[TheForge] Titanic exhibit in vegas

[Justin Fellenz]

I spent the weekend in Vegas ans stopped in to see the titanic exhibit
in the Tropicana. They had the expected plateware and clothing, which
was pretty cool, but what I really found interesting was the ironwork,
and the patterns of decay it showed. In some cases, the lighter stuff,
you could see the grain in the iron like on a piece of wood that's been
sandblasted. There was a post vise there and a spanner (for about a 3'
bolt) that looked more like old wet wood than metal. You could see the
forge welds (the spanner was made in three pieces, handle and two jaws)
and where different pieces had been wrapped and welded together--the
pall on the handle of the post vise was another piece of iron, grain
running perpendicular to the handle's forge welded on and shaped.

Interestingly, the heavier stuff did not show grain. A set of bollards
and "the big piece," a roughly 20'x30' piece of hull, showed a random
indented pattern, like a very broad (say, 2") pitting with pits running
into each other. The bollards I'd guess were cast, and the grain on the
places would run with the plate, hence the different patterns.

Anyway, pretty cool. The post vise was the most interesting because you
could just about hear the smith thinking about how to build it as he
made it. 

JRF