clinton

Your anvil was made in 1913 according to Mr Postman.
I would not be too concerned about a couple of arc strikes on the face of an anvil, misuse yes but it would not deter me.

The M could have been added by someone after it left the factory
What shape is under the base? Is it a large oval? The shape can help identify the date also- early Trenton's were made in Germany. It may also have a marking that says "Buel Patent" or "Solid Wrought USA" on the side under logo

I would say pass it sounds like a steep price and a small anvil. Hard to believe anvils are hard to come by in Texas. I would keep looking and build myself a "Brazeal Style" anvil to use until a good deal comes along. I recently found a 410 lb Trenton for $1.22 / lb. on craigslist, just type in "Anvil" in the search box and be patient

Nice set of photos LDW (as usual) and thanks for posting
Nice to see your posts also Brian, thanks

There is the gold plate in the second picture- I would prefer the last picture original condition myself

If it is a Arm & Hammer anvil it should have a serial number stamped on the front foot and the weight in pounds under the logo on the side of the anvil. Pictures would be helpful to determine the value and to verify the maker

Looking good guys

The tools are not annealed if they are used as forged- and the forging process changes grain structure. When you compare the manufacturer's specs with a forged tool its like apples and oranges

I was not able to make it up there, I got a job (a good paying job) and with some extra work on the side as well.
How about some pictures for the ones that could not make it?

Amazing what some people will send to scrap, I was talking to a guy at work today about wanting to build a hydraulic press and he tells me that they just sent one to the scrap yard that had a 12 inch cylinder (approx. from his description). The fork lift 6000 lb capacity would just barley lift it. He said they got it from Boeing- doah

Tom Clark Ozark Pattern

I had one of those R2D2 machines but mine was 3 ph and I got tired of storing it and moving it around so it went to the scrap yard. It was a freebie that a guy gave me when I bought my SA 200 Pipe-liner

I have seen much worse condition of anvils, I agree with what others have said- clean up the edges, belt sander or flap wheel and use it.
I did look at Anvils In America and I would say yes it could be a Columbian, hit it with a wire wheel on the side and you may find something that you do not see now. I does not make a big difference who made the anvil as long as it is use-able- and I would call that anvil use-able. A perfectly flat face is not needed, good edges is way more important in my opinion, but you can forge a hardy with good edges and use that also. You can spend allot of time and effort trying to make a "Perfect anvil" when you could be using what you have = time well spent

I have a few welders that I have collected over the years. Here is one that I got for $10.00 at a school rummage sale, 1947 Westinghouse welder with 6 cylinder Chrysler industrial flat head motor

The Lincoln 200 special is going to be on its way to texas when the weather warms a bit.

I hope you got a good price for that old Lincoln- they are valuble to collectors and they weld great as well

I think you'll find that heel leg on your stand is too far out and if you use a striker. the base plate will flex and cause some annoyance. 1 1/2" to 2" plate works best; I've found 1" is not enough. don't ask me why I know this....

I seldom use a striker, I fashioned the stand after the Tom Clark anvil stand that I have and that one has served me well, his plate was 1 1/8 inch thick, this is what I had so I used it- it cost me nothing but the effort to get it home. If it does give me problems I can modify it by adding a stiffener or gusset.

One note that I would like to add is that you say that you are using the same settings- voltage can vary from the supplier of your electricity and this can and will make your welder perform different throughout the day.

I got the stand built and most of the paint removed, now I need to get it set near the forge. I am going to rearrange a little to fit this anvil in. I am going to turn my other anvil 90 degrees then put this one next to it, I will have to turn that extra bit when coming out of the forge but the way my shop is set up this is the best way i can see to keep both anvils near the forge and still have room to move around them both, as well as just move around all the other equipment.
Here are some pictures of the anvil stand, not as pretty as Monstermetals stand but it is solid- 1 inch plate and 2x4x3/8 tube for the legs. I kept the legs in close because my shop is tight on room and it will be anchored into concrete, a wider stance would be better but I would be tripping on it. (seems like I am always tripping on something)

What direction are you welding? Are you pushing the puddle or pulling? I prefer to push when I run hard wire (the gun is pointed in the direction of weld) this allows the arc to stay out in front of the puddle and you tend to get better penetration. Motion can help also use a side to side motion keep the arc out in front. Also if you can position the weld put it in the vertical position and you should get good penetration, going up with the weld

I did peel off some of the paint and there are no surprises, I could see the one repair with the paint on. I told the misses that I will sell this one for a modest profit, I am not into big mark-ups on tools, but I may keep this one as they do not come up often in this size here. I may have to find something else to sell to keep things all quiet on the home front
and yes SASK Mark the lines are nice, this horn is one of the best that I have ever seen- good thing my fork lift will not fit through the door- as I would be sleeping with this anvil tonight
I am wondering why the heel is out of square, not that it matters but it is way out of square- may be useful in some way

I am all about using what is at hand, some of my stuff is put together at the butcher shop

I watch the local postings every day and one cam up that caught my eye, and only 30 miles away. The owner had it listed as 360 lbs, so I called and set up a time to go see the anvil. It had been painted so I took a wire wheel to look for markings. I was able to find the Trenton logo and the front foot has the numbers 410 on the left and A70039 on the right side, which dates to 1907 according to Mr Postman. I am not too sure on the date it may be 170039 that would be 1919. It does have what looks to me to be a cast base no handling holes and an oval depression on base. This thing is big and in real good shape, there is a repair on one edge on the face but the other side looks original. It has 1 1/4 inch hardy hole that is in great shape. I need to finish stripping the paint and build a stand for it

Very nice work on the tray and the tools as well. My only thought for improvement would be a nicer piece of wood- maybe knotty pine or whatever is locally available

It looks like this may be my last week at this job, I got a call to go build a computer floor for a company that I worked for in the past. Twice the pay plus benefits = parade wave out of there

Ya- what they said, lots of practice. When I went to school for pipe welding we spent the first semester on plate only and it was a full time job in the shop Monday - Friday, welding every day for 8 hours. The second semester we started to work with pipe.
After the school and getting certified no one wanted to hire a welder with no experience. I took my first job living out of my car at $ 4.25/ hr, it has taken me years to gain the skills that I have now.
I do hear stories of guys getting hired on right out of school and making big bucks, I guess I was not one of them