Why use wrought iron?

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

I have been wondering why the big interest in using old wrought iron? I have never used any, and from what I have read recently, wrought iron was a relatively poor material compared to modern day steels, even 1018. I also saw on a TV program where part of the reason the Titanic went down so easily was thought to be due to the wrought iron that was used in its construction-had to do with the slag inclusions found in wrought iron. So what is so magical about wrought iron, other than using material that early smiths did?

[HWooldridge]

In knife work, it will yield good contrast with nickel and carbon steels because it has practically no carbon. In ornamental work, it tends not to corrode as fast as mild steel. This is due in part to the slag inclusions in the material; the exposed iron rusts until slag is exposed then the process stops (the current thread on Yellin's work in Florida is a good example). Finally, it forge welds pretty easily because the slag helps act as flux and it forges easily because it is quite malleable.

Conversely, there were lots of grades and some of it is junk. The stuff with high sulfur is almost impossible to work. I had a box of WI wagon bolts a few years ago and they were wonderful stuff - could be forged into most anything and welded without extra flux. I also had some wagon tires out of the same scrap haul that crumbled at any heat - from dark orange to white hot, it simply would not work.

Lots of ships and other structural items were made from WI and never failed (the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty's framework are two that come to mind). With regard to the Titanic, I believe the issue wasn't that they were WI, it's that they were made from poor quality WI.

I would like to see high quality WI brought back in structural sizes for ornamental work but I doubt that will happen anytime soon - just not enough demand... :(

[jake pogrebinsky]

WI used to come in so many grades(see Mr.Powers' exellent breakdowns and explanations),that it really depends what,and for what purpose,is discussed.But,generally:

*Corrosion resistance-the lack of C,and the Si layers slow oxidation way down,even in the salt-water environment.Thus the anchors,chain-gear,et c.(You might've gotten something not quite right about the Titanic:Plating,especially marine grade,was by then a whole different family of alloys,not closely related to the several grades of structural WI commonly discussed here,or used in other industries then.If it indeed was deficcient then it likely had to do with corruption/theft,as the engineering then was already incredibly high-tech,like boiler-plate withstanding insane psi.).

*Very highly refined grades,like the "triple refined",specified by Yellin in his commissions,is so soft and elastic as to allow the forging of detail that the modern mild steel won't like much,likely to cause "brashness"-overheat/overwork(too much strengh for the torture,they are,after all,structural steel,1018 and 1020).

*Texture.Because of very high temps in working it,+ Si slag melting out and over the work,WI aquires a very special outward appearance.Just another tool in the smith's jobbox.

*WI is often a highly figured laminate,it's effects as etched often used by bladesmiths and others.Also,in a laminate with steel of a higher C content WI etches very white,giving high contrast.

*Also because of very low C it's a bit more fire resistant(less C to join that O).Makes for better inside the fireplace doo-dahs:Andirons,cranes,pot-chains,et c.

*Lastly(getting tired of typing here...),it's just so marvelously soft...Get it yellow-hot,and beat the xxxx out of it-you'll like it!Feels very different under the hammer.

Cheers,Jake

[Alec.S]

over here in england.....we have some wrought iron suppliers,

never tryed them...but.


alec

[Wayne]

I agree about the different qualities of wrought iron some of the cheapie iron fencing yuo can sometimes find is not worth the effort - if I remember correctly it came in different grades ie no1 grade 2 grade etc depending on how much refining it had recieved.
at the moment I am doing some museum work were all the items have to be in iron but I am using pure iron from a company called pureiron.com it is lovely to forge and welds with no problems at all.

[bigfootnampa]

With regard to the Titanic the issue was the rivets which were substandard material and failed dramatically. No connection to wrought iron though as far as I know. The substandard rivets would have been a lawyers dream but seem to have been discovered too late to be useful. It seems that this type of rivets had been used before and the defects were only exposed because of the extreme conditions caused by hitting the iceberg... wreckage analysis seems to indicate that the ship MIGHT have survived if the rivets had not popped so easily. Ship yard workers and executives knew what they were doing though.

[Arceye Blue]

Years ago when I started as an apprentice boiler maker, there was still a few lifting chains about that were made of wrought iron. The golden rule was never use a WI chain with a frost in it as it was liable to snap,so they were always left around the fire can to keep them warm.
This may be a reason for some of the old WI anvils shearing off parts?

[thecelticforge]

I have used it for making the body of chopping tools such as axes and hawks. It is easier to work and I think it feels much better to the hand while using it. (That may be my imagination, but it is my delusion, I worked hard to get it, and I am gonna keep it.)

[Frank Turley]

Glen Gardner made me a trophy-type buckle of WI. He allowed it to bend back and forth a bit, so when it was acid etched, it came out looking like wavy wood grain. He even put a "knot hole" in one portion of it. Very nice.

I recently finished ironing an antique Mexican wooden chest. I made the hinges and hasp of wrought iron because I wanted to be true to the material being used during that period of time (integrity).

http://www.turleyforge.com Granddaddy of blacksmith schools

[rasklking]

I like working wrought Iron because it's crazy easy to forge weld. In fact, you can't leave two pieces in the fire too long or they'll seek each other out and weld themselves together. OK, maybe that's a little much, but you get the picture. :D

[ThomasPowers]

Seems like the WTC and that bridge that collapsed were made of modern steel; however I don't think we should not use modern steel because of it's failure under specific conditions and design flaws. So I don't see how the Titanic has a bearing on the discussion save that the generality "If you use the wrong stuff in the wrong way bad things can happen" holds true.

[Gayle Brooks]

I like working wrought Iron because it's crazy easy to forge weld. In fact, you can't leave two pieces in the fire too long or they'll seek each other out and weld themselves together. OK, maybe that's a little much, but you get the picture.

agreed

[Bentiron1946]

"If you use the wrong stuff in the wrong way bad things can happen"

Wrought Iron is good stuff if you get the good stuff but like most things in life there is good and not so good. Strive to use the better grades in your work. I had some very long tie rods that worked wonderfully well and some that were pure garbage to work, I'm happy that they were free, I didn't feel so bad about sending the garbage to the scrap yard. <_<

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

In reference to the Titanic, I believe it was the rivets that they focused on. I remember them talking about the slag inclusions. That is what made me think of wrought iron.

There had been some other discussions about the difficulty of welding by other means than forge welding. All of this kind of made we wonder what was so great about it. I can see the advantages with weathering being a plus for outside fixtures, as well as workability when doing intricate details.

There is a small antiques store near where I work that has a tech manual from the 60's that is all about wrought iron. Maybe I should check it out a little better next time I am in there.

Thanks for the insight.