and looked at the sun for a while, and then nodded with satisfaction.

Li Xiao didn't understand how the old devil identified it. What he identified was sunlight, not X-rays. But judging from the old devil's expression, he was really happy.

The old Japanese carefully installed the casting on the matchlock gun with his own hands. He learned his lesson this time. No one dared to shoot with the matchlock gun, not even the arrogant Ao Canghai.

The matchlock was tied to the iron stand again, and Big Hammer and Zhao Tiezhu all came out to take a look. Yesterday, Zhao Tiezhu was still unconvinced by Mr. Yu. After all, he was the head blacksmith on the island before Mr. Yu arrived.

If the boss wants to create good things, he has to go through him.

Now a competitor has arrived. Although the competitor is older, craftsmen value their craftsmanship, not their age.

"How much is appropriate?" Ao Canghai suddenly became smart and asked Li Xiao before filling the gunpowder.

"Same as yesterday, I want to see if this part will be blown to pieces." Li Xiao thought for a while and decided to use yesterday's charge.

This is very fair to Zhao Tiezhu.

"Okay!" Ao Canghai listened to Li Xiao and loaded a round according to yesterday's charge. After inserting the projectiles, he lit the match and ran away.

"Bang!" There was a crisp gunshot, and the iron frame holding the matchlock jumped in place. The projectile penetrated the target almost two hundred meters away, and then hit the stone and raised a puff of white smoke.

Li Xiao frowned. If this kind of recoil were to hit him with just one shot, the person would be basically useless. Could it be that like the Russians, one shot on the left shoulder, then another on the shoulder, and then the person would have to go down and rest for a week?

However, the benefits of sufficient charge are also obvious. With stronger thrust, the trajectory of the bullet is flatter. After the bullet comes out of the chamber, it is almost a straight line. If you have aimed at the target 200 meters away in advance, it will be even better.

Not bad for being penetrated.

After the smoke cleared, Li Xiao walked to the gun and inspected it carefully. He found that the receiver was not damaged at all, and he had to admire Mr. Yu. He seemed to be able to solve such a major technical problem with one hand.

"How is it?" the old fisherman said with a smile on his face.

"Uh...!" Zhao Tiezhu was speechless. He didn't expect that in just one night, he would solve the technical problem that he couldn't solve.

"You are an expert in craftsmanship. I'm willing to let you down." Zhao Tiezhu was very bachelor and saluted the old fisherman with cupped fists.

What craftsmen respect is not people, but people's craftsmanship. Both Zhao Tiezhu and Yu Lao respect this traditional rule very much.

"Try firing a few more rounds, all with the same amount of powder. See how many consecutive rounds it takes to break the gun." Li Xiao saw that the test firing was successful and hurriedly ordered a limit test.

This kind of extreme test is very necessary. Li Xiao must know how many rounds the guy in his hand can take before it breaks. Although Mr. Yu has improved the forging process and quenching process, Li Xiao has no idea about the level of manufacturing in these years.

Xiao Xiao still felt unsure.

"Brother! The fifth master is back and said he has something urgent to see you!"
Chapter completed!