Sand to Steel Meeting at the Bull Run Powerhouse

The Sand to Steel Meeting in March has already passed, but information on the Challenge can be found below:

NWBA Members are welcome to participate in the Sand to Steel Challenge as individuals or by working in teams to collect their own iron ore, smelt it into a bloom, consolidate that bloom into an ingot, then forge that ingot into any object they want.  Items forged from the blooms smelted in this Challenge will be on display at our next Spring Conference in a “Sand to Steel” or “Scrap to Steel” Gallery.

The Rules of this Challenge are as follows:

• Extract your own ore like bog iron or magnetite – so long as it’s gathered directly from the earth (we do not endorse underground mining, but we do have info on mining regulations in Oregon and Washington!)
• Smelt your own bloom through the process of your choosing (which may require participants to design and build their own furnaces)
• Consolidate the bloom (depending on bloom size, this might be easier as a team)
• Forge any object you choose from the steel you smelted, and display it in our Gallery at Spring Conference!

If you’d like to join the Challenge, email webmaster@blacksmith.org and we’ll send you the info we’ve collected so far and connect you with other participants.

Location
Bull Run Powerhouse