[TheForge] Re: File Making, sniffing up wrought iron

[Larry Brown]

If you were doing a railing with a lot of straight bars PI would lose you 
the job, if you are doing a lot of forging on the bars such as each one or 
every other one the time saved would pay for the better material. I welded 
it to the ends of local steel yard bars and had reasonable results. I 
forged the piece i wanted and electric welded it to the steel trying to 
have the joint fall inside the cross bar. No call backs but I don't do a 
lot of rails so I didn't do it much. My complaint about PI was it was too 
soft and kind of sticky to work sometimes especially filing and grinding. 
Chiseled reasonably well, sometimes too easy being used to steel.
I got a sample from Wagner then lost it in the shop. as soon as it shows 
(Been a while) I have to test it for forgability and weldability

L Brown

At 03:26 PM 3/24/2008 -0800, you wrote:
>I was more than a little interested in trying Pure Iron but they wouldn't 
>send me a few lbs. to try. I forget the exact amount but it was in the 50 
>lbs. range as I recall. Shipping to AK made that a deal killer for a 
>trial. I offered to pay whatever it cost for S&H but they wouldn't.
>
>Sent me an Art and Metal "T" shirt though.
>
>I think a good part of this has to do with most modern blacksmiths being 
>artists rather than iron workers. I've only met a few artists of any kind 
>able to manage business well.
>
>Frosty
>-------------------------------
>If it ain't forged
>it ain't real.
>Wrought iron is.
>The FrostWorks
>
>Meadow Lakes, AK.
>
>
>From: "Andrew Vida" <osan at netlabs.net>
>
>
>>
>>
>>David E. Smucker wrote:
>>>If there was a market it would be made.  We all (blacksmiths) like 
>>>working with things like pure iron and wrought iron -- but we don't want 
>>>to pay for it.  Pure Iron is the perfict example.
>>
>>I fully agree.  Furthermore, the "failure" of Pure Iron in the market was 
>>an indication more of the lack of a business clue than any fault of the 
>>material. People saw cost as high.  I disagreed and attempted to explain 
>>to them the idea of cost effectiveness, but apparently those people were 
>>either not bright enough to get it, closed minded to the notion, or I 
>>simply was too stupid to explain it properly.  I'll go with the latter.
>>
>>By and large, I have found most blacksmiths to be highly clue-challenged 
>>where issues of basic business management are concerned. I've never 
>>hidden my opinion on this.  A material such as Pure Iron, if properly 
>>marketed, could be sold at a premium (offsetting the additional material 
>>cost, which in the grander scheme of things is almost trivial in any 
>>event) and its superior workability would save the smith in terms of 
>>labor cost.  Apparently none of this ever sank in and Mike's endeavor 
>>went toe-up.  I thought it was a shame, but the market spoke and that was 
>>that.  I don't know whether Mike & company engaged in sufficiently 
>>effective marketing, so some fault may lie there as well, but I have 
>>learned to never underestimate the boorishness of a market.
>>
>>
>>--
>>
>>-Andy V.