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I Forge Iron

wrought 'rubbish'


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I picked up a load of scrap that was heading to the dump and sorted out what I could use. Mainly the light pieces like axle rings, spring leaves, horse hames, hooks, implement tines and the like. However I'm now left with a great hunk of plough which I don't have any use for. I hacked off a chunk of eye bolt about
2" round and 2ft long and it appears to be wrought iron. The rest looks the same. I was about to take it to the dump but just recently talked to a couple of experienced smiths in my area who suggested it be saved. So I may dump it at their shop. I don't have the means or inclination to work such heavy stuff.
But why is it that wrought iron is so revered? I'm willing to accept that my skills in using it are lacking, but to me even the light stock seems uncooperative in the forge, and is generally difficult to work and finish.
I'm ashamed to say we have dumped literally tons of the stuff without knowing its value (to others, not me).
Here's a pic of the plough remains:
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Wrought iron is relatively rare now, which makes it desirable.  It is not produced large-scale anymore, so the only way to acquire some is to salvage it, buy some from a smith that smelts it, or smelt it yourself.  It has a significant percent of silicon impurities, which give it a "grain" when worked under the hammer, that makes it tricky to work with.  However, it welds very easily (the silicon acts as a self-fluxing agent), and works best at a very high temperature.

A lot of smiths are attracted to it for sentimental reasons:  it was the smith's bread and butter for thousands of years.

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What would you think of a woodworker that said he did historical reproductions but only used particle board OSB and MDF?

 

As what's in the scrap stream is pretty much all the WI that's left It's nice to save it for others/future folk who want to try working "the real MacKay"

 

I didn't see any of the green stick fracture I look for in real wrought iron or the striations in the rust pattern I would wonder about it too.

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As others have said, real wrought iron is getting more and more scarce.  While knife-makers like the really rough wrought iron for its wood-like grain, a lot of restoration smiths like it because it can be used to repair historic pieces.

 

A chunk that's 2" thick is very rare and hard to come by for most smiths.  If someone has a power hammer, they could work it down to almost any size and length they needed for a project.

 

I would definitely verify that what you have is WI, and then reach out to the smiths in the region.  Sold by the foot, it's a great commodity to have a lot of.  

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The only way I know to verify its 'wroughtiness' is to do as was suggested on an earlier thread - saw it half way through and bend it to breakage - the exposed metal is fibrous and raggedy looking. A lot of the wrought I have come across is like on those old bedheads. Half inch or 3/8 round bar that I can't even make a nail out of without it splitting. Maybe I'll get a piece off the plough and see what it does in the forge.

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Ausfire, that's a good enough test for anyone.  If it has the stringiness and wood-like grain, it's wrought iron and should be of value to the local knife-making community if nothing else.  I'd reach out to those guys, maybe even look into marketing in NZ and South Africa if the shipping costs aren't too awful.

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Who's the lucky devil with the beautiful stuff in the background in the middle image?

 
Yeah, that's the back wall of my smithy at home - mostly old buggy parts, axles, springs, wheel rims etc. There is more than that on the other side of the wall. I am fortunate in that I have had access to acres of scrap material, much of which, regrettably, has gone to the scrap dealer. I have saved a few bits, mainly the smaller pieces which I can see a use for.
And I'm fortunate too, in that I have a wife who doesn't mind trailer loads of this junk coming home. Just as long as it's not in view of the house, she's happy.
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Your inventory is remarkable. I think I get pains when I have to purchase new metal for a project. We're carbon-rich here (ag country) and even some quite old "iron" turns out to be miserably tough steel. The worst was a simple old piece of shaft I tried forging into a hardie tool. Near white hot heat needed.

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Randy - yes, It's good to have so much stuff available. I wish I knew more about the different kinds of steel, as we have a great variety of it. I'm getting used to looking for the woodgrain effect of WI and we uncovered some very hefty pieces just yesterday thanks to the visit of a smith who knows his metals. We also found a machine that has been sitting there for about forty years - I, and others around here, had no idea what it was but it turns out to be a fly press. It will now be hauled out, cleaned up and placed on display near the smithy where it belongs.
It's great when you have people come by who know these things. I do regret that so much potentially useful stuff has already gone to scrap.

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Low grade wrought iron I have heard called "muck bar" a lot was apparently used for iron tires and cheap fences. It was refined enough to hold together mostly;-) really high grade architectural grade wrought has a very good reputation, Samuel Yellin and Julius Schram both speak rhapsodically of its virtues. Low grade wrought can be further refined, by welding it back on itself a few times at high heat. The process consolidates the wrought, expels more of the silica slag, and refines the grain structure, and in general makes it easier to work. Wrought likes to be worked at high heat, and massaged into shape. If you try to move it too quickly you can have problems with it tearing and delaminating. I have seen in old books where they recommend punching a hole in the wrought and then slitting back to the hole to prevent the cut from splitting past where you wanted it to end (I have done this even in modern steel, it does leave a nice rounded bottom to your cut.) I have done some work with wrought and never had much of a problem with it, (except for a bad weld in a shear steel seax that I did at a hammer-in at my farm in Attica,) but maybe I am just lucky... ;-)

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  • 1 month later...

Even though I still have trouble forging the stuff, I have gained new respect for the old wrought iron and I've found quite a lot of it now that I'm sure how to recognise it.
This piece turned up in the scrap and I think it's particularly attractive. It is 850mm long and tapers from 35 mm square down to about 20mm. The woodlike grain is well defined and I'm thinking of using this piece to show visitors what wrought is like. I had thoughts of doing the half-way cut thing and stretching out the fibres, but it seems like too nice a piece to ruin. I'll find a bolt for that.
And why would a blacksmith have forged the bar into a long curve like that? Any idea about its function?
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Find two more pieces like that, hoss, and you'll have a perfect set of table legs.

 

As for the why someone forged it out and curved it, no telling.  The curve could actually be a function of wear from whatever it was doing in its working life.  Maybe it got accidentally bent on the jobsite and was thrown out.

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Find two more pieces like that, hoss, and you'll have a perfect set of table legs.


Yes, it would make a very elegant table leg, but unfortunately I can only find one of these. However, I have heaps of 1" WI bolts about 18" long and I also have a mate with a power hammer who says it would be no problem to draw them out leaving some of the threaded part on the end to make leaves. I am envisaging a table with the square bolt heads as feet and intertwined vines and leaves (and maybe a WI grape or two)supporting the top. The wrought would give a nice woody look to the stems and I think I can manage the leaves OK if I forge it hot and don't go for too fine a detail. Anyway, a project to think about.
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