The Red River Smiths meet once a month in Shreveport at LSUS. See our Facebook page. We will help with all kinds of useless information, some even helpful. We have built several good forges. One weekend this January we are building a forge for a member. Don't know what weekend yet. Contact me, you are welcome to come to my shop anytime. Some of the members are using charcoal because of the historical significance and the cleaner burn (less smoke ). It burns up faster but it's free. I can make 30 gal in 4 hours, starting with 55 gal of scrap wood.