Forged art products are well-known throughout the world. For many centuries, art forging has held a strong place in construction and architecture, combining beauty, durability and personality.
Where are forged metal products used?
Today, art forging is firmly established in our everyday life and is used almost everywhere. These products can be found both in the streets and in the yards, as well as in houses and apartments.
Most popular forged products:
- Forged gates.
- Forged fences.
- Shod window lattices.
- Forged fences and stairs.
- Braziers, arbors, lanterns.
- Shod furniture and home decoration.
- Forged products for the fireplace.
In fact, this list can be continued for a very long time, because thanks to the ability to make a metal product of any style and shape, it can be fit into almost any interior.
To understand all the diversity that forged products have today, the photo is not enough. A lot of beautiful things can be seen in special books, manuals and simply on the streets.
Advantages of forged metal
Why do people love forged metal products so much ? After all, susceptibility to corrosion has become inherent, which has a very negative effect on both aesthetics and operation. What is so special about forging that even today, when many artificial materials have appeared for the same gates or fences, which are lighter in weight, are not subject to corrosion and have an attractive appearance, many choose forging?
Advantages of forged metal:
- Beauty.
- Durability.
- Good protective features.
- Possibility of manufacturing according to individual sizes.
- Handmade.
- Forged products can be made in any style.
- Forging goes well with other materials.
The list of advantages is quite large, and it can be continued. If you characterize the forged metal in a few words, it turns out that such products combine beauty, durability and good functionality.
Forging disadvantages
No matter how good the forging is, forged products, like any others, have their drawbacks. Moreover, these disadvantages make many people abandon it.
The main disadvantages of forged metal:
- Cost.
- Metal susceptibility to corrosion.
You can, of course, add a few more minuses, but they will somehow flow from the above.
The high cost of forged products scares off many consumers. Since the budget of even a simple art product, such as a fence, is very large.
And due to complex patterns, forged things are quite difficult to prepare for painting and staining. Therefore, corrosion can occur quite quickly.
Types of Forging
If we consider the style of forging, then it can be done almost any kind. And this is one of its most important advantages. Since it is possible to do both simple, strict things, and saturated, with a complex pattern. Moreover, it is always easy to bind to different architectural styles.
In technical terms, it is customary to divide art forging into two types:
- Hot forging.
- Cold forging.
Despite the many common features, as well as the fact that both directions offer the same products at the outlet, cold and hot forging have many differences among themselves. First of all, it is cost and individuality.
Hot forging
The classic method of manufacturing forged products. When using it, the metal is first heated to high temperatures, and then it is shaped. In modern blacksmith shops for a long time horns on furs have not been used, and you will not meet hammer thieves. Ancient methods have long been replaced by electric motors, pneumatic hammers, cutting and drilling machines and electric welding.
Although the basic principle of hand forging has remained the same as 100 and 200 years ago. All the charm and beauty of the forged product lies in the ability of the master to give the desired shape and shape to the metal.
Cold forging
In cold forging, single manual labor is replaced by machine labor. Thanks to the unification and stamping of all kinds of artistic elements, a peculiar designer is obtained. And with a welding machine and minimal skills, it’s quite possible to make forged products yourself. Moreover, manufacturers of forged elements offer extensive catalogs in which you can pick up fairly decent sketches of forged products.
The main advantages of cold forging are:
- Low cost of products in comparison with manual.
- Availability of components.
- An opportunity to receive various drawings and to arrange art elements among themselves.
- The ability to make forged products with your own hands.
However, this method has its drawbacks:
- Limited figures.
- Standardization of artistic elements.
Based on the pros and cons listed above, we can conclude that cold forging can be a worthy alternative to manual, especially in the budget segment.
Metal Corrosion
If you do not take into account the cost, the main disadvantage of any forging will be its susceptibility to corrosion. Like any metal, such products require special attention at the stages of pre-paint preparation and painting itself.
The best option for cleaning forged products from scale and rust is sandblasting. The output is a surface that is completely ready for painting. The only drawback of such processing is its cost. However, the high price is justified by the quality of metal cleaning.
Naturally, if you spend a lot of money on sandblasting, it’s stupid to save on paints. The best option is to process the metal with a zinc-containing compound. In our market there are several options for such primers. Between themselves, they differ in the zinc content in the solids, as well as the requirements for solvents.
In any case, regardless of the choice of brand of zinc-containing primer, it will provide reliable and long-term protection of the metal from corrosion. A distinctive property of such a coating is the ability to penetrate into the upper layer of the metal, thereby protecting it from moisture.
Forged Metal Paints
When painting any metal products, a primer must be used. Otherwise, even expensive and high-quality paint will lose its properties very quickly. Primers for metal have good adhesion to metal and in turn give a good degree of penetration for paints. In addition, the primers contain anti-corrosion additives, which are aimed at increasing the resistance of the metal to corrosion.
The cheapest option is to use conventional primers and enamels for metal. However, despite the low cost of the resulting coating, the effect will be short-lived. Cheap paints have a lot of negative properties. They fade quickly and do not provide a long-lasting protective coating.
A good choice would be to use 2 in 1 and 3 in 1 inks. They imply their use without a primer coat. Such paints contain primer, rust converter and the paint itself. Like any other, such paints must be applied in 2 layers.
However, if finances allow, the best choice would be to use industrial paints. Fairly decent lines are present, for example, the brand Tikkurilla.
Such paints, although expensive, but have significant advantages. Firstly, they provide high reliability coatings. Secondly, they can be tinted in any color, they dry very quickly.
DIY forged products
If we consider hot forging, then skills and experience are necessary for the hand-made production of art things. As well as special equipment, without which production will be simply impossible.
However, using elements of cold forging, it is possible to make quite decent forged products with your own hands. This requires:
- Welder skills.
- Assembly room equipped with a welding table. Of course, you can do without it - just collect on the floor. Only with this approach is it unlikely that something worthwhile will turn out.
- Necessary decorative elements.
- Sketches of forged products. Forged products can be taken, photos of which are easy to find in various sources and instructions.
- Tool: welding, grinder, tape measure and so on.
In fact, with the seeming complexity, assembling a forged product from finished elements can be quite simple. Of course, hot forging cannot be compared, but the result is usually very good. Moreover, with your own production, for example, a fence, you can save a decent amount.