Working with Wrought-Advice?

B

Brian.Evans

Registered Member
I purchased some antique wrought iron from USAknifemaker and would like to use it in some bolsters. Does anyone have tips on how to work it? I'm going to send a couple strips to Nick (anamachinist) to turn down into pin stock.

I've never worked with this stuff before. Any suggestions, tips, or pitfalls to avoid are greatly appreciated.
 
The problem with wrought is it is full of silica/slag to one extent or another. Unless you get some triple puddle (really clean material) you might have a problem especially turning it. I have done some turning with wrought and have about a 50% success rate. The silica/slag inclusions cause the material to come apart during turning. What I have done to reduce the possibility of this is forge the material at high welding heat into a more or less round form to just oversize. Then I can turn with fewer problems.

Surfacing is not as big a deal. If an inclusion opens up hopefully it can either be milled out or become part of the design. I have had one guard come apart when the inclusion ran right through the middle of the part. You can usually see what is going on by looking at the end grain. If you see a black line running through the middle of the part you are intending to use it might be good to move on to a cleaner piece.

The silica/slag is more prevalent in wagon wheel tires. Bolts and anchor chain seems to be much cleaner or as they call triple puddle.
 
This stuff is from a grain elevator on Lake Superior, built in the 1880s, so who knows? What type of wrought would structural steel be?

So, would I just flatten one side, pin and solder and then shape as normal? I don't mind if it has some inclusions, as that gives it character. Then wax for rust protection? Is there an etching step in there somewhere?

I know enough to get into trouble, or just enough to know when to ask for help!
 
I have a bunch of the same stuff but I got mine from old globe reclaimed wood company, they have a sale going on now for wrought at pretty good prices. I have not had a chance to forge any of it up yet. I have forged up some of an old anchor chain I got and it forges pretty easy. I was planning on similar.

I did get adventurous and took one portion of a link and forged it down as small of a long rod as I could get it. Just about 3/16 diameter maybe a tad larger then took it to the grinder to smooth it out. Have not had a chance to try it out yet but maybe it will work.

I also got a small box of wrought nails from the same place and am gonna take those to the grinder, probably easier to get into pin size stuff around an 1/8 inch if I can.
 
Thanks quint. I'm going to call them and ask about nail pricing. Do you happen to remember about how much you paid for your nails?

Eta: nevermind. I found it. $4/lb for bent and broken, $8/lb for straights.

Do you think the nails would be ok turned down to pinstock?
 
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I have some of the Old Globe Grain Elevator wrought, it is pretty nice stuff.

Work it at welding heats. Trying to shape it at only red will cause splits and cracks.
If machining a part, pre-shape as above to close to finish size and shape ,then mill, grind, etc.
Sand to 400 grit and etch. Re-sand and re-etch as desired for the grainy look.

As with any process that involves a material with a grain, consider the direction of the grain in using it. If a pin is made from it along the grain, the end will show minute end grain stippling, if the pin was made across the grain, it would show a striped grain.
The best method would be to cut strips along the grain, and then forge them into round rods. These could be ground or turned into pins. Frankly, a piece of round soft iron rod or wire would look nearly identical. The nails from the elevator would also be good sources for pins stock.

I have not done it, so I might be wrong, but turning wrought iron seems like trouble to me. Grinding is far better.
Also, use sharp drills and belts to avoid "tearing" the grain.
 
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I just worked with some of that particular wrought iron. I used a chop saw and files, it was very easy to work with in the stock removal style.
 
Thanks Stacy and Daniel. I think I'm going to get some nails from the source and grind them down for pins. It sounds like it would be much easier than turning a square piece. Also, they have them for $2 a pound, so that's incredibly cheap.

Stacy, do you etch with ferric or something different? Daniel, did you etch your stuff?
 
I'm sure others have a lot more experience with wrought than I, but I have done a bit of work with it.

Everything Stacy said^^

Also. After the piece has been fully shaped and sanded to at least 400 I etch in ferric chloride for several hours(3-4) to "bring out" the grain. After etching I polish the proud surfaces with 1500 grit to reveal a very nice pattern. Wrought will rust faster than you can say "rust". When I'm finished with a piece, I apply Conservator's Wax and buff to a high sheen.... that's seems to help prevent rusting.

Peter
 
I do it as BigBlue does. Just like doing damascus. Dilute FC seems to work best for color and etching depth. What you are bringing out is the silica/slag strings, and layering in the steel ,which give wrought its characteristic woodgrain look.
 
This is a guard I made about a year ago.
The first photo shows the piece in the etching bath. I used a stunning shade of pink glitter nail polish to prevent the critical surfaces from being etched.


Here's the finished guard ready for assembly.
 
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Medicevans - The guard I showed my be a bit confusing. The front(blade) side is painted to preserve the smooth surface so I could add a copper seppa. As Stacey mentioned, I painted that surface as well as the back and the inside of the tang slot. The technique works well for me. Just be sure you use a fashionable hot pink nail polish.... "GORGEOUS!!
 
Believe me when I tell you I understand nail polish. I have three daughters.

IMAGE_1000001282.JPG


They keep finding me asleep and I wake up with painted toes. I keep it on because 1. I hate the smell of acetone, and 2. because I think it's hilarious and it's fun to see peoples' faces in Walmart when they see a big dude with five kids and a wife wearing flip-flops and painted toes. :D
 
Now that's funny, I don't care who ya are.

I was out hunting with my brother in law in my jet boat and we got stuck on a gravel bar. When we got done getting the boat off and were changing shoes. Shocker my big strapping brother in law had purple nails. Said wife and daughter were in oriental nail place getting nails done and remarked about his thick nasty nails. They said fungus and after painting them dark it went away. Now does it once in the while.

PS, I have discovered the paint pens with the little felt tips work better for marking out something you want to keep the ferric away from. Easy to apply, dries faster and if you want you can pull the tip out with tweezers and trim it to say an angled point.
 
Thanks for the tip on using a pen, Jim! I found out yesterday that the little brush in the nail polish bottle isn't really find enough to get a good border on the resist part.
Wrought iron sure makes a pretty bolster, I forged some down that I salvaged from an old (WW1) shipyard here on the island. Only problem I had is one bolster that wouldn't solder to 410 stainless for anything, I"m guessing it had some kind of contamination.
Andy
 
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