wrought iron sources

[EricS]

so where does everyone find wrought iron and in what form? ie: scrap yard -wagon wheels, railings

[CurlyGeorge]

Eric, I got a bunch of wagon tires and then I really got lucky. The county took out an old bridge (over 100 yrs old) that was no longer used. They rerouted the road. I talked with the county engineer and he told me that I could have all of the bracing that I wanted. I loaded up my generator, on my trailer, and took an extension cord and my 4" grinder with some cutting discs. I brought home a bunch of 1" square and some 1 1/2" X 5/8" wrought iron bracing. Bonanza!! :)



They pulled the bridge out and piled it next to the current road. I didn't even have to get wet. :)

[clinton]

ebay for small pieces you can not beat this guys price man-of-rust is the user name

http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-Lbs-Old-WROUGHT-IRON-1-2-3-4-Rounds-Blacksmith-Anvil-Forge-ee-/221017944853?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3375b23315

[Frank Turley]

Wisconsin Woodchuck Salvage was selling quality wrought iron recently. The wagon tires are sometimes very stringy and difficult to forge, and a few of them are mild steel.

[ThomasPowers]

Well lets see, there was about 100' of 1/2" WI rod in the remains of a wooden RR car rotting in the desert---as in a low mound of snakes and rotted wood you could pull the Wi out of.

Then there has been quite a bit at the scrap yard around here---old mine and farm metal including some wagon tyres at much better than antique price!

Then next to the scrapyard is the trash transfer station where the guy running it lets me scrounge the scrapmetal pile---he gave me a couple of wagon tyres!

My best scores were: the mending "bolts" for a 1880's cistern that was cracked in the 1906 quakes in Socorro. They were going to bulldoze the place down and so I got permission to extract the "bolts"---116' of 1" wrought iron! And then there was the old water tank at the Ohio State Penitentiary they tore down. They were selling the bars off as decorative pieces---expensive but I bout the old water tower at scrap rate by the ton. 3/16" and 5/16" WI plate bi directionally rolled.

Funny thing: knife makers often want the really nasty WI for fittings as it has a lot more "character" than the good stuff---I once sent a friend a box of the best stuff I had and he complained; so I replaced it with a nasty old wagon tyre and he was happy!