WTB Real Wrought Iron/Puddled Iron

[erikmannie]

I am interested in machining (and looking into welding) actual wrought iron or puddled iron (for historical interest), but this material has not been manufactured since about 1970.

There is a supplier (Real Wrought Iron) in the UK, but shipping costs to USA make it *really* expensive.

I see that one can buy antique (really old!) axe handles, huge nails, etc. on eBay for pretty cheap, but by the time you mill off the rust, you wouldn’t have much left. Also, while it may be interesting to machine it, it is odd to destroy artifacts that are hundreds of years old.

Does anybody know of a solution here? Maybe somebody on here has something old that they can sell me.

 

[erikmannie]

Does anybody think that it would be unethical to machine this? I would be reluctant to destroy artifacts.

 

[mmcmdl]

Walk along the old rails to trails in your area if you have any . Plenty of spikes lying around if you look for them .

 

[Braeden P]

Talk To your local blacksmiths they love wrought iron and probably know a good place to find some.

 

[markba633csi]

Isn't decorative wrought iron fairly common? Like for outdoor fences and gates, etc? Or does it need to be old? I'm thinking Addams family house. There must be one around nearby.
I'm sure your neighbor would understand you tearing down their gate and hauling it home in the name of art- but they might send Lurch after you
-M

 

[benmychree]

Most decorative "wrought iron" that one sees in the way of gates, etc is steel. Old line shafting is a good source, but it could also be steel. Wrought iron that has been weathered will show a lengthwise grain.

 

[erikmannie]

I researched this as much as I could & I determined that the most economical way to do this is to buy 1 kg of pure iron for $30 delivered (that is super cheap for pure iron!).

The challenging part is that you then have melt it into what you want (I would want to start with round bar).

A TIG torch and stone (not graphite!) casting mold would be one way to make progress. It is said to weld very easily, but I wouldn’t even bother looking for pure iron filler rod.

I am still interested in machining & welding wrought iron/puddle iron. $30 and some work for 2.2 lbs of stock is doable, I think.

 

[erikmannie]

My idea for a mold would be to use a 2 lb piece of steel round bar pressed into concrete (in wooden box) that is nearly dry (like when kids put their handprints in new sidewalks). I would press the round bar in horizontally to make the melting process easier.

If concrete has limestone in it, the limestone has some effect on the molten iron. The Bessimer Process did not work until they coated the tanks with limestone. As I recall, this was to successfully remove carbon from the (pig iron?). If you start with more or less pure iron, you don’t have what was 3-4% carbon content in the pig iron.

Assuming that the melting process is successful, you would end up with something that is a cylinder on one side in a square on the other. That would make for a lot of wasted material as well as interrupted cuts on the lathe.

The resulting material would be very ductile & not very hard.

 

[DavidR8]

Do not use concrete as a mold!!!
The heat of the molten metal when it hit the moisture in the concrete will cause the concrete to spall and blow off with possibly catastrophic results.

Casting metal is not a trivial matter. I have done a lot of research as I want to try casting aluminum but I am not confident enough yet to try it.

 

[erikmannie]

Do not use concrete as a mold!!!
The heat of the molten metal when it hit the moisture in the concrete will cause the concrete to spall and blow off with possibly catastrophic results.

Casting metal is not a trivial matter. I have done a lot of research as I want to try casting aluminum but I am not confident enough yet to try it.

Great point! If I use a graphite mold, it will just greatly contaminate the outside (and probably allow copious amounts of carbon into the end product), but I will be turning that off anyways. The graphite molds are really cheap.

Come to think of it, I could just use steel as a mold (stay with me here!). I would use it like a backing strap. It would be machined off.

Maybe I will just start with a fire brick and puddle the metal on that. Sounds like a great plan if I wanted sheet!

Gosh, how badly do I want to machine this material?