Jeremy Blohm 163 Posted June 12 I was in the junk yard the other day and seen a few of these old square headed bolts and they looked like wrought iron. So i brought one home to do the knick & break teast and im not 100% sure. It is different than some known wrought that i have. It didnt break though it did peal back like wrough but doesnt have the full string cheese look. Here is a picture. This is a picture of some known wrought that i have. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 163 Posted June 12 (edited) Here is a more shallow nick. Could this be shear steel? Edited June 12 by Jeremy Blohm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 1,084 Posted June 12 Spark it and see, but it looks like really clean wrought to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 163 Posted June 12 It had quite a bit more sparks than the other wrought i have.i will get a picture of the spark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 163 Posted June 12 Known wrought Unknown material at question 1 hour ago, Alan Longmire said: Spark it and see Seems like it has a fair amount of carbon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan Longmire 1,084 Posted June 12 It does indeed. Might be shear steel, might not. The next step is see if it hardens. Then etch to see if there's a pattern. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 163 Posted June 12 I plan on it. I am heading back to the scrap yard tomorrow to get the rest of the bolts. I also started making a vice mount for the receiver hitch for my truck so i can do the nick and break test at the yard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 163 Posted June 12 I bet there would be good contrast between it and the other wrought i have. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 163 Posted June 14 I went back to the junk yard and i only found one more of these bolts. There was 3 more but i couldnt find the others. But on the upside the one bolt that was left is about 3/4x48 inches. Plus i found some other goodies Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 163 Posted June 20 I found the other 2 bolts today at the scrap yard. I probably have 20 lbs of this stuff now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gary Mulkey 454 Posted June 20 I'm certainly no expert but the spark test sure looks like a fair amount of carbon. However if it etches to the look that you want, who cares about carbon. Use it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 163 Posted June 21 (edited) That what i was thinking and using good steel for the cutting edge. With all the different ways they made wrought iron its hard telling whats in it but it has me interested. Edited June 21 by Jeremy Blohm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 163 Posted June 21 Im kinda hoping it has a good pattern and hardens good. I kinda wanna try it as some edge material. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 163 Posted June 26 So i took a chunk of this from the nick and break test and flattened it a bit and quenched it in water. Im pretty sure it hardened. I tried putting it in a vice and breaking it but it wouldn't snap. It didn't bend either. I put it on the anvil and gave it a smack with a cross peen and no dent. I got caught up making some chainsaw damascus and I ran short on time to do further testing. Tomorrow im going to file test and polish and etch. So we shall see what happens. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Will W. 55 Posted June 27 Take the piece and put it standing diagonally on your anvil, part on the face, and part on the horn. That way, theres empty space behind it. Then smack it in the center with a cross pein. See if it snaps. Either that or put it back in the vice, and get a monkey wrench. If its gonna break, that will break it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 163 Posted June 28 So i took an angle grinder with a flap disc and went to town polishing this up to etch it and it got really hot. Hot enough to over temper it. So i put it back in the forge and attempted to re-hardened it. And again put it in the vice but didn't break with a hammer. So i polished it back up but not really good still had some grind lines in it but i dropped it in sulfuric acid and no pattern. Im sorry for no pictures but i broke my phone and have to use the wife's phone for internet and she wont allow me to take it in the shop. 2 hours ago, Will W. said: Take the piece and put it standing diagonally on your anvil, part on the face, and part on the horn. That way, theres empty space behind it. Then smack it in the center with a cross pein. See if it snaps. Either that or put it back in the vice, and get a monkey wrench. If its gonna break, that will break it. I will give these suggestions a shot thank you. I might use it to make some wrought-mascus for the core bar of a project i need to get started on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 163 Posted July 16 So working with this material and working the wrought i have this is a lot harder to move.its like working d2 vs w2. The wrought i have been using is like working butter but this stuff is really hard. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeremy Blohm 163 Posted July 29 Ive been trying to find some more wrought and I have had this splitting wedge i bought at a yard sale last year and it just occured to me what it is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
