Wrought iron hammer build (steel face and peen)

[allessence]

I decided at the last demo session to make myself a new hammer..

It was first upset out of 1" wrought iron pulled from the Longfellow bridge in Boston and donated to me by a fellow smith..

He (Joe) also helped to upset it and then swung sledge and tong holding when needed .. It was his first wrought iron hammer build..

It went pretty well for being at a demo and it also went well for the limited tooling used..

[allessence]

Still a little more work to do. While it could be considered ready for hardening.. I want to refine the shape more..

[Scratch]

I've never worked with wrought iron but I hope to get the chance someday. Nice job!

[allessence]

If you have never worked wrought iron, it can be a hate/love relationship..

It can be finicky but once one understands why it's being that way it is the best material to work with..

[dubby]

Alright, so this just spurred a question and I'm sure I could look to Google but I like your answers better...


What's the difference between Wrought Iron and steel or the regular materials you work with? How exactly does it work differently?

I suppose the only real exposure (and I think even that was a lie) I have had with wrought iron is a porch railing my parents had installed on their house decades ago. They always called it wrought iron but in fact it's just steel tube/bar with an occasional cast decoration thrown in the mix. While I've never done any heating/beating on it, I did run the family minivan into it once and left it with a helluva dent. One of my first welding projects was to straighten it back out and repair it with new tube .

[allessence]

dubby, Wrought iron is the oldest iron product produced and used by humans..

Wrought means to hammer.. and iron well Wrought iron = hammered iron..

Wrought iron has a grain in it a lot like wood.. You can actually split a bar of wrought iron down the grain just like splitting wood..

Wrought iron has the lowest percentage of carbon and includes some silica as inclusions mixed among the iron fibers.. Since it only has a very small amount of carbon it can not be hardened to be useful for edged tools..

The iron fibers stick together as the metal is hammered from a spongy mass into a bar.. at the bloomery..

Wrought iron came in different refined stages for sale.. Muck bar (least worked with voids and such), 1st run (fully shaped into a bar directly from a bar (2nd working), second run (which was from a bar that was worked 3 or more times thus well refined and with a closer grain)..

The more Wrought iron is worked the better it gets as with each working it gets more and more refined and the silica gets forced out and essentially becomes more a homogeneous mass of iron the more its worked..

Wrought iron is very ductile and when heated can be worked like Butter since part of it is melted sand..

Wrought iron also refers to gates and such as these were made from wrought iron and were technically hand hammered to shape..

Now the name refers to any item that is decorative and artsy in particular hand rails, gates, etc, etc.. Though there is not wrought iron in them..

[SmokinDodge]

Jen that’s one of the best explanations I’ve ever heard about wrought iron. Keep on keeping on. Love your work.

[cutter]

Originally Posted by SmokinDodge

Jen that’s one of the best explanations I’ve ever heard about wrought iron. Keep on keeping on. Love your work.

Ditto. I had no idea.

[MetalWolf]

Originally Posted by allessence

dubby, Wrought iron is the oldest iron product produced and used by humans..

Wrought means to hammer.. and iron well Wrought iron = hammered iron..

Wrought iron has a grain in it a lot like wood.. You can actually split a bar of wrought iron down the grain just like splitting wood..

Wrought iron has the lowest percentage of carbon and includes some silica as inclusions mixed among the iron fibers.. Since it only has a very small amount of carbon it can not be hardened to be useful for edged tools..

The iron fibers stick together as the metal is hammered from a spongy mass into a bar.. at the bloomery..

Wrought iron came in different refined stages for sale.. Muck bar (least worked with voids and such), 1st run (fully shaped into a bar directly from a bar (2nd working), second run (which was from a bar that was worked 3 or more times thus well refined and with a closer grain)..

The more Wrought iron is worked the better it gets as with each working it gets more and more refined and the silica gets forced out and essentially becomes more a homogeneous mass of iron the more its worked..

Wrought iron is very ductile and when heated can be worked like Butter since part of it is melted sand..

Wrought iron also refers to gates and such as these were made from wrought iron and were technically hand hammered to shape..

Now the name refers to any item that is decorative and artsy in particular hand rails, gates, etc, etc.. Though there is not wrought iron in them..

Very well explained

when I hear the term wrought iron I automatically think made and forged metal weather its in the form of a gate fence or other art
and so I sort of get bent out of shape when I am searching for wrought iron items for a client looking for old school wrought iron pieces
and I find people selling cold roll modern prosses fabricated pieces for the cost of true wrought iron as if it were a truly crafted piece from the time period

I could twist metal all day long and beat it a little with a hammer and call it wrought iron but wouldn't have the nerve to sell it to a client as true wrought iron

it can sometimes be hard to explain the difference to someone who does not know or understand the difference but if they can't understand it in the manor you have broken it down to I guess they can get stuck with modern fabricated "Rot Iron".

Jen.... It was very refreshing and educating in the way you broke down the different forms of wrought iron....Thank again!

[dubby]

Originally Posted by SmokinDodge

Jen that’s one of the best explanations I’ve ever heard about wrought iron. Keep on keeping on. Love your work.

Originally Posted by cutter

Ditto. I had no idea.

Told ya it'd be better than Google. Thanks!