February 25, 201412 yr Hey all, I finally found my first anvil! I wanted to share my new toy with all of you (visually B) ) and give you some before and after pics. It's a Mousehole, marked at 125# (1-0-13) but my bathroom scale measured a bit over 119#. I got it for $150 via C-list. Based on the ABANA forum it's from the early to mid 1800's. You can just barely read: "..........AGE ....USE HOLE" My wife and I have had many laughs over the implications of an 'age use hole.' Anyway, this is what it looked like when I bought it. As you can see, it was pretty ugly. It had about 5 different shades of spray paint on it, black, orange, silver... yuck. There was also some thick stuff glooped on the the horn which seemed impenetrable. You could barely see 'HOLE' through the orange. I had a National Guard drill this weekend, so I used the anvil as an excuse to buy an inexpensive battery charger and set up a simple electrolytic rust removal station If I'd had more time I would have found more materials and made a better setup, but this worked quite well. It zapped for 2 days and after a rinse and a scrub: I gave it a good massage with a generous helping of linseed oil, and it stands ready to be used. It has a slight sway back, but I've read from a lot of you that a sway can be beneficial, so I will leave it alone. Aside from that, the only real flaws are a very slight mushrooming on the edges and a good size chip on the step behind the horn. There's also no pritchel hole, but I'm assuming I can improvise something for punches. A friend of mine is going to give me a stump that I will set it into. I need to come up with a small forge set-up, so if anyone has ideas, feel free to shoot. Here's more pics!
February 25, 201412 yr If memory serves be correctly, then no pritchel hole means that it was made pre-1836. It appears to be in great shape.
February 25, 201412 yr Greetings Desert, Super find.. It will serve you well for the next 100 years.. Enjoy Forge on and make beautiful things Jim
February 26, 201412 yr Beautiful anvil! I'm a huge proponent of electrolysis rust removal. It's just too easy to do to not have a tank ready to drop stuff in. No pritchel hole isn't a biggie. A bolster block takes all of five minutes to drill out and allows you to have a selection of holes better suited to punching different size holes. Pritchel holes were commonplace after 1830 or so. Not having one means you've got a serious oldie on your hands. I can't imagine the stories she could tell!
February 28, 201412 yr Author Thanks to everyone for the historical tid-bits. This thing means even more to me now that it's somewhat rare. And an antique at that! Can't wait to get forging! Just need to get a few more things and I'll be hammering away. Would it be safe to say that tongs would be a good first project?
February 28, 201412 yr Tongs are a great first project. You're going to need them (actually you'll need a bunch of them), so you might as well learn how to make them. Gary Houston on youtube has a nice tutorial on make a light pair out of half-inch stock. If you don't have a welder, look at Brian Brazeal's video. As long as you do exactly as he's doing in the video, you'll end up with a pair of tongs every time. I'd love to know the history on that anvil. To be that old, have traveled halfway across the globe and survived in such great condition.... it's simply amazing. I could see her being part of the Goldrush. Maybe she helped make picks and shovels for the 'Niners. Maybe she helped rebuild San Fran after that bit of a flame-up they had. Who knows?!
February 28, 201412 yr Nice anvil, congrats. Don't fret over the slight sway in the back, it doesn't need to be "fixed". Just use it as is. That anvil ventured a long way from its birthplace, if only it could talk.
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