MattMaier

So, as a prospective blacksmith on a budget, I know that aside from the forge itself the anvil is likely one of the most important tools in the blacksmith's arsenal. If I'm looking to get a used anvil, say in the 90-110 pound range, how much would I be looking at paying, depending on age, condition etc?

I actually found a place online that sells powdered magnetite in bulk. Once I get a bloomery built I am thinking of using that to do a smelt.

I have been interested in bloomeries for smelting my own wrought iron for a while now and I have a question. Is it possible to charge a bloomery with pieces of cast iron scrap and have wrought iron as the end result?

DSW, I will certainly try and see if there are any blacksmiths in my area that know a thing or two about black powder gunsmithing. Swedefiddle, I would love to attend the conference if I can fit it into my schedule. It is tough for me to do things outside of work because I work the night shift. Otherwise, my background is as a machinist, I learned both manual and CNC techniques in school and now I want to take the plunge into traditional metalworking.

My name is Matt, I'm happy to be here on this forum as I think I can learn a lot here. A friend and I are wanting to get in to blacksmithing due to a mutual interest in arms and armor from the medieval period up through the American Civil War. We want to research tools and techniques used and hopefully start a shop of our own today. The ultimate goal for us is to be able to forge a rifle barrel by hand as they did in the 18th and early 19th century but we both realize that we need to put in a lot of work in order to get there. The problem is that neither of us have a whole lot of capital and therefore at the moment are not able to afford classes at the moment. We are hoping we can find a blacksmith in our area who we can perhaps come to an agreement with and possibly work with on weekends. I figure this may be a good place to start looking.