This consists of melting blister copper in a reverberatory furnace and stirring it to bring about the chemical action necessary to remove the remaining impurities.

A charge is melted under the heat of an oxidizing flame and its surface is agitated by means of a heavy hoe, or rabble, to bring the impurities in reach of the flame. This is called "flapping." Samples of metal dipped from the furnace during this process enable the rabbler to judge its progress.

When the oxidizable impurities are burned out, the next step is to remove the copper oxide. The slag produced by flapping is drawn off, the furnace flame is changed from oxidizing to reducing, and the metal is covered with charcoal. Wood poles are then used to stir the charge. These supply carbon which assists the charcoal to reduce the oxide, forming Co2 which escapes up the chimney. Green wood is best, as its moisture boils out and helps agitate the molten metal to bring carbon and copper oxide in mutual contact.

When the oxide is removed, the copper is tapped from the furnace into a large ladle and is poured into moulds made of copper. The molten metal is kept from sticking to the moulds by a wash of thin clay, and the red-hot pig or slab of metal is dumped into a trough of water to soften it for working.

Poling requires much skill and experience to know when it has proceeded far enough. Too much poling produces brittle copper.