The Process of Forging

Iron is one of those rare mediums that can be utile, durable and beautiful, all at the same time. It is becoming an increasingly popular material to use in home decorating and landscaping due to those valuable traits. Here at AR Iron, we specialize in providing our customers with the highest quality iron work in any capacity needed. Our customer service extends beyond simple quotes and installation. We are a family owned and operated company serving our neighbors in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada. Let us tell you a little about what it is that we do, so that you can understand how your project can benefit from forging.

What is Forging?

Simply put, forging is using thermal or mechanical energy to transform pieces of metal into useful applications, such as fencing, artwork, furnishings and much more. The two primary types of forging are hot forging and cold forging.

Hot Forging

Hot forging is typically the method most associated with metal forging. During this process, metal is heated to extremely high temperatures, up to 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit (1,500 degrees Celsius), to be exact. Once the metal is super-heated, it becomes pliable and easy to manipulate into the desired shape or design.

The metal is then cooled, as it retains its shape, and the finishing stage of the process comes last. Because of the volatile nature of hot forging, there will be imperfections, dents, and pits of the like on the surface of the forged metal. The finishing process is meant to correct those blemishes and is a natural and expected stage in the process.

Cold Forging

Cold forging is a method wherein force and pressure are applied to the metal to achieve the end result. Typically, a die will be used to impress the metal in, using force and pressure from tools. This type of forging tends to work best for softer metals. The name “cold forging” is a bit of a misnomer, however, because the process is done at or near room temperature, not in particularly freezing conditions. Whereas hot forging is really hot, cold forging is just meant to differentiate between the high scale of temperatures needed. This process leaves a better surface quality on the forged product (again depending on the metal used) and requires little to no finishing.

There are many other methods to forging metals and several variations to hot and cold forging, alike. These are just two of the more common methods, to help you learn a little more about the basic processes involved in forging.

Using AR Iron for Your Forging Needs in Las Vegas

AR Iron was founded in 1989 and continues to be family owned and operated. We provide our customers with Custom Ornamental Design and Manufacturing for a variety of products, including gates, fences, artwork, spiral staircases and much more. We pride ourselves on providing a collaborative design process, wherein we use our years of expertise in this field with our customer’s specific vision to generate the exact product desired.

We offer our neighbors in Las Vegas and Henderson the finest quality and services, so call us today at (702) 565-7161 to request a quote. We look forward to hearing from you!