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

[Andrew Vida]

Grant Marcoux wrote:
> It is the unpredictability of wrought iron in construction applications, in
> part, that led to its being supplanted by mild steels.

	At one time this was definitely so, but once the Byers process came 
online, that particular problem vanished.  I suspect that the prejudices 
were very hard to overcome.  Wrought is not the easiest material to 
work.  There is a whole body of techniques for executing certain 
operations on wrought that do not have to be observed when using steel. 
  The economics or politics and instant bottom line gratification is 
what relegated wrought iron to the dust bin.  I'm wondering if 40 years 
or so of separation and new generations of engineers and fabricators 
coupled with precise QC might  be a formula for a wrought iron 
renaissance.  It is great for boilers and all manner of other 
applications.  In this day of computer controlled everything, I could 
see many of the original objections to wrought iron rendered invalid. 
It's fabulous environmental longevity characteristics coupled with its 
simplicity of manufacture and low cost when compared with materials such 
as stainless might make it a perfect material for 21st century 
combinations of budget-mindedness and the desire for long wear.

	I cannot see reintroduction of the Byers process being much more than 
an academic exercise.  The knowledge is still there.  I'm sure plenty of 
the mill workers are probably still kicking here and there.  And if the 
composition can be futzed with a bit to yield higher strength materials, 
who knows what possibilities may be realized.  I really think that WI 
could have a future if the right forces got behind it.

	-Andy