What is the Difference Between Cast Iron, Steel, Wrought Iron and Aluminum for Ornamental Metalwork?

Steel, or more specifically, Mild Steel which is also known as A36 Carbon Steel is the most commonly used material in ornamental metal work today. It is available in hundreds of sizes and shapes in bar lengths from 20' to 40' and also available as sheets and plates. It is relatively inexpensive and strong and replaced the use of "Wrought Iron," the alloy of iron not the process, starting in the 1920-30's. Mild Steel can be heated and forged, welded, tempered, and formed in many ways making it a very versatile material for ornamental applications. It can also be cast at very high temperatures (referred to then as Cast Steel) but this is uncommon for ornamental applications. Steel and its alloys form the backbone structures for bridges and cars, buildings, and railings, gates and fence and thousands of other products today. Steel can be 100% recycled as well and most commercially available Mild Steel has a fair amount of recycled content. Mild Steel must be protected from water and weather however, otherwise it will deteriorate very quickly. Galvanizing, in which steel members are dipped into a vat of molten zinc, is a common method of protecting steel from corrosion and this zinc coating is often coated by paints or powder coatings for even more protection Care should be used in designing and specifying Ornamental Iron fence or railings and their associated finishes since many ornamental iron shops use very lightweight tubing wherever possible and poor finishing practices which ultimately result in quick product failure. In addition, all exterior load bearing steel structures such as railings, balconies, gazebos, awnings and more should be reviewed by a licensed engineer to ensure that the structure will withstand the wind, ice, live and seismic loads which may be exerted on it.

Cast Iron is an ancient method of creating everything from skillets to bridges and building facades. It is most often created by heating iron ore to its melting point and then pouring it into a sand mold which was formed around a carved pattern. When the pattern is removed from the compacted sand mold, it leaves a cavity which is filled by the liquid, molten iron. Cast iron flows hot and stays hot allowing it to travel long distances and fill complex cavities left by a skilled pattern makers hand. Almost anything that can be carved or formed using clay or wax can be duplicated in cast iron. Cast iron lasts! You will find that cast iron is used, unpainted or treated for manhole covers, water mains, storm drain grates and gates, railings and fence of course, because it is highly corrosion resistant and lasts for generations without any maintenance. It is also quite resistant to fire unlike Steel and Wrought Iron. If some flexibility is desired, cast iron can be modified to be ductile or malleable. It cannot be forged however and is somewhat tricky to weld. Cast Iron is most widely recognized in the United States in the form of many of the elegant balconies and railings in New Orleans. Cast Iron is most often painted or powder coated for

protection and appearance but it can withstand salty humid air without paint unlike steel. Beautiful traditional cast iron gates, fences and railings are available at www.heritagecastironusa.com from Heritage Cast Iron USA.

Wrought Iron in contemporary usage, usually refers to the process of steel being handwrought or worked by hand and implies a degree of decoration is involved. (e.g. I prefer a wrought iron fence and I prefer a decorative steel fence mean the same thing today) However, Wrought Iron is also a very specific type of iron alloy which preceded modern steels and was widely used for ornamental and structural work prior to 1930s, when modern iron smelting processes allowed for less expensive and higher grades of Steel to replace Wrought Iron. Thus Wrought Iron because of its cost to manufacture, was discontinued altogether by 1960 in favor of much less expensive steel alloys. Since true Wrought Iron is no longer made except from recycled content in only a handful of specialty micro mills, almost all ornamental metal shops use A36 Mild Steel in their fabrication and forging operations where ironwork is required. It should be noted here that Wrought Iron is highly corrosion resistant, much like cast iron, it has a grain much like wood, and will outlast steel 10 times or better when unmaintained. The only reason we enjoy the original metalwork of New Orleans, Savannah, Mobile, New York and Philadelphia (and many other older cities) is because the original metalwork was fabricated from Wrought Iron and Cast Iron, two of the most corrosion resistant iron ferrous alloys.

