S.A. Hill

The silicious slag in wrought iron acts as a corrosion barrier. There was simply no way for puddling furnaces to compete against the Bessemer converter and steel mills. The Aston process was invented for/by A.M. Byers Co. They produced only welded wrought iron pipe. The modern-day discussions about using 1008 steel instead of 1018 or A36 stem from the increasing prevalence of A36, and the decreased availability of 1018. A36 is really not intended to be forged, and its manganese content can cause real problems on work that has to go in and out of the fire much more than a few times. 1018 is becoming a special-order material through a lot of distributors, and as such is coming close in price to other mild steels that are much better for decorative forge work. 1006 and 1008 move much easier under the hammer than either 1018 or A36, and time is money. It forge welds more easily, and can go to higher temperatures without burning when doing so.