Home >> Hobbies >> Other Hobbies

How to Shape Mild Steel

Shaping steel is a centuries-old art and skill which utilizes the application of heat to metals and then forms them by applying force. Forges are commonly used devices that focus heat energy to heat steel to its point of malleability. Once this temperature is reached, the metal becomes red hot, and is then easily formed by hitting and molding it into the desired form. Mild steel has less than 0.5 percent carbon content and is relatively soft, quick to corrode, easy to shape and should not be used for structural support.

Things You'll Need

Forge
Anvil
Hammer (sledge)
Tongs
Bucket of water
Steel

Instructions

- 1
  Light or start your forge and allow it to reach operating temperature. There are many different forge designs available, using gas, propane, coal, coke, charcoal or wood as fuel, but all of them do the same job: heat.
- 2
  Place your steel into the forge and allow it to get hot enough to develop a red to yellow hue.
- 3
  Remove the steel from the forge using your tongs and hold it in place on top of your anvil.
- 4
  Strike the steel with a hammer held in your other hand to shape it into the desired form. Try using the different surfaces of the anvil which have been designed over the years to allow you to shape steel into a variety of different shapes and angles.
- 5
  Replace the steel into the forge whenever the red hue diminishes to a gray or black color. Steel is only malleable when red hot in color. If the steel is any darker than a red, you will just be wasting your energy trying to shape it.
- 6
  Cool the steel when the final shape is attained by either submersing it in water (if you wish it to become hardened steel), or allowing it to cool naturally if you wish a slightly softer final steel product.

Other Hobbies