Frosty Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 An experiment I've wondered about trying for I don't know how long is to weld sand in lap welds repeatedly and see if I could generate silica inclusions to mimic wrought iron. Thoughts? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 Getting the scale/silica ratios just right to form the ferrous silicates seen in real wrought might be tedious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 Prohibitively tedious for a wrought iron mimic? Just right isn't really a goal, good enough to have a similar finish or maybe easy weld characteristics. Genuine wrought iron isn't real common around here. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hearthstone Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 7 hours ago, Frosty said: weld sand in lap welds repeatedly and see if I could generate silica inclusions Would using sand when welding billets be similar to this experiment? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 Generally when welding billets you are trying to get all scale, flux, etc to be expressed from the weld zone not trapped in. Trapped in inclusions are considered a welding flaw and while real wrought iron *may* have a couple of percentage points of ferrous silicates in it the better grades have lower amounts and are finely disseminated. The Byers' book on Wrought Iron mentions that there may be over 100000 spicules per sq inch, kind of hard to manage in a billet weld. Wrought iron is not that hard to source; there are several commercial sources, (Globe, Real Wrought Iron Co LTD, etc) and it still shows up in the scrap stream in various qualities. (I've run across it on 4 continents so far.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 Agreed, inclusions are a welding flaw, no argument there. I wasn't really thinking about weld quality or structural steel so much as finished textures, say for knife furniture or perhaps decorative products. A piece of wrought from the Globe when shipped to Alaska costs more than high end knife or tool steel. It's been years since I had access to the scrap stream, it's all single buyer now and wrought iron wasn't that common here. A large part of Alaskan history is after Bessemer. It's around but what is is largely a state historical site with some pretty severe penalties for packing it off. You almost have to be on private property to pick up litter things are getting so stupid here. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 Well there is a SOFA member who has been selling WI, (from a bridge he bought), at Quad-States for 20 years or more; US$1 a pound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hearthstone Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 Thanks for the clarification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 26, 2020 Share Posted August 26, 2020 Sounds good, I'll see if I can contact him. I seem to recall hearing about his bridge buy. Thanks, Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stash Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 Thomas- is the WI seller Jeff Funk? I recall him having had cut up a bridge a while ago. He is in MT. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 I think it was Larry Zoeller and he's been selling for over 20 years IIRC and is in Ohio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Williams Posted August 27, 2020 Share Posted August 27, 2020 He was at the FABA conference in Ocala two years ago. I wish that I had known to ask him to bring some! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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