KSoldiron

Thank you all for the information. It's amazing how reality differs from the stories that are passed down. My brother-in-law was under the impression that this anvil was much older than it is. I don't think he'll be disappointed but it dispels any myths that it's been in the family for 100+ years.

Hello everyone. My brother in law got his hands on an anvil that originally belonged to his grandfather who was a blacksmith. I believe it's a Trenton. Would someone be so kind as to date it for him? Any other interesting tidbits that you might share? I took some pictures where it was sitting in his garage. The weight stamp was 170 and the serial number looks to be 223966.

Thanks, everyone. I suppose it was my lucky day. The weather was beautiful and I decided to head out to an auction which advertised an "anvil" for sale but no detail on what it was. If nothing else, I'd get to explore the countryside and enjoy the day. The above is what I found sitting in the dirt on the floor of a barn. I ended up getting it for $200 which, in my neck of the woods, is a good deal. It was another sad, familiar situation where the old fella who owned the farm had passed on and his aging widow was there at the sale overseeing the process of liquidating the farm assets. I spoke to her for a bit and made some conversation about the farm itself. I also asked her if she knew how long that anvil had been sitting at the farm. She smiled and said, "a long time". She was a lovely, older lady and I appreciated her friendliness. While I didn't know the previous owner I sort of feel privileged now being the caretaker of this fine tool. All in all, a great day.

After a couple years of looking and turning up empty handed, I attended an auction and found this old anvil up for sale. It's a 148 pound Hay Budden and, while it looks ugly in the picture, I have already starting cleaning it up and it is looking good. It shows some use but the top is flat and the ring is great. Would someone indulge me and tell me when it was made? The serial number is either 77081 or 77681, I can't tell what the middle digit is due to it being a light strike but the others are clear. It does not appear to have the thin top plate which I think some of them have. Thanks!

I agree that it looks very much like a Columbian. I have an old, large post vise with a shim style mounting plate that also looks like a Columbian and it has a few number stamps on it but this one has none. Perhaps this was before they started stamping their vises.......

The thing that interests me most about these old tools is that, even after 100 years, you could mount this thing and start working with it. Maybe it's just me, but I also like examining the threads and the nuances of the vise to see how the nuts and bolts were cut along with all the forging marks that still remain.

Hi everyone. I'm new here but have always appreciated metal working. A while back I found a wagon tongue vise sitting in a pile of stuff at a farm auction on the Missouri-Kansas border. I've cruised this site and noticed there has been some interest in these types of vises so I thought you all might like to see it. It weighs about 35 pounds and is about 17" tall with 4" jaws. The only marking on it is a small "U" on the head of the main squared-headed pivot bolt. You can see that below. Anyone know what that might mean? I'm an amatuer history buff and just generally appreciate quality tools. It's neat to think about where this thing might have been so enjoy the pictures. Seems like you find 100 of the larger post vises to every one of these you stumble across.