The Spark Test

Since the birth of XRF analyzer, and spectroscopy in general, the art of spark testing metal has slowly become non-existant in the shop man's toolbox. As a person who prides themselves with knowledge in the shop, I took it upon myself to learn more about this lost art.

The key to spark testing is to not to see what you want to see when sparking the metal, but actually look for the hints that will lead you to the conclusion. For example, many large forks in the spark is a signal that it has a high carbon content. Few forks in the streams of sparks usually means that the carbon content is low, and possibly you are dealing with wrought iron or low carbon steel.

Another important note, in the same light at the note above, is that you will not know what to expect when hitting the spark metal scrap to a grinder. This is why before you try to spark any type of metal you should first have several reliable samples from which to compare the sparks of your species.

So, I keep above my grinding wheel a small box with several labeled samples of all types of metals, including stainless steel, carbide, iron, magnesium steel, wrought iron, nickel and a little titanium.

Because the spark test is so old, it is hard to find reliable and wholesome information on The Spark Test. This has almost everything you could possibly need to know about spark testing metals.

While sparking metals always look out for incredibly white sparks that are almost luminous. These are the sparks that come off of non-ferrous titanium. And because titanium is very light, you often think it is stainless or even aluminum. This is common misconception, that can quickly be solved with the Titanium Spark Test. Remember that titanium is non-magnetic.

Source: Scrapping Metal