Bheikes235 Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 So, I chopped off a chunk of an old scrap bar I found in an old barn and went off to heat & beat. Squared up ok, started fraying at the ends while tapering, definitely wrought iron. Seems pretty coarse, though I have zero experience with WI. What is WI good/useful for? I understand it forge welds to near anything (especially itself)? Any advice working it (other than HOT)? I also understand that it is corrosion resistant? Good for jewelry? Is there some info repository that answers all these questions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 Well it was what was used by smiths from about the start of the iron age until early 1900's. (In the 1850's mild steel was "invented" and the next decades was the transition to it. It has corrosion resistant properties, but does corrode. For jewelry I'd go with passivated stainless. It's main uses today are for high end historical reproduction of the "The Original was Wrought Iron, the Replacement must be Wrought Iron!" sort. Reenactment gear for the snooty purist: "Of course all my Viking era cooking tools are made from Bloomery Wrought Iron!" And it's used for hardware on knives as the wood grain appearance is liked by a whole lot of people for knife fittings. I should add the rise in popularity of steel faced wrought iron hammers; for looks and bragging rights! If you are interested in the history and traditions of the craft you should work some WI to get to know how it differs in working; unfortunately few people are willing to pay extra for it in commissioned work. Note: "Practical Blacksmithing", Richardson, was written during the transition from WI to mild steel and there are examples of the different methods of working them and as I recall a discussion on the changes in flux for welding the different metals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bheikes235 Posted April 30, 2020 Author Share Posted April 30, 2020 Hey, thanks! That answers most of my questions, i'll look into the book. Probably ill play around with folding the chunk i have cut, and shelf the rest until i need it for something weld-y. Maybe renaissance faire folks will want some when/if it opens this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 I have been saving some large wrought iron wagon tyres for special projects. So far I have made one pair of tongs and a spring for a post vise out of WI. It forges like butter at a much higher heat than mild steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donal Harris Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 San Mai blades. Hawks and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 We used a piece of WI to repair a post vise leg that had a green stick fracture. Forge welded the spot back together and then forged the WI into a strip and wrapped it around the leg and welded it all together as a support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bheikes235 Posted May 2, 2020 Author Share Posted May 2, 2020 WI as a spring? Isnt it too ductile/soft for that? As for san-mai: will it stick to "unfriendly" steels like 5160? Or is it only friendly with carbon steels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 Wrought iron comes in many grades and no it isn't too ductile/soft for springs. This thread explains all that. https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/21734-grades-of-wrought-iron/ You can see pictures of the spring I made here. https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/65553-leg-vise-spring/?tab=comments#comment-690536 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 4, 2020 Share Posted May 4, 2020 I have had success welding 5160 by just inserting a thin layer of a plain steel. For things like blades I have sourced old low nickle handsaw blades from the scrapyard to have a reasonably high C and not pull down the 60 points anymore than the welding does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.