[TheForge] Pure Iron

Wed Jan 30 08:10:00 2002

        RW - I agree with this statement alot.  I've played with the Pure
Iron quite a bit and here is what I have found with it.  It is a very soft
material which lends itself to ease of forging.  The things you have to
remember are it works at dull red to black better than it works at bright
red.  There is a substantial gas savings here when reheating(as well as time
spent waiting).  The material being so soft - you have to be careful what
you hold the piece you are making, or you have to clean the marks of your
tongs or pliers when done.   It is fascinating as to how long this material
holds it's heat.  I'd say 20-30% longer than steel.
        It is not like wrought iron in that it doesn't crack when hit at
black heat........it works rather well there.
        Another thing we tried when reading about it is upsetting the
material - it acts like wrought iron and upsets near the shoulder of the
cooler temp and not in the middle of the hottest color.
        I find this material great for making thumber plates out of, but
don't use it for the actual thumber(it will wear quickly).  You could make
scrolls in a sign bracket, but don't make the main frame from it, as it has
less structural stength.
        I'm also finding the parts I have made last year from it to be non
rusted as compared to steel parts hanging as samples in my damp and unheated
half the time shop.
        Besides forge welding, the Pure Iron can also be welded with stick,
Mig, and Tig very well.  It bonds well with steel also to make the pure iron
decorative and the steel structural.
        The Pure Iron Sheet works really well for shapes and decorative
chiseling.  It doesn't work harden as it has no carbon in it, so there is
little annealing to be done(I still anneal as I can't trust the fact that
something won't work harden at all - but that's me).
        The original post was on making a fire place poker from Pure Iron -
I'd have used steel to get leverage on a heavy log as the pure iron may bend
easier, and the return point of a poker to pull a log from the back of a
fire would bend easier than with steel.   Using it on the decorative handle
would have been a better use of the material, but that's just my 2 cents.
        I find this to be a great product and buy it every time I see Mike
at the meets here in New England as he has a truck load of it.  Sorry to see
some folks dissappointed in it.............that's not the case with my
findings.  It is pure iron, and has to be treated as such, not like steel -
that's not what you are buying.  It's purpose was the replacement of
decorative elements not for structural integrity.

Ralph Sproul - Bear Hill Blacksmith
Webster, NH


----- Original Message -----
From: "RW" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2002 8:36 PM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Pure Iron


> I have noticed PI has "clay-like qualities" that I like in some
applications
> and not in others.
> RW
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: John Chobrda <[email protected]>
> To: The forge <[email protected]>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2002 2:01 PM
> Subject: [TheForge] Pure Iron
>
>
> > Today I forged a fireplace poker out of a piece of 1/2 in. sq. pure iron
> > I picked up a while ago. I have mixed feelings about this material,
> > forging was no problem except for the fact that the stock bent where hot
> > roll wouldn't (away from the color zone) also I wanted to put a twist in
> > the center of the poker, and that was a learning experiance. I put a
> > piece in the vice and tried to twist it cold, it does not behave like
> > hot roll. Has anyone else experianced this? At 5 to 6 times the cost of
> > HR I don't think I'll use this for any large projects (gates, Fences,
> > etc.).
> >
> > John C.
> >
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