[TheForge] Tool Steel--This should be OT I think

[Andrew Vida]

Smoky wrote:
> I am not really sure that Wrought Iron would be commercially viable 
> nowadays.  Most of the fab shops wouldn't know how to work with it and 
> would drill holes where they shouldn't leaving it weak.

	That is an academic issue.  Provide the right information and people 
will learn to work with it.

 >  Not
> understanding the concept of the grain in something like metal, they 
> could make a lot of something worthless.  Just some thoughts off the top 
> of my head.

	Good points, but new materials are introduced routinely and with them 
comes something a trial period where manufacturers climb the learning 
curve.  I can see problems here and there, but if the manufacturer does 
a righteous job of educating the customer, I would think these would be 
minimal.  Of course there is the liability angle, and that is such a 
wildcard I don't suppose anything could be taken for granted there.

	These valid points aside, given wrought iron's properties of toughness 
and corrosion resistance, is there a market for such a material where 
the cost of stainless cannot be justified but environmental longevity is 
desired?  Just think of steel bulkheads.  20 or 30 years and they are 
shot.  Wrought iron is often good for 100 or more.