| ht iron furniture is an antique form of furniture design | | | | produced containing iron and silicates from the ore, |
| that has never gone out of style. There is a wide | | | | called iron bloom, which is how the technique gets its |
| range of products available such as beds, chairs and | | | | name. The bloom is then manually worked to remove |
| tables, patio furniture, and small accent items such as | | | | the slag and impurities, giving rise to the term "wrought", |
| pot racks, towel bars, shelf brackets, fireplace accents, | | | | as the iron was pounded, twisted, and folded. |
| hat and coat racks, and more. It is possible to decorate | | | | Hammering a piece of wrought iron compacts the |
| with the elegance of wrought iron design everywhere | | | | fibers, increasing the strength of the product, though it |
| in your home. | | | | lacks the carbon content necessary for |
| There are many styles of iron bed frames available, | | | | heat-tempering. During this process, many thin layers of |
| such as American and European antique | | | | slag are mixed into the metal, producing a distinct |
| reproductions, modern and custom designs, as well as | | | | "grain", and a fibrous appearance when broken or bent. |
| cribs and cradles, childrens' beds and daybeds. | | | | Old, rusted pieces of wrought iron have a very distinct |
| Some companies specialize in restoring real antique | | | | grain and resemble reddish-brown wood. |
| cast iron furniture, since items made of this durable | | | | Producing iron by hand in a bloomery was a slow, |
| material exist dating back to the 1700s and 1800s. | | | | small-scale and labor-intensive process. Iron production |
| Since bed sizes used to be smaller, original twin and full | | | | began on a much larger scale with the introduction of |
| size beds can be converted to king and queen sizes. | | | | blast furnaces, which date back to approximately 1100 |
| Many of these antiques are canopy beds, exotic and | | | | to 1300 in Europe. These furnaces produce bars of pig |
| stylish, especially if draped in fabrics to match the | | | | iron, a brittle compound with a high carbon content. By |
| decor of the bedroom. | | | | the 1750s, a number of oxides had been discovered to |
| The term “wrought” is the archaic past | | | | remove the carbon as carbon dioxide, similar to the |
| tense of the verb to work. As the English language | | | | process in a bloomery. Because blast furnaces |
| changed over time, the word has been changed to | | | | completely melt the iron, the metal can be molded into |
| "worked". Therefore, wrought iron literally means | | | | cast iron products at this stage. However, cast iron is |
| "worked iron". The process of making these products | | | | too brittle to be worked into shapes as is possible with |
| is quite precise and complicated. Some | | | | wrought iron. |
| mass-produced, light-weight ornamental metal work is | | | | Wrought iron would be further processed by faggoting, |
| not made of iron, but is actually milled steel. | | | | a method whereby the iron bars would be bundled |
| True wrought iron is a very pure form of commercial | | | | together like sticks of firewood and hammered into |
| iron with a low carbon content. It is tough, bendable and | | | | one piece, just as iron was worked by hand in |
| easy to weld. It is too soft to be made into high-quality | | | | medieval times. Each time the iron was folded and |
| knives or swords, and rusts easily. For the purpose of | | | | stretched, it became a bit stronger. Wrought iron which |
| weapon-making, societies which discovered how to | | | | had been faggoted twice was referred to as "Best", |
| carbonize iron and mix it with other metals to make | | | | and had a tensile strength of 23 tons per square inch; |
| steel had a great advantage in warfare over their | | | | if faggoted again it would become "Best Best", then |
| more primitive neighbors. Because wrought iron is a | | | | "Treble best" with a strength of 28 tons per square |
| more basic and universal product, it is the "iron" | | | | inch. With each processing, impurities would form as |
| referred to throughout history. | | | | long thin inclusions, just as with hammering. |
| Archeologists find evidence of iron smelting as far | | | | Due to the unique grain of wrought iron, it is difficult to |
| back as 3000 BC in China. Wrought iron was originally | | | | work with; like wood, if stressed too much, it will split |
| made by a method called bloomery. Bloomeries | | | | along the grain. Working with wrought iron is an art |
| employed small charcoal smelters, often pots or ladles, | | | | form that can take years to perfect. Unlike |
| into which iron ore (iron oxide, or rusted iron) was | | | | mass-produced milled steel items, a wrought iron |
| placed and covered with a thin layer of charcoal. The | | | | product is a piece of art. |
| charcoal was lit and air was blown onto it with a | | | | Wrought iron can be painted in any color, and many |
| bellows, causing the ore to melt partially. During this | | | | manufacturers do custom painting and design. Cast |
| process, the oxygen atoms would be released from | | | | iron can be formed into any shape, so if you have a |
| the iron to bind with the carbon in the charcoal, | | | | design or picture you want replicated, bring it to a cast |
| releasing carbon dioxide which would bubble away. | | | | iron shop and they will work the image into your |
| Therefor, little of the carbon entered the melted iron. | | | | furniture. Buying wrought iron will give you a unique |
| Using this old method, the fire does not get hot enough | | | | piece of furniture, and helps support local artisans and |
| to melt the iron completely, so a spongy mass is | | | | industries. |