hi guys new here,ive been wanting to start blacksmithing for years now and finally bought myself an anvil,its a 1854-1975 mouse hole anvil with this written on it " M&H armitage mouse hole forge 1.0.13" so if im right and did my homework it should be 125lbs anyways just wondering if i got a good deal on this or if i overpaid(lol really wanted an anvil) got the set of tongs for free but paid 350$CDN for the anvil btw im from quebec canada anyways here the pics i cleaned her up with the metal brush that goes on the drill then oiled it with a little extra engine oil i had laying around

Edited April 22, 201511 yr by Eyesenish

Looks good to me.     Price is decent.  My personal favorite anvil type.  The only real issue will be how much of the original steel is left above the wrought iron body.  Finding a mouse hole in that good shape with out major problems is a stroke of great fortune.  I have two on the floor of my garage at the moment that will need major repair before use.

 

Congratulations! 

great thanks! i tested the ring and rebound when i bought it ,stills rings and rebound seems decent,theres not much dents on top mostly just busted up corners on one side the other is fine though

Edited April 22, 201511 yr by Eyesenish

that's a real score. Not many mouse holes over here on the prairies that I've found. anvils like that are worth 5 bucks a pound. I really want to fine one some time!

yeah kinda proud of my purchase here  just made another good one today though, i got a 60lbs leg vise for 20 bucks the only thing is that it was rusted preatty bad and the screw was jammed but i got to loose it and finally got that part out and now im trying to part out the rest to restore it fully,ill post pics when i geta chance

Eyesenish,

I recently received a copy of Anvils of America written by Richard Postman.  Included with the book was another book named Mousehole Forge.  Since A of A was a gift, I don't know if it was included as a free book by the giver or was purchased.  It is a full-sized paper bound book, of 108 pages, that goes into the most fantastic detail about the history of the Mousehole Forge in England and the anvils.  Wonderful reading.  You might try to locate a copy.

great! thanks bud ill order one this week once i get my paychek  (spent too much this week)

In looking at some of the Mousehole anvil pictures in Postman's book, Mousehole Forge, you have a very nice specimen there!!

sweet ,c'ant wait to try her out to see what it felt like to use tools of the good old days just need to set up my forge now and finish restoring that vise of course, ill work on that tomorrow morning though

leg vise is done as well now need to do the forge  heres the link to the vise http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/42027-unknown-leg-vise/

WOW, The MH anvil is an exact match to the one I have. Looks identical, same condition except for the teapot on the end of the bick. I bet you'll have that dressed in no time.

sweet post pics if you can

reviving an old post of my anvil here havent even had the time to use it yet been so busy lately but today i had a little time to dress the horn back to its normal state( no more tea pot) and resquared the mushroomed edges of the cutting table,altough i didnt touch the top and i wont its clean enough as is and i dont want to screw it up so anyways heres the pics of it now

Edited October 31, 201510 yr by Eyesenish

That old Mousehole looks great.  You did well with cleaning up the horn and table and were very wise to leave the face alone.  It's in fine shape as is for forging.  Enjoy it.

BTW, were you ever able to get hold of Postman's Mousehole Forge book by purchase or loan?

nah not yet but i actually forgot about that, altough now that you reminded me im gonna order one right now

just ordered it

Finally used it after owning it for 6 years lol had to take a pic so here it is.

Better late the. Never! Also nice looking stand!

4 hours ago, TWISTEDWILLOW said:

Better late the. Never! Also nice looking stand!

thanks bud my brother in law made it hes a welder by trade. its preatty sweet.