| The word "wrought" as used in the term "wrought iron" | | | | Later during the Middle Ages, water was used to |
| is the former past tense of the verb to work. As with | | | | power the bellows and eventually the hammers, |
| many other irregular past tense verbs in the English | | | | making the job of working iron much easier, but in the |
| language, over time "wrought" was replaced with | | | | 15th century the concept of a blast furnace was |
| "worked." However, the term "wrought iron" still exists | | | | created in Europe. However, the iron created in a blast |
| today. | | | | furnace was very brittle and needed to be refined. It |
| Although iron is one of the most abundant metals on | | | | would not be until the Industrial Revolution that a |
| Earth, it was very slow to evolve into a commonly | | | | process for making durable wrought iron more |
| used metal because of the difficulty involved originally | | | | efficiently was created. |
| in working with it. Early iron workers had a difficult time | | | | A puddling furnace was invented in 1784 and it is |
| understanding that in order to make it more malleable it | | | | credited at the time with being the most successful |
| was essential to reduce the carbon content by melting | | | | way of creating wrought iron without the use of |
| the metal again a second time and hammering the | | | | charcoal. In the nineteenth century the demand began |
| ingots to expel the carbon and other impurities. One | | | | for stronger wrought iron, thus bringing to the industry a |
| this was discovered, iron was no longer brittle like cast | | | | method to mass-produce puddle iron. This new mass |
| iron is. | | | | production of wrought iron created a metal with a |
| Because of their ability to change the composition of | | | | higher tensile strength and a small increase in carbon |
| wrought iron using fire and water, blacksmiths were | | | | content. This made the chemical composition and |
| sometimes seen as magical sorcerers and put on the | | | | consistency easier to control then before. |
| same level as doctors. These men were blessed with | | | | The term "wrought iron" is often used to describe |
| having created metals that were unable to break in | | | | products that are actually made from mild steel |
| battle. Vulcan and Hephaestus were the first | | | | nowadays. This is because traditionally made wrought |
| encounters in Roman and Greek mythology with | | | | iron is not forged as often anymore. This has given |
| blacksmiths. It was not until later that artistically worked | | | | rise to the common conception that mild steel products |
| iron was used in the construction of buildings such as | | | | are "wrought iron" and why the two terms are often |
| churches and monasteries, with the first recorded use | | | | used interchangeably. Mild steel is a combination of iron |
| being Notre Dame in Paris and Winchester Cathedral | | | | and carbon as well as other elements present in |
| in England. | | | | quantities too small to affect the overall properties. The |
| One of iron's original production methods was by being | | | | higher the carbon content the harder but less ductile |
| smelted using bloomeries. A bloomery is a sort of | | | | and less easy to weld the steel becomes. Mild steel |
| furnace with a pit and chimney with stone or clay walls | | | | has the lowest carbon content of between .05% and |
| for heat resistance. Clay pipes entered near the | | | | .26% making it quite easy to work with. Uses today for |
| bottom of the pit to allow airflow either from natural | | | | wrought iron are quite varied and include water pipes, |
| source or through the use of a type of air pump | | | | railway couplings, nuts and bolts, as well as decorative |
| known as a bellow. Once a bloomery was filled with | | | | ironwork such as handrails, fences and wine racks. |
| charcoal and iron ore it was lit and air was forced | | | | The manufacturing of wrought iron has experienced |
| through the pipes to heat the mixture to just below the | | | | many changes over the centuries in its process and |
| melting point for iron. The impurities would melt and run | | | | materials, but the outcome has remained the same, |
| off and the carbon monoxide from the charcoal | | | | giving while still providing us today with attractive and |
| reduced the ore to iron in a sponge like mass. This | | | | interesting products constructed from this sturdy |
| material was then forged with hammers, which | | | | material. |
| removed impurities in the process. | | | | |