wrought info

[ausfire]

Again, not sure if I have the right forum for this, but Admin please move if you see fit.
Beside our historic blacksmith shop we have a bit of spare ground, so far unused and a bit untidy looking with weeds and stuff. Because it is visible to our visitors I have decided to make it into a sort of blacksmith's scrap yard, since it seems as though all smithies of the past had a pile of old steel somewhere nearby.
We have many acres of junk, so I scrounged around and found a few old buggy rims, springs, axles and any other useful looking iron to add to the heap.
Now, I need to add a couple of interpretive signs, and in particular one about wrought iron.
I don't want the information to be too technical, but I do want it to be correct. We have all types of visitors here - those who know nothing about blacksmithing and those who know everything (and let you know it).
(I had one know-it-all who informed me that my sign on the forge was incorrect. I had written that the bellows supply air to the coal, coke or charcoal used as fuel in the forge. He said he was a blacksmith and knew that charcoal was never used as fuel. Yeah, right.)
Anyway, I have drafted out a couple of temporary signs and would appreciate you guys in the know having a quick look and check for accuracy. Any suggestions or corrections would be welcome.
I've added a couple of pics to show what I'm about. Lots more scrap to be added yet, but this is a start:
 

And here is my rough draft of the interpretive signs:

BLACKSMITH SCRAP YARD

In early Australia, iron was a highly valued commodity and all blacksmiths kept a scrap pile near the smithy.
From this seemingly disorganised pile of iron they could select just the right piece for the job at hand. Nothing was wasted – old axles, cart tyres, springs, bolts, chains, wheel hubs and rings, old tools and offcuts of all sizes found a place in the scrap pile.
The cart, wagon and sulky axles to your right would have a story to tell. What cruel loads these axles would have carried over horrendous tracks across the outback!
Look closely and you may see the maker’s name along with numbers stamped on the axle close to the hub. The crossed axes are the trademark of W.Gilpin & Co. of Hedges Mills, England. The numbers 2¼ and 10 on the heavy axles indicate the tapered stub is 2¼ inches in widest diameter and 10 inches from the inner end to the retaining pin.
Similarly, the lighter cart axles bear the numbers 1½ and 8.


WROUGHT IRON

The long bolts resting on the stump here in the scrap area are made from wrought iron. It has a very low carbon content (0.04 to 0.08%) and is easily identified by its fibrous texture, giving it the appearance of wood grain. If twisted or bent to breaking point or forged at too low a heat, it will separate into strands. Wrought iron is tough, malleable, ductile and easily fire welded and was used extensively by the smiths of the past, before mild steel became widely available.
Wrought iron is no longer commercially produced and most ‘wrought iron’ gates and decorative ironwork today is mild steel. “Wrought’ refers only to it being worked by hand.
In contrast, the old truck and car axles in the milk can are high carbon steel and the blacksmiths use these to make hammers, chisels and punches. Unlike wrought iron, this tool steel can be hardened and then tempered to suit the application.

[beammeupscotty]

This appears to me to be a perfectly acceptable place for this post.  The first comment I would like to make is that I hope you have all this scrap located where visitors cannot get hurt on it.  In the U.S. someone would quickly drop an axle on their foot and sue.

 

As far as the text goes, I think you have done very well. The only thing I do not care for is this:

 

The cart, wagon and sulky axles to your right would have a story to tell. What cruel loads these axles would have carried over horrendous tracks across the outback!

 

To me this stands out as being overly dramatic, especially in the context of what is otherwise a strictly factual description of the scrapyard.

[ThomasPowers]

my usual spiel is that: "Wrought Iron is a composite material consisting of a usually very low carbon iron and ferrous silicate (slag) spicules it was slowly replaced by Mild Steel after the Bessemer/Kelly process was discovered in the 1850's"  I would break a piece of both types of metal and have them on display---I had a bolt that was busheled and 90% is WI and 10% was a piece of steel so it shows both types of breaks in a single piece---less to carry around to demo's.

 

As to the overly dramatic---what's the rest of the place like?  That may fit right in; or be a bit over the top.  Perhaps "These are the actual wagon axles used by the people who lived and worked out here back in the day".   (the stories they could tell...)

[Michael]

The wagon axle drama struck me as odd as well. Great looking scrap pile there!
A little neat though.

[ausfire]

OK. Thanks for the comments, and I'll take them on board. I like Thomas's version.
I wrote the bit about the axles because (a) they are all found locally around station properties and outback locations and (b)the displays at our village are for the general interest, highlighting the struggles and privations of pioneer settlers.
I am not writing solely for blacksmiths here. While setting up the axles display I had a couple of people ask me 'What are those things for?" And occasionally we get a few old timers along who can remember coaches and bullock drays. (We had one old guy who could still remember the names of all the bullocks in his team, in order from leaders to polers). So, in short, I am writing for a general audience.
And I'm no expert in iron. I know more about writing signs for bellows cameras than forge bellows. And I may have to write signs tomorrow for antique kerosene lamps, a 1923 Harley-Davidson or 1920s ladies' corsets.
But whatever the signs, I just like to get things right - as sometimes I have to defend what I write.
And yes, the scrap area will be fenced off for visitors. The signs will be on the exterior fence. Those axles are heavy!
As for the rest of the place, Googling 'Historic Village Herberton' will give you an idea of the setting. here is a link:

http://www.historicvillageherberton.com.au/

[ThomasPowers]

I hope someone wrote down all the oxen info!   That's the sort of stuff that links people to our past!

 

So a little enthusiasm is not out of place;  I remember what Williamsburg was like in the early 1960's

and still have my miniature horseshoe they made me with my name stamped in it!

[iron woodrow]

don't put too much of the "good stuff" on display ;)
the rigby axle that i am going to bring up has a snapped end, halfway down the taper, which can outline your dramatic setting of the scene :D (which i approve of- visitors want to be taken up with the story, not bored with plain old info.....)


a few photos of bullock drays with some stories couldn't hurt

[ausfire]

 

a few photos of bullock drays with some stories couldn't hurt

 
Yeah, Woody, I don't know if you've looked in our Axemen's Hall, but we have some great photos of the old bullock drays and the teams, including one shot of a dray overturned.
And yes, Thomas, it's important to link the human element into a historical display. We wrote the names of those bullocks and they appear beneath the photo.

Here's a copy of the label I wrote, just for your interest:

The bullock drivers of old knew each bullock’s temperament as well as their experience and abilities. Every bullock had a name and the team in this photo has been identified by Bill Jackson, eldest son of teamster George Jackson.
From polers to leaders, the 22 bullocks are:
PEARL, SCARLET, DICK, KNOB, BRIGHT, PODGE, DON, BROAD, STAR, RUBY, COCKY, PUNCH, DUMMY, NIPPER, JUMPER, JOKER, SPEN, BONNIE, BILL, SADDLER, PLUM AND RILEY

[ThomasPowers]

I think I went to school with some of those!...