ladysmith Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 I stole...err...bought an anvil at an auction this past Saturday. I finally got some pictures loaded, and want to see if anyone can confirm or tell me what I picked up. For some reason, I can't get the picture to show up. They can be viewed here Take a look and see if you can tell me what I bought. (Yes I have a good idea of what it is, but would like confirmation.) As you can see, the face is badly damaged, but I think fixable. Pam Face Heel Horn Right Side WritingEdit: photos and hot link added Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny D Posted October 19, 2005 Share Posted October 19, 2005 Looks like an M&R Armitage Mousehole. If your a good welder and not afraid to offen Vulcan you can repair the face by arc welding with some rods made for forging dies. Welding forging dies is common practice in the forging industry. I have seen dies with at least 50 pounds of weld deposited in the cavity so they could be resunk. Contact a welding supply company for info on the differnt rods available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GobblerForge Posted October 20, 2005 Share Posted October 20, 2005 Pam. Your anvil is indeed a Mouse Hole anvil. But I have to give some advice here if I may. Your anvil was, I believe, made between 1820 and 1830 and in original condition. Mouse Hole started puting pritchel holes in at about 1830. Yours lacks this, making an important dating tool for us. The body shape is wonderfull. You have a nice Blacksmithing artifact. I would recommend giving it a good home in your shop and have a toast on it from time to time and thats all. It is too nice to ruin by trying to "Improve" it. I have one about 10 years older that someone had allready "Fixed" so I didn't feel as bad about making it right but I would not have touched it if it were as nice as yours. Enjoy it for what it is. Almost 200 years old. Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladysmith Posted October 20, 2005 Author Share Posted October 20, 2005 Brad, Actually, I think the anvil is a bit older than you think. It doesn't have a pritchel hole. Here is a quote from a webpage on dating mousehole anvils..."I am passing on a rough guide to age that I am got from Jim Wallace at the National Ornamental Metal Museum. If the anvil does not have a step, and has an even smaller horn than the small one on other Mouse Hole anvils, and is attached directly under the end of the face, then it might not have a steel face, but could. This anvil would have been made in the 1750-1775 time frame. If it has a step, and is made by Armatage, marked as an Armatage Mouse Hole, then the face is hard steel. If there is no pritchell hole, it was made before about 1790-1795. If it has a PUNCHED pritchell hole, it is in the 1795-1850 manufacture range." and this concerning logos..."1780 - 1795: MOUSEHOLE 1795 - 1820: C&A MOUSEHOLE 1820 - 1835: M&H ARMITAGE MOUSEHOLE Since it has a step, but no pritchel hole, it should be from 1775 to 1795. Old indeed. I can't see any writing above the "OLE", so it well could be before they added M&H Armatage to the logo, and there isn't enough room to have C&A MOUSEHOLE. If it is in fact just the MOUSEHOLE logo, that would date it between about 1780 to 1790. Almost 225 yrs old. Not bad for a cheap anvil at a small farm auction, in the middle of Pennsylvania. Pam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GobblerForge Posted October 21, 2005 Share Posted October 21, 2005 Pam. Glad to see you think age matters. I spend some time each year at Quad State talking to Richard Postman. By his accounts the pritchel hole appeared about 1830. The shape of the body to me appeared to be of the latter style, making it after 1810 or so. Thats just my interpritation after working with information gathered, like everyone else, from other sources. I am no expert on dating anvils. I was just trying to help. I hope you keep it. I would however consider wire brushing all the light rust and paint and dirt out and putting a finish on it. Another gentleman I was talking with this year, who is quite a collector, stated that a wire wheel in a drill works well. I tried it and it worked great. Then he uses clear spray paint as finish. His anvils look superb. And it helps bring out any markings that are faint. I still havn't tried this yet. Thanks. Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forgedinfire123 Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 still using it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 The post has been in the archive since 2005. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 And she last visited this site on Oct 1 2011. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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