Mousehole 146 lb find

[Kevin A King]

13 minutes ago, ThomasPowers said:

Repaired anvils generally sell for less to users as well as you really can't tell if the person who repaired it did it correctly or not and generally you have only the seller's word and many a time they don't even know what the correct method of repair actually involves...However if you are never going to sell it and it's for personal use do you really care about how it affects it's resale value?

Good point Thomas!  I do still wish I had a "do-over" and I would have left that little Hay Budden Original.   

[ThomasPowers]

I remember how impressed I was at the SOFA shop and their large collection of anvils in very good condition.  Then I learned that most of them were actually repaired ones; but having been done the RIGHT way they were doing fine even under a "general" shop regime. I attended my first anvil repair day at one that SOFA put on.  I sure wish they were 1500 miles closer to me these days...

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

I have yet to see a surface grinder that follows a contour. I have a surface grinder, and have run others in the machine shops I worked at. The wheel sits at a pre-determined height, and the part reciprocates back and forth under it. The table is then moved forwards or backwards to grind the entire face being done. Surface grinders are used to make items dead flat. You can radius the wheel for grinding a straight radius. 

That anvils surface looks fine to use. I would only flap disc the edges to a smooth radius to help prevent more chipping.

[G-ManBart]

4 hours ago, Kevin A King said:

It is said several times above - This is your anvil and you can do as you wish.  

I REGRET the repair, I regret the work I did to this anvil and I wish I could take it back!  The anvil would be worth more to someone (A collector perhaps) as an old, rounded edge hay budden than in its current state of "perfection".

I wish you all the best in your repair.  If I had a DO OVER - I would NOT DO THE REPAIR my little hay budden below.  

Thanks for sharing that.

As I've said, I'm not certain I'm even keeping this anvil...when my buddy said he found an anvil, and gave me a reasonable price, I just had to grab it.   It really was just a thought that a very slight bit of work to the face might be useful, but that's all it was...a thought.  I think that may have gotten lost in the discussion.  

I figured it was worth continuing the discussion, because it might be useful for someone else since it's something of a hot topic. 

1 hour ago, BIGGUNDOCTOR said:

I have yet to see a surface grinder that follows a contour. I have a surface grinder, and have run others in the machine shops I worked at. The wheel sits at a pre-determined height, and the part reciprocates back and forth under it. The table is then moved forwards or backwards to grind the entire face being done. Surface grinders are used to make items dead flat. You can radius the wheel for grinding a straight radius. 

That anvils surface looks fine to use. I would only flap disc the edges to a smooth radius to help prevent more chipping.

I think they call it form grinding and contour OD grinding?  I haven't seen the setup the recommended shop uses, but the blacksmith I talked to said they have been working on anvils for years (they don't advertise the service).

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

If you are not going to keep it, don't mess with it. It will sell just as fast, if not faster in the condition it is in now as opposed to being "restored". 

[Mark Ling]

yes, let the buyer do what they want to do with it. That way they can make it for THEM. They may not want sharp crisp edges and a mirror finish, most smiths don't need 'em. Heck, they may just want to make there house feel like cracker barrel, and it may not ever touch hot steel, and they are looking for a "barn find" looking piece. And the people who know a thing or two about anvils, won't want an anvil that has been ground and welded on.

Do what you want, this is what I would do, It is yours after all, we cant stop you from anything, but we WILL give your our thoughts on it.

                                                                                                                           Littleblacksmith

[G-ManBart]

Again, I haven't decided if I"m keeping it, or selling it, but I'm absolutely interested in what other folks think, if only because it might help someone else.

With that said, let me add a constructive comment (honest) that I think helps everybody.  I never said anything about sharp, crisp edges, much less welding anything.  All I mentioned was dressing the edges where damaged, and thinking about just a little bit of work to the face to remove the dents.

You might wonder why I bring that back up.  What happens on forums is that someone reads your comments about crisp edges, and welding on the anvil, and they pile on because they either missed my original comments, misread them, or thought they missed something.  Next thing we know we've got an debate about two things that were never even mentioned by the OP, and all it does is confuse the issue.

Just look at the comments in this thread.  It's as if I started out by saying "hey, I found this anvil and want to make it look like new again" or something along those lines.  Nothing could be further from the truth, but it still went sideways quickly  

I just thought is was a pretty darned cool anvil, and thought folks here would appreciate it...I think we all would agree that it's a nice find, and that it deserves to be taken care of properly, and put back to work for another 150 years or so!

 

[JHCC]

When I first got my own MH thirty-some years ago, cleanup with an angle grinder was pretty much SOP, and yes, I did some grinding on mine. Not a lot, and not something I'd do now (having subsequently learned of the cleansing power of hot steel and scale), but it's holding up fine under some reasonably hefty use. 

I wouldn't recommend doing what I did, but I also wouldn't freak out at the thought of any abrasives sullying the undefiled purity of the face. 

[arkie]

Bart, I don't have a Mousehole anvil, but you have possession of a great piece of blacksmithing history there.  There's no telling how many tons of steel or iron have been forged on that old beauty.  If you don't have a lot of $$ invested in it, I would keep it and not do any work on it.  In that regard, I would recommend that you locate or buy Richard Postman's book, Mousehole Forge.  I have recommended it in the past to some owners of Mousehole anvils to enlighten them on the history of the Mousehole forge and the anvils from there.  I am not a history buff by any stretch of the imagination, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it several times to learn how the old anvils were made.  Since you are getting started in smithing, I think it would give you some exposure as to how it was done in the old days.  I would like to have an old Mousehole anvil to just place in the smithy and look at once in a while, wondering just what that old anvil has seen!

Happy forging!

[David R.]

A friend loaned me an old well worn Peter Wright (if my research is accurate made just before civil war) when he heard me complaining about the dead cast ALO I was using. Even with all it's dips and sways and rounding edges it is a joy to use. I have since acquired a nice Hey Budden in much better condition but still find myself going back to the old PW. She is like an old friend, I've grown quite fond of her and have learned to use some of her imperfections to advantage. He has rejected all my offers to buy her but says use her as long as you like. I'm always afraid he might call her home one day.

[Ranchmanben]

If it was mine, I'd take the wire wheel to it and grind, yes I said grind, the portions of the edges where it's mushroomed out past the width of the body, most espessially the spots where it looks like there are jagged protrusions. Nothing drastic at all, more of a smoothing the places that are likely to chip off. You've got to take this all with a grain of salt though since you've got it and I'm looking at small pictures on my phone.