George N. M. Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 John: It seems that there are two large groups who we see getting into blacksmithing. a) young folk who have somehow been exposed to the craft on TV, the internet, or a live smith and b) folk like you who are older and had exposure to working hot metal sometime earlier in their lives and want to get back into the craft now that they have some time and resources available. There are many exceptions to this but these 2 profiles are common. Good luck and don't be a stranger to the forum. We'd like to see your progress. You may want to contact the nearest Artist Blacksmith Association of North America affiliate in your area. You can learn a lot faster working with a live smith than you can by yourself or trying to duplicate what you see on a video. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyanchor Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Probably the best $50 you will spend for a long time. 153 was the weight when it was made, S/N dates it to 1919. As long as the remaining top plate is still attached, there is plenty of working area over the waist. Good score, have fun with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Now you need to add the cost of the chiropractor to the cost of the anvil LOL. Sorry for your trip to the Dr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 If you have insurance that covers chiropractic, even a $50 copay makes the total a good price for the anvil! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anvilfound Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Nice find johnsolly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Lots of room left on the sweet spot; *PLEASE* don't remove any more of the face plate thickness on the rest of the anvil! If you want to repair it *right*; look up the Gunther Schuler method of anvil repair. I've seen anvils done that way in heavy use for a decade and still going strong---SOFA uses if for their shop anvils. I have also seen a lot of anvils repaired by welders who don't know squat about how anvils are constructed. They repair edges with no preheat and then the welds break off in the HAZ making things *worse*. Hope to see you at Quad-State! (I have a bit more of a drive than you have though.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Ooooh, SWEET SCORE John! Did you cut the crack stops across the face? Good move it will help prevent the delamination from progressing farther. I shouldn't have used the term Delamination, that looks like someone actually fractured the face plate. A delamination is the high carbon steel face plate coming unwelded from the anvil's body. While it CAN be repaired, doing it right is not a trivial process and can NOT be done without risk to the anvil. Please don't do any grinding on it, at least until you've used it for a year or so, any steel removed from the face is gone for good and represents years of useful life. That old beauty is good to go as soon as you make a stand. The best (usually) height is the face about wrist height, standing relaxed with your arms loose at your side. The recommendation of knuckle height is from a time were single man shops were a rarity, that low is better suited to: strikers, top tools and thicker stock. If you'd like to clean it up a twisted wire cup brush in a disk grinder is perfect, you'd have to go bug nuts silly overboard to remove enough steel to effect it. Once you have it cleaned to your liking a finish coat of boiled linseed oil or my personal favorite carnuba paste wax will keep it from rusting again. Once you've brushed it off you'll be able to watch it rust again in real time. Increased surface area on clean steel does that, sanding is even more susceptible. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnsolly Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Thanks for the replies! Finding this 153 pound Trenton anvil is definitely a high point. She will get loving care and attention (seems silly to say about an anvil). Yesterday my grandsons were visiting while I was “uncovering” it’s history. We talked about how it was made and it’s use as the years of rust and mold were removed. It’s had a long life, and now it’s a teaching tool. Who would have known a 102 year old piece of iron and steel could be so valuable. Her story lives on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Think of the pride the grandsons will have when it finally gets passed on to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anvilfound Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 I wish someone would have dated my trenton when I posted it im in Washington state eastern washington in the middle of hay fields with My 13 acre 120 year old dairy farm now a hobby farm and blacksmith shop. It is a Trenton 90 weight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyanchor Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 I would love to date your Trenton, does she prefer flowers and chocolate or hot metal and hammering? Long distance dating just really doesn't work for me though... AIA says 1904 for a birthdate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 John: It seems that tools can have souls of a sort. I'm not normally a touchy, feely kind of guy but I get the feeling and impression that tools want to work in the way they were intended. I have always liked "rescuing" old tools and putting them back to work. They seem "happier" to be at the work they were made for. And for some reason I seem to do better work if I am using a "happy" tool. That may be me or it may be the tool. It makes me sad to see old tools used as decorations rather than working. Seeing a chair or planter made from old spinning wheels or an old forge is like seeing one made of human bones. Creepy and inappropriate. Once I am gone I hope that my tools will move on to new collaborators (good word. Means "working together."). If there is anything to this anthropomorphizing your new anvil will be happy to be back in a shop rather than sleeping in a yard. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anvilfound Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Thanks rusty the information is much appreciated and yes she is banging out new steel every other day she has a new life thanks from the TRForge (rusty truck forge) Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brassgas Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 On 1/21/2021 at 8:16 AM, rustyanchor said: Probably the best $50 you will spend for a long time. 153 was the weight when it was made, S/N dates it to 1919. As long as the remaining top plate is still attached, there is plenty of working area over the waist. Good score, have fun with it! I have a Acme Trenton anvil. Marked N 125 A80217. Can you tell me what year it is? Thank you in advance. I was trying to post a picture but I can’t figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 There is a size limit to pictures on this site. Try resizing them smaller. (My *old* phone pictures always fit; now I have to resize some of my pictures to get them to fit and ALL of my wife's smart phone pictures have to be resized to fit.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 AinA says the date is 1908 pg 361, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yt12 Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 Great find---Great buy !!!---Sorry about the back, BELIEVE ME ,I feel your pain. I would use as is,plenty of good work space, but I would have to remove the damaged area first ( mostly aesthetics,but thats me)----Also a GREAT example of why you dont grind faces ----dont often see such an example of how thin the face plate can be----yours has a lifetime of work left, but would not take much to grind it away to a state of ASO. Best to you yt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelWelder Posted April 25, 2022 Share Posted April 25, 2022 I acquired this 129 lb Trenton Anvil recently. It was my grandfather's and I remember working with him on it in his basement. There is no diamond around the name. There's a 3 stamped on one of the feet, so I'm wondering if that's the serial number. There appears to be a 1 stamped on the opposite side of the name. There are no other markings that could help me date it. It is 23.75" long, 10.25" high, and 4.25" wide. Could anyone help me discern its history? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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