White Nomad Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 As the title suggests. I have a bunch of wrought iron (and yes I know it's wrought, not mystery metal or mild, it has grain). which I got from a friend's property when they were talking down an old shed. I've had a few attempts at forging with it, however it tends to split on me. I know you need to work it at very high temperatures compared to other forms of steel, but does anyone have any extra tips to make using it easier, and also how to forge weld it? Thanks in advance. -Novak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 Work it at a welding heat and... JLP describes this much better than I do, but I'll give it a shot.. WI has a grain to it and when you do things like half faced blows or accidentally create a rhombus and then correct it by knocking down two edges on the diagonals you have the potential to create a sort of twist in that grain rather than extending it out in one direction. Those twists can more easily open up into cracks if you start working it at lower temperatures. Summary: Work at a welding heat, support the whole bar on the face of the anvil (when possible), try to keep your blows square to the piece/face of the anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 All steel has grain; wrought iron has a fibrous structure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 Feet her hot and if you get splits, forge weld them back together at a light welding heat on the next time out of the fire. Wrought is very forgiving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 Wrought iron is pretty much self fluxing and likes working at heats that would have modern mild steel burning! (Old fluxes for wrought iron were things like clean quartz sand or even powdered glass---high temp fluxes rather than borax which is active at a lower temp for modern steels.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Nomad Posted June 1, 2021 Author Share Posted June 1, 2021 Ok, I see. Thanks for the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 One other thing; lower grades of wrought iron contain more ferrous silicates which tend to make "juicy" welds. Good idea to wear your leather apron when welding the lower grades! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Nomad Posted June 7, 2021 Author Share Posted June 7, 2021 Got it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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