Al Stephens

The Athens Forge, a member of the Alabama Forge Council, will meet Sat. Aug. 24th at 9AM. Travis Fleming and Calvin Garland will doing a trial run of the Tannehill demo, for the AFC conference coming up. So if you can't make the conference, be sure not to miss the demo. Visitors are always welcome. For directions or other info about Athens Forge, visit athensforge.com, or Athens forge on FB. You can also see videos of this years demos at AFC Athens Forge on Youtube.

The Athens Forge, a member of the Alabama Forge Council, will meet sat. July 27th, at 9AM. This will be an Open Forge meeting with no formal demonstrations. So bring your tools and material, questions, answers, or just a good story and enjoy the day. Note to all Athens Forge members, we are committed to providing some things for the AFC tool box to be auctioned off at the fall Conference. This would be a good day to work on them. Visitors are always welcomed. There will be tailgate sales. For directions or other info about Athens Forge, visit athensforge,com, or Athens Forge on FB. You can also see vidieos of this years demos at AFC Athens Forge on Youtube.

The Athens Forge, a member of the Alabama Forge Council, will meet Sat. June 22, at 9AM. Our demonstrator for the day will be Steve Alford of Athens AL. Steve is the editor of the AFC "Bituminous Bits" and a talented smith that can do about anything from household hardware to knives, and wood working tools. He will be doing a "Brownie Spatula". There will be tailgate sales, if time, open forge time for AFC members. The Iron In The Hat will include the John Wayne Taylor's demo items from last month. For directions or other info about Athens Forge, visit athensforge.com, or Athens Forge on Facebook.

So I've got to ask. What is the best stone to use for an anvil? Al

Hi Chuck, I've worked on dirt, gravel, bare concrete, and concrete with pads on it. I believe that for comfort the hands down winner is dirt. Equipment can be placed on pads if necessary. If you have a place to change shoes EVERYTIME you enter the house, it will keep the house cleaner. Good luck. Al

Jason, contact your insurance agent. They may well suggest way more than you need, but you will at least have some facts, how much you have to spend, to consider. Having said that I have been invited into others shops for 30+ years without having to sign any type of release form, and always try to return the favor and pass on the knowledge when I have the chance. Good Luck Al

The Athens Forge, a member of the Alabama Forge council will meet Sat. May ,25 at 9AM. Our demonstrator for the the day will be John Wayne Taylor from Wetumpka, AL. John is an accomplished smith/machinist with a lot of good ideas. If you can't attend the meeting the demo will be live streamed on Youtube at AFC Athens Forge. There will be tailgate sales and if time, open forge time for AFC members. For directions or other info about Athens Forge, visit Athensforge.com, or Athens Forge on Facebook.

If you haven't already done it, contact BAM(Blacksmiths Association of Missouri) They have plenty of members that will give you ideas and suggestions and will let you come see their shops. Good Luck, Al

Thank you for sharing with everyone.

Put a wide "foot" on all your workbench legs. That will help keep it on top of the gravel, and not sink down into it.

The Athens Forge, a member of the Alabama Forge Council, will have it's next meeting Sat. April 27, starting at 9AM. This will be an open forge day for AFC members, so bring your project, questions, ideas. For new members and beginners there are tools and material on hand, and plenty of advice. There will also be tailgate sales, and an Iron in the Hat drawing. For directions or other info about Athens forge, visit athensforge.com, Athens Forge on Facebook, or the AFC Athens Forge site on YouTube.

The Athens Forge, a member of the Alabama Forge Council, will have it's next meeting Sat. March 23, starting at 9AM. Our demonstrators will be Edd and Donnya Harbin. This brother and sister combo will be producing rings from various coins, using both mechanical presses and basic hand tooling. There will be tailgate sales, and if time, Open Forge time for AFC members. For directions or other info about Athens Forge, visit athensforge.com, Athens Forge on Facebook, or the AFC Athens Forge site on YouTube.

I LIKE IT!! Al

The Athens Forge, a member of the AFC, will have it's next meeting Sat. Feb.23, starting at 9AM. This will be an open forge day for AFC members, so bring your project, questions, ideas. There will also be tailgate sales, and an Iron In The Hat drawing. For directions or other info about Athens Forge, visit athensforge.com, Athens Forge on Facebook, or the AFC Athens Forge site on YouTube.

Search for "Dogs Head Hammer"

For years I have set my anvils in boxes of sand. I built the boxes a little tall and allowed them fill up with scale. It held the anvils in place, quieted them down, gave me a place to stick chisels, punches, ect. and they didn't roll away and have to be picked up off the floor.

You should contact and meet with BAM, the Blacksmiths Association of Missouri. They will be a great help in finding tools, and instruction. Good Luck.

Hi Aubrey, He was looking for things to do. But he is a very good "fireman". Dustin did most of the fire tending while we were doing the Kuhn Ring project, and never let a single peace burn! He has also helped me in several classes while I was recovering from shoulder surgery. Al

After reading Dave's post on 1/25 I decided to try corn in a demo the next day. Made it a part of my, " You don't need ..... to begin smithing" talk. Forged a pair of tongs, everything worked well. The fire tinder kept the fire pot packed and the blower throttled back. No one at the meeting had ever seen it done before. The demo can be viewed on Youtube at AFC Athens Forge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfBKfUgFFkI Al

An update about the Sat. Jan. 26 meeting. There will not be an Iron In The hat. Master blade smith Dr. James L. Batson Jr. will be at the meeting. He will bring copies of his book James Bowie and the Sandbar Fight, Books 1&2. These will be sold on a 1st come basis.

The Athens Forge, a member of the Alabama Forge Council, will have it's next meeting Sat. Jan.26, 2019 starting at 9AM. Al Stephens will be doing a demonstration on forging basic tongs. The demo will be followed by open forge time for AFC members to forge tongs. Material will be available. The rest of the meeting plans for 2019 will also be announced. There will be an Iron In The Hat Drawing. For directions or other info about Athens Forge, visit www.athensforge.com, visit the Facebook site at Athens Forge, or see our videos at AFC Athens Forge on Youtube,

Find the closest blacksmith group to you and use a small part of your $ to join them. Go to the meetings and if you ask a question, listen to the answer.They will be an invaluable source for equipment and knowledge. Good luck. Al

Bet the guy in the hat is the shop foreman. I've seen that look before. Al

6"x3/4" sq. Punched 7/8' hole in center. Drew ends out approximately 18" for total length of 36+". The rest was done with torch and scrolling tongs. Happy New Year to all! Al IMG_2074.m4v Can't get video to load. It shows the piece hanging from a string and rotating. Here's a couple of stills. Al

The Athens Forge, a member of the AFC, will meet Sat. December 22, 2018 at 9AM. There is no demonstration planned, but open forge time will be available for AFC members to finish up those last minute gifts. Visitors are always welcome. For more information visit our website, attend forge.com, or on FB at Athens Forge, or on YouTube at Athens Forge AFC