Subject: Real Wrought Iron

From: [email-masked] (Bob DeMers)
Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1993 16:04:32 GMT

A couple of years ago, I participated in a wrought iron project at the
University of Minnesota.  A furnace was built and operated around-the-clock
for over a week, to study early iron age technology.  Ore was obtained from
one of the closed down shaft mines in Northern Minnesota (ore of such high
grade that you can weld steel to the tunnel walls) and a small mountain of
raw charcoal was obtained from a local manufacturer of briquettes.
Although I stoked the furnace with at least a quarter ton of ore and
charcoal myself, I managed to miss all the blooms being pulled. :^( 
Note: this production process does not result in molten metal.  The furnace
has to be broken open and a spongelike mass of iron and slag, the bloom, 
pulled out.  The slag then needs to be worked out of the metal.

However, several local smiths were involved and were going to work the iron
into some implements to compare with archaeological finds.  Perhaps one of
them is on the net or is known to someone.

The only working commercial wrought iron furnace in the world is run by a
museum in the U.K. Apparently, knife-makers and such have bought up
production for years in advance.  I discovered an alternative (and
non-renewable) source from a smith at the local renaissance festival:  Old
buggy and wagon wheel rims.  They preferred buggy rims for blades because
they are of a convenient width and thickness.  There would seem to be a
ready market for real wrought iron if someone could figure out how to smelt
it without getting slammed by the EPA.

--
Bob DeMers				Honeywell SRC, MN65-2500
internet: [email-masked]      3660 Technology Drive
Tel: 612 951 7269		      	Minneapolis, MN 55418
-- 
Bob DeMers				Honeywell SRC, MN65-2500
internet: [email-masked]      3660 Technology Drive
Tel: 612 951 7269		      	Minneapolis, MN 55418

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From: [email-masked] (Dave Burnard)
Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1993 17:23:55 GMT

> it without getting slammed by the EPA.

Very interesting!

Were any papers or reports generated on the process and results? I would
love to get a copy of these, if available.

Well, back to the scrap yards...

Dave

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From: [email-masked] (Carl West)
Date: Sat, 9 Oct 1993 00:04:30 GMT

Another source of Wrought Iron can be the re-rods from _old_ concrete
buildings. I pulled about a half ton (or more) out of a demolition site
using a 3# hammer and a hacksaw. Most of it was smooth, not the ridgy
modern re-rod, and most of that gives long, smooth, straight, dark red
sparks off the grinder :) and some of it is steel, and one of the
pieces was pipe. Makes me wonder who was jerking who around on 
_that_ job ;)

There were also some 2.5-3"diameter "bolts" that were involved with the
_end_ of a rail spur that show every sign of being WI too, but they're
three feet long and heavy, so I haven't gotten them up to the grinder 
for a spark test.

When someone wants to work with me in my shop, I often have them help
me `straighten up' a little first. I hand them a hammer and a piece of
the erstwhile re-bar to straighten (wrecking balls and re-bar: a bad
combination). I get to watch them think and use the tools, it can be
very informative.

Carl

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From: [email-masked] (Ren Tescher)
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1993 20:19:55 GMT

The other day I looked at the bulletin board in a local
supermarket.  One of the postings was "Rod Iron Railing for Sale"
It took a couple of moments for me to realize they might be trying
to sell "Wrought Iron".
ren
dona nobis pacem