Aluminum is a very common alloy for fabrication of ornamental metalwork as well as aircraft and ships, laptops and pop cans. Aluminum comes in many different alloys, grades and tempers in sheets, bars, tubes and thousands of other shapes and is extremely versatile because it can be both economically extruded into complex shapes for use in manufacturing windows as well as rolled into structural shapes for general construction. It can also be forged or cast and is used almost exclusively in some areas of the country such as South Florida, to the total exclusion of steel for decorative metalwork because it is so corrosion resistant in humid and salt air climates. Because it is 1/3rd the weight or iron and relatively soft, it offers flexibility to many designers but caution must be used when designing balustrades using all aluminum components since the aluminum line posts will require reinforcement to match the strength of their similarly sized steel counterparts. Aluminum is often anodized, or painted or powder coated for appearance and added protection but as stated above

Mild steel contains 0.160.29% carbon. Carbon steel has a carbon content in the range of 0.301.70% by weight. Stainless steel has a minimum of 11% chromium content by mass. Only stainless steel does not corrode.
Helpful

Reply

Perito Posts: 3,141, Reputation: 781

Ultra Member

#3 May 18, 2009, 02:09 PM

There are lots of stainless steels. Steel, by definition is an alloy containing carbon. The different alloyed elements give various steels their properties -- including strength, stiffness, brittleness, corrosion resistance, among others. "Stainless Steels" don't corrode because one of their alloying metals (usually chromium or molybdenum) forms a passive migrates to the surface of the solid and forms a thin, hard oxide layer that is difficult to get through. In addition, there are electrochemical reasons why chromium and some other elements are resistant to corrosion.

What is the difference between mild steel and high carbon steel?

Carbon steel includes mild steel. Mild carbon steel(as it is referred to) contains .05 - .29% carbon. Medium carbon steel is from .30 - .59%. High carbon steel is from .60 - .99%. Ultra high carbon steel is from 1.00 - 2.00%. Steel is considered carbon steel up to 2.1%. Past that it is considered cast iron. The more carbon in the steel the harder and less ductile and maleable it is and also the more brittle it is. The less carbon in the steel more it will bend and shape without breaking. So in essence carbon adds strength but takes away from its elasticity.

Difference Between Steel and Mild Steel

Steel vs Mild Steel What is the difference between steel and mild steel? Well, one might think that its all in the name bit this is most certainly not the case. There are significant differences between steel and mild steel which would be properly discussed in this article. But before we get to the important bits, why is it

important for people to know the difference between the two? Well, the answer is simple. If you were to use one of the other, it is essential that you make sure that you have the appropriate one for the project you have at hand. Otherwise, it could completely compromise it. So now that we have that out of the way, shall we take a closer look at these two types of metal? Steel, often classified as through the use of its carbon content, is actually a high-carbon steel that is often used for creating cutting tools and dies. Because of its brittleness and utter hardness, it is also often used for construction as well as structural forms due to its compatibility with tooling and welding. Alloy steel is currently one of the most widely used but of course, this also depends upon the purpose that a specific type of steel is going to serve. For example, when it comes to building automobiles as well as airplane parts, chromium steel is most often used due to its strength, hardness and elasticity. Another thing that you should note with regards to steel is that not all of its varieties are magnetic. Perhaps you might have read or heard about the magnet test which is often used to tell steel apart from other types of metal. This isnt always applicable such as in the case of nickel steel. It is nonmagnetic, lacks the brittleness of high-carbon steel but at the same time, has the same tensile properties. To tell nonmagnetic steel varieties apart from other types of metal, you may want to consider checking its density. There lie some major discrepancies. Mild steel, on the other hand, is a variety of steel alloy that is comprised of high amounts of carbon as one of its major constituent. If you dont know what an alloy is, it basically is a mixture of metals as well as non-metals which are designed to have very specific properties. Mild steel differs from stainless steel through its chromium content. Stainless steel contains a more significant amount of chromium when compared to mild steel or ordinary carbon. As for its properties, mild steel is known to show a gradation when it comes to strength, malleability, ductility as well as the other physical properties of steel.

This gradation happens as the composition changes. Despite this fact, however, it is still one of the most commonly used alloys out there. It is not as brittle as high grade steel but its tensile strength is lower when compared to it. Mild steel is commonly used for creating pipes, bullets, armor, chains, nuts and bolts, hinges, magnets, wire, cable as well as knives. It also becomes stronger if you add more carbon to it. Also, do note that when it comes to resistance to corrosion, mild steel is a lot more vulnerable when compared to steel. Basically, steel contains a sufficient amount of chromium that helps it form a kind passive film made out of chromium oxide that helps prevent further corrosion. Do keep in mind that there are modern treatments that can be applied to mild steel which can help delay or completely prevent corrosion in it as well. Summary: Steel Mild Steel is less steel is malleable s more and less harder brittle resistant to than mild than steel. steel. corrosion.

Mild steel can be further strengthened through the addition of carbon.

Read more: Difference Between Steel and Mild Steel | Difference Between | Steel vs Mild Steel http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/difference-betweensteel-and-mild-steel/#ixzz24qPS3LC5