A Word about Wrought Iron

I've been on a wrought iron kick lately. I like the way the iron feels, weighs and looks, but I did not know anything about it.

I always thought the word "wrought" was the kind of iron, in other words, what it is composed of. Nope, it means "working" and I believe it was assigned by the Britain.

Wrought iron is no longer made commercially due in part because of the process it goes through. My understanding of it is, wrought iron needs the correct amount of carbon and oxygen to have the strength it needs to stand up for beds, handrails, shelving, etc. I'm not clear about there being too many fine Forgeries around anymore, some iron smiths left today, even horseshoes are manufactured.
There are many processes of making wrought iron through the centuries but I've chose to talk about the two most popular ones.
PUDDLING-which was the method used during the industrial revolution, it dealt with melting contained over a reverbertory furnace. The melting is stirred with rods that dissolve within the iron. This gives it the correct amount of oxygen and carbon.
OSMOND-A open hearth, narrow and deep, with charcoal fire blown with bellows. The iron drops through the blast and is lifted into the fire with rods spinning rapidly to form balls.
Today we smelt iron or steel, that's a process where it's cooled just before reaching melting temperature, cooled to form a spongy matter that is hard and able to recycle.
Both above mentioned methods are obsolete in today's market.
Out of all the steel and iron in the world, wrought iron has the least carbon, manganese, sulfur, phosphorus, and silicon. Wrought iron becomes soft and is forged easily when placed in red heat.


Truly pathetic my dog has his own bed with mats. C & G Design.