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Re: [RC] hot shoeing and metalurgy - Sisu West RanchThe response of iron alloys (or in common speach steel) to heating, cooling, reheating etc. is extremely complex and interesting. I am not an expert but can give a very rough outline.Keg shoes (the common premade horseshoe) are made from mild steel. Mild steel is actually almost pure elemental iron. It is cheap, easy to forge (either by hand or in a factory), and because it is malleable (bendable) can be shaped cold. Because it does not have any alloying elements, most particularly carbon, it does not get appreciably harder when quenched. 150 years ago, most items made by blacksmiths were made from "malleable iron". Malleable iron has considerable carbon, some slag and other impurities. I believe that it, at least orriginally, was made at relatively low temperatures so the material went from ore to metal without ever being melted. In any event, it is almost impossible to form cold and must be heated in a forge before shaping. When quenched it gets quite hard. Today there are thousands of steel alloys with various amounts of carbon and other elements (Manganese, Chromium, Phosphorous, Sulfer, Tungston, etc.) If a company is making an item, the alloy is carefully chosen. The exact heat treatment (time, temperature, cooling media, additional tempering time and temperature etc.) is carefully controled to produce the desired properties in the final product. If someone goofs then your horse trailer spring may break going down the road. By the way "Cast Iron" which is the output of a blast furnace that converts ore into metallic iron is a relatively modern invention. It is very hard, brittle, and has a lot of carbon. When the excess carbon is burned away in a converter or an open hearth furnace, you then have pure iron (mild steel) that is ready to be alloyed for industrial uses. The bottom line is that modern horseshoes are different and not as good as shoes made 150 years ago. It is called progress. Ed Ed & Wendy Hauser 2994 Mittower Road Victor, MT 59875 (406) 642-9640 ranch@xxxxxxxxxxx =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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