Soaking Pits. Before an ingot can be rolled, the exterior and interior must be at the same temperature. Special gas-fired furnaces, called soaking pits, reheat the ingots to about 2200 degrees F. They are kept at that temperature from four to eight hours. When removed from the pit, the ingot has been uniformly heated, and is plastic enough to be shaped by the rolling mills.

Bethlehem Steel Corporation · [ca. 1964–1972]

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