Core -Ten

[Fe-Wood]

I'm looking at spinning this material and wondering what it works like. Other than being a little pricey, what should I know about cold and hot working it?

Thanks-

[Dragons lair]

Fe, Cant help much. Mostly use it for rustic signs. Rusts quick but not too deep.
Ken

[Mainely,Bob]

I think you may find it a little stiff.
Just cold working on an ironworker I found it tougher to shear and punch than cold rolled.
Some of the fishing boat owners tried it for a while just because it was supposed to be so corrosion resistant but found out what we already knew.It`s a big disappointment,costs more and is a PITA to work with.
BTW-If you don`t use the same parent metal to weld it the corrosion resistance goes out the window.Likewise if you heat only a small area to bend it,that changes the corrosion resistance.Contact with dis-similar steels(like mild steel hardware) set up electrolysis problems,etc.

Ask David what he thinks of it.He just finished a gate made from it.

[Fe-Wood]

Expensive is one word you could use... I had a few more I added to that

Around here 18G cold roll is about .96 a sq ft
Core-ten from the manufacturer is about $4.50 a sq ft
Copper is about $6.75 a sq ft

I can charge way more for Copper than I can for rusty steel.

I might see if I can dig some up just to give it a try...

[Fe-Wood]

I think you may find it a little stiff.
Just cold working on an ironworker I found it tougher to shear and punch than cold rolled.
Some of the fishing boat owners tried it for a while just because it was supposed to be so corrosion resistant but found out what we already knew.It`s a big disappointment,costs more and is a PITA to work with.
BTW-If you don`t use the same parent metal to weld it the corrosion resistance goes out the window.Likewise if you heat only a small area to bend it,that changes the corrosion resistance.Contact with dis-similar steels(like mild steel hardware) set up electrolysis problems,etc.

Ask David what he thinks of it.He just finished a gate made from it.

So it sound like cold working only? Or if you heat it, heat the whole thing?

David who?

[Mainely,Bob]

The David to talk to would be David Browne.He used it on the Quimby gate in the member`s projects forum.
Well worth a look,even if you`re trying to make things without corners. :)

[Francis Trez Cole]

cor-ten has copper in it that is what gives it the rust inhibiting qulity

[Fe-Wood]

The David to talk to would be David Browne.He used it on the Quimby gate in the member`s projects forum.
Well worth a look,even if you`re trying to make things without corners.

Opps- I should have remebered that... Musta had a senior moment :)

[Fe-Wood]

cor-ten has copper in it that is what gives it the rust inhibiting qulity

Any tips on working it? Wouldn't the copper make it more malleable?

[arftist]

Any tips on working it? Wouldn't the copper make it more malleable?

All the info on this thread so far is correct in my experience. The tensile strength is higher, the difficulty of working is higher, and the cost is higher.

[Judson Yaggy]

No smithing here but this is a Cor-ten project I just finished. 8'x10'x1/4" plate held off a concrete retaining wall by stainless brackets and folded around the top of the wall. Railing is also cor-ten but painted as they didn't want the rusty look everywhere. I will second what everyone else has said, it's tough stuff. Had to use a bigger brake than usual to fold the stuff, it punches and shears VERY hard in the iron worker, and I went thru more than the usual number of bits for the mag drill.

If you are going to weld it look for rod with a -w at the end, I've been told it stands for "weathering". Supposedly ESAB makes a mig wire that matches as well but my local place couldn't (or wouldn't bother) to get it.

I've forged a few pieces just to see how it works under the hammer, works ok but it gives a green tint to the forge flames at temp, my first reaction was "Is that toxic?" and my second was "Am I changing the chemistry of the steel?" Not knowing the answer to either question I stopped forging.

[ArtWerkz]

When I was working way up North all the gear came in Sea cans that were made from Cor-Ten steel. Some were damaged and we weren't allowed to weld on them without the proper rods or Cor-Ten steel for patching. Apparently as it was explained to me is that it is designed to rust to form a protective natural coating and then the rust stops. And as someone else mentioned there is copper in the mix. That's all I have on that.. :)

[arftist]

For stick, 8018. There is a mig wire, can't remember at this time, if someone needs to know I will find out. For tig we use the mig wire.

[Frosty]

Any tips on working it? Wouldn't the copper make it more malleable?

Adding copper doesn't make something more malleable just because copper is softer. for instance, nickle is a LOT softer than mild steel but add a few % and you end up with steel too hard to do much of anything with except maybe make cannon barrel inserts. Battle ship cannon are lined with Stellite, a high nickle alloy.

I've never worked cor ten but have been reading posts from guys who have for a few years now. There are different grades but even the mildest is stiffer and more resistant than mild steel and it goes up from there. As said, welding needs to be done right or bad things start happening. Same with mixing metals or not heating correctly or even cleaning it with the wrong product. Mostly what happens is it starts corroding at an accelerated pace occasionally leading to structural failure. About 12+ years ago a contractor installing "high lights" welded the towers to the bases withour proper preheat. Less than a year later one of the 160' tall beasties was laying across an offramp on one or our highways just outside Anchorage. Over the next year all the cor ten high lights got replaced.

If what you're looking for is a nice rust finish on spun parts use mild steel and rust them to suit. Clean, sandblasting works super well, degrease and apply a mix of hydrogen peroxide vinegar and salt. There are variables that affect rusting like relative humidity, temp, exposure time, etc. practice will show you it's tricks. Following is the "formula" used by a friend of mine. 1 pt. peroxide 1 cup 5% vinegar 1/4 cup salt. Clyde has been rusting sculptures with this stuff for decades, this is his site. http://jurustic.com

Frosty the Lucky.

[Fe-Wood]

Thanks for all the input, pictures and recipes.

Sounds like Core-Ten is not worth spending tooo much time on. If some comes my way, I will try to spin it just to see whats what.

[spitfirenut]

It's tough stuff without a doubt. The hulls on the old Coast Guard 44 foot Motor Lifeboats were made out of it so they could take the beating of the heavy surf. Don't think I'd want to try and "beat it into submission."
Don