[TheForge] Re: Steel question OT (Wrought Iron)

[Andrew Vida]

Hochewa at aol.com wrote:
> To All,
> Anybody watch the Mythbusters' episode on trying to make a hammer  explode?
> Back to wrought iron:
> Byers went out of production in 1971.  They were the last producer of  
> wrought iron on an industrial scale in the world.  Their last Bessemer  Converter is 
> on display at Station Square in Pittsburgh.
> Wrought iron is fibrous because of the silicate fiber in it.  It is  what 
> makes wrought iron wrought iron.  When it corrodes or breaks (in a  ductile 
> manner)  it looks just like wood.  If you don't strike while  the iron is hot, it 
> will break up into fibers just like wood.  Wrought iron  can be brittle at room 
> temperature, hot short or hardenable.  Not all  wrought iron is the same.
> When using found materials, it would be wise to do a few simple tests to  see 
> what you got.
> 1.  Take several representative samples up to yellow heat; let  one air cool, 
> quench one in oil, quench another in water or brine.  Take a  file to them.  
> This will give you an idea if the material is  hardenable.
> 2.  Make a square and twist it hot.  If the edges break up, it  make be 
> leaded.  Good for machining but lousey for forging.
> 3.  Take a 1/2" round or square and chisel half way through.   Bend it.  The 
> nature of the break will tell you if it is steel or wrought  iron.
> Antbody have other tests?

	The visual corrosion or acid etch test.  If the material shows a 
distinctive grain, it is probably wrought iron.  I've yet to see such 
grain manifest in steel, save for pattern welded samples.  And of course 
there is the spark test, but this one will not stand alone.  It seems to 
be only good as a manner of confirming the results of others.  As I 
recall, my spark test of pure iron produced a similar result, proof 
enough that sparking is not a predicator by itself.

-Andy