Ornamental ironwork can be used in furniture and as display pieces.
Ornamental iron objects and furniture are formed by bending and twisting iron using a heat source to soften the metal and then altering it or simply by using mechanical force on colder iron via a more advanced tool. An oxyacetylene torch, a vice-grips and a hammer are sufficient to create some ironwork, but for those who wish for exacting specifications of the finished product and who don't have years of blacksmithing experience, specialized machines are available on the market to create the hypnotic swirls and twists of ornamental iron.
Heating
The traditional basics of bending and twisting metal is to heat it before trying to bend it so it becomes more ductile (able to stretch and change shape easily). Blacksmiths who create ornamental ironwork use a forge as a heat source. The forge can be fueled by coal, charcoal or can be gas powered, using propane or natural gas. Alternatively, you can heat localized areas of the metal by using an oxyacetylene torch.
Basic Tools
Blacksmiths use an anvil to create bends in hot metal.
At the cheaper end of the market, a simple vice-grip table to hold the metal and a tongs or vice grips to manually bend the metal will work for uncomplicated ornamental metal. Blacksmiths also use a Wolf-jaw tongs to hold the metal and a hammer to bend the metal around an anvil, flatten part of a bar on the anvil or thicken the end of the bar by placing it on the anvil and hammering the opposite end.
Welding
To attach finished curves and twists of metal together, a welder is used. Oxyacetylene torches and arc welders can be used to assemble an ornamental iron piece. Alternatively, if you have a forge, the heat from the forge and judicious hammering to meld two almost molten iron bar ends means that the welders are not necessary.
Specialized Tools
Tools such as a Hossfeld Number Two Bender with Bar and Angle Iron are sold for use in creating ornamental ironwork with metal rods and tubing. To bend an iron bar, the bar is inserted into the machine and the dimensions of the machine create a nice turn in the metal. These specialized bending machines are sold with attachments that are specific to each turn or twist. Other examples of specialized bending tools are the UF25H Universal Fabricator sold by Shop Outfitters that can be fitted with a scroll attachment to create scroll shapes from flat metal. Shop Outfitters 2040 Compact Bender can also create a range of ornamental iron shapes with the correct attachments. Each machine is designed to handle a specific range of sizes of metal stock.
Tags: ornamental iron, bend metal, bending twisting, forge heat, heat source, hold metal, oxyacetylene torch
