Learn about medieval weapons


The Iron Bed

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



1 A B C D 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 95 96 97 98 100 101 102 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112