March 30, 201214 yr Been on the lookout for an anvil for a while, and yesterday I finally got one. I work as a glassblower, so not new to heat but certainly new to forging. I suspect it should work perfect for my use(learning). I had a friend that was interested in some glasswork and said he had a bunch of his fathers tools laying around after he passed, and he would like to see them used. He wanted to keep most of the stuff, but some of it he said he just had no use for. I told him I would give it a good home, and so we made a trade with both of us happy in the end. All I had seen was a cell phone pic, so I couldn't really tell the size or maker until he showed up. The anvil is an acme. I got it up on the bench with relative ease so it can't be too heavy. I would guess around 80lbs. As you can see from the pics you can barely make out the acme stamp. On the side there are a bunch of numbers stamped. to me it looks like z100 a79727. The face is well used, it's a little swaybacked and the edges are rounded off in most spots. All that being said it will be much much nicer than using the imaginary anvil I had before. I hope to show some crude objects soon in the future, and knock some dust off this thing. Thanks for looking!
March 30, 201214 yr Remember - road runners are notoriously difficult to hit. Be careful where you're dropping that thing.
March 30, 201214 yr I'd be a betting that is one of the Hay-Budden made Acme's and a nice one with years of life in it!
March 30, 201214 yr Poor edges. You will want to make an edge tool for the hardy pretty quick for when you need a clean edge. Very nice overall. Phil
March 30, 201214 yr Phil has a good idea which is a lot better than trying to get it "fixed" which always sounds like what you do to a male dog, a terrible thing to do to an anvil. I guess that's what you get for not putting a radius on the edges in the first place a long, long time ago. Nice anvil you got there.
March 30, 201214 yr Yup it's pretty distinctive, you can get some old "ranch anvils" out here that are dang near ridge backed!
March 31, 201214 yr on the edge tool question dose anyone have a photo of one they like i am finding that now and then i really want a crisp edge and i have not been that happy with the the one i made for myself
March 31, 201214 yr http://www.iforgeiro...6953-new-edges/ these are hexagon. Mine is quite ugly. ugly. UGLY! and square. It has been ground on more since this picture so it is more usable, but still ugly. It works fine for the times I have used it. Phil
March 31, 201214 yr yeah thats about what mine looks like and my problem is i cant get as extreme an angle as i need i am trying to set up something so i can work over on the edge of my anvil so far everything i have tried has not really had the stability i am looking for
March 31, 201214 yr Got a welder? Do a deep penetration weld using an appropriate size post on a small plate that extends right to the edge of the anvil. Grind it back so it fits neat. Maybe not the blacksmith answer, but it will get you going with less aggravation. Phil
March 31, 201214 yr yeah its on my list of things to do the first one i made was out of half inch plate and it was just way to bouncy i keep diving into the scrap dumpster at recycling and i have my fingers crossed over a lucky dip
March 31, 201214 yr I'd be a betting that is one of the Hay-Budden made Acme's and a nice one with years of life in it! That anvils is made by trenton w/ an acme logo over it. The diamond is a dead giveaway, but on this anvil you can actually see the words trenton inside the diamond. Jake
March 31, 201214 yr Trenton it is. I thought I saw that on the picture. Oh- about the shaping shoes cold ruining an anvil edge like that. I did exclusively hot shoeing for 25 years,but have fellow shoers who did cold shoeing for years and I NEVER saw that kind of damage. The damage they did to the edge was rounding at the heel of the anvil even with or just forward of the hardy hole.That came from shaping hind shoes. Beating on cold shoes is still a sin but I hate to beat up cold shoers THAT bad!!! That anvil is prime for some buildup with 11018 Rod. I just did a repair with it. Preheat and follow instructions.
April 2, 201214 yr As mentioned that's the kind of damage found on old ranch anvils out here in NM that have been used for cold shoeing for the last 100 years or so.
January 1, 201313 yr I just picked up a similar-sized Acme from my dad. Apparently was used by my great-grandfather on his farm, but I noticed a thin layer (maybe 1/4") of the top surface on the heel around the pritchel hole has chipped off. Would a tool steel face be that thin? Also, to the original poster or anyone else who would know: Is there any particular key to the numbers printed on the base? Do they reveal anything about date of manufacture or anything?
January 1, 201313 yr Also, to the original poster or anyone else who would know: Is there any particular key to the numbers printed on the base? Do they reveal anything about date of manufacture or anything? Yes, I believe Postman's book Anvils in America has the key to manufacture dates by serial numbers. Also, if my recollections are correct I believe "Acme" was a label indicative of anvils marketed through Sears and Roebuck?
January 2, 201313 yr My first post and trying to be helpful ACME anvils were in fact marketed thru Sears and Roebuck. ACMEs were made by both Trenton and Hay Budden depending on the year. This anvil appears to be a 1908 (S/N 74001-82000)100 pound (Z100) Trenton according to AIA. I love digging thru AIA . Mark
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