2. (Metal.) The art or process of converting cast iron into
wrought iron or steel by subjecting it to intense heat and
frequent stirring in a reverberatory furnace in the
presence of oxidizing substances, by which it is freed
from a portion of its carbon and other impurities.
{Puddling furnace}, a reverberatory furnace in which cast
iron is converted into wrought iron or into steel by
puddling.
Some unhatched practice . . . Hath puddled his clear
spirit. --Shak.
2.
(a) To make dense or close, as clay or loam, by working
when wet, so as to render impervious to water.
(b) To make impervious to liquids by means of puddle; to
apply puddle to.
3. To subject to the process of puddling, as iron, so as to
convert it from the condition of cast iron to that of
wrought iron. --Ure.
{Puddled steel}, steel made directly from cast iron by a
modification of the puddling process.