TheLearned1 Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Okay, so this is my first anvil, aside from a RR track ASO. I was planning on sticking with that through the summer, but I was able to get this deal---$1.48 per (advertised) lb, not counting the car trouble it contributed to (that's a story for another time), which is very cheap for London pattern anvils in the Twin Cities (based on what I've seen). The face has a rebound of 76% on average. This is thrown off by the chip off the corner (see below) and one low spot in particular on the horn end---without those, it's more like 80%. I'm pretty sure it weighs at least 300 lbs---we used a loader to get it in the car, and two fairly strong buddies and I couldn't get it out again. We had to resort to borrowing an engine hoist. The face is quite pitted from missed hammer blows, and has sway of about 1/32" across the 21" length. It makes basically no noise, and this combined with the chipping made me think it was a cast iron, steel face "city anvil," but it has a total of 3 handling holes on the base and in the waist. So I'm not sure what it's made of, to start. The guy I got it from got it from a welding shop (they welded it to the stand, unfortunately), but didn't know where they got it from. I'm almost positive it's not wholly cast iron---the rebound is way too good for that. Second, I'm not sure who made it. I cleaned it thoroughly with vinegar (and neutralized with baking soda water), after vacuuming off 1/16" of grime. As you can see, it was painted red at some point. A visual inspection revealed no maker's marks. No problem, I thought---I happen to have a pair of magnifying surgeon's glasses. Checked it over with those, and found what looks like a very small "2," but no other letters or numbers around it. The body has been used to test chisels and punches an awful lot, and so it's very pitted. There's no upsetting block. Here are some pictures of it; does anyone have any ideas as to what the xxxx this thing is? Thanks for the help. Face of the anvil. Sorry for the potato quality, I'm still using an iPhone 4. E Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Good Morning, Nice Pictures!!! Very Detailed. Is it a Potato Shaped HanVil?? Welcome, check out the history. There is a Tonne of knowledge here. Read before you ask. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 From the feet I would say it is a Mousehole brand. Wrought iron base with a steel top plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou L Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 That MAY be an upper case “I” on the upper middle in the first photo. The shape, size and look of that letter screams Isaac Hill. Look for remnants of the word “Hill” directly underneath it in the same size font. Then “Birmingham” in smaller font directly below that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 When you say it makes no noise when tapping, do you mean it doesn't ring at all? I would think it should ring. Are you measuring the rebound with a ball bearing drop test? You have a good looking anvil. The heel damage shouldn't affect your work a whole lot nor any sway (dip) in the sweet spot. Your sway doesn't look bad at all in the pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Definitely one of the 200+ english anvil makers wrought iron with a steel faceplate. Should have some ring. If not there may be hidden damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLearned1 Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 After some more elbow grease, it is marked 2.2.27 (307#). The maker's mark is very faint, but I'm pretty sure I see the letter M, and the second line definitely reads "hole;" BIGGUNDOCTOR, if you think the feet are distinctive, it probably is a Mousehole. MC Hammer, it has about 0.75 seconds of ring . I think it could be that I'm used to a higher pitched ring from a smaller anvil. And yes, I was using the rebound test. At first I did it inside a plastic tube, but I was losing like 10-20% from the ball hitting the sides, so I did it with a tape measure and the figures got a lot better. Thomas Powers, see what I said earlier; there is some ring upon second inspection, and it's gotten a lot better since I cleaned the thing. It's a lower tone than I'm used to, but this is probably because it's a lot bigger than my 65 lb piece of RR track. Thanks a lot everyone! I'm pretty pleased with this anvil for $450, that's less than one half this size in my area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Buck fifty a pound ain't bad at all, these days. Regarding manufacturer, please remember that a LOT of anvilmakers got their starts working for Mousehole or Peter Wright or one of the other major makers and then went off on their own to make similar products. Unless it actually says "Mousehole" on it, don't assume it is. I think Lou is probably closer to the mark with his Hill conjecture; the feet are Mousehole-like, but not diagnostic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLearned1 Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 Good to know, JHCC. It's worth noting that the hundreds weight markings are probably dot-separated (or someone tested their punch exactly there), which is supposed to be distinctive of Mouseholes---see the photo--- though I agree that that's not conclusive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Be of good cheer: I didn't find the Mousehole markings on my 148 pounder until I'd owned it for thirty years. It performed equally well both before and after that discovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLearned1 Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 I'm firing up the forge tomorrow to see how it works; I'm not so concerned about that. It's just good to know the brand if I ever need to turn it around or something like that! Besides, who doesn't get obsessive about their first real anvil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Before Anvils in America there was very little fuss about age and maker of anvils; and my first one? It was stolen before I could obsess over it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Hammer Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 11 hours ago, TheLearned1 said: MC Hammer, it has about 0.75 seconds of ring . Is it high pitched like a bell? I'm not sure the length of time it rings is as important as the pitch. A buzzing ring could indicate problems under the hard face plate or delaminating of the face plate. I think that's what I was more interested in is the tone. Ping, ping, ping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanglediver Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 FACT:- Only ACME brand will do, (when it comes to roadrunner hunting). There are lots of Mousehole look-a-likes in the book. They must have been ALL THAT to emulate back in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 The Undisputed King of Anvils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted July 11, 2018 Share Posted July 11, 2018 Good Morning, I think you might be having a problem with a poor Anvil Stand, robbing the ring. 2 Cycle Ring-ding-dingy is different. Acme and RoadRunner seems to work best, vertical DOWN!!! Beep Beep Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 On 7/11/2018 at 4:33 AM, JHCC said: The Undisputed King of Anvils. Don't say things that start fights! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 The truth is the light! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Ok you got me beat when you can quote the Pope, or was it? L. Ron Hubbard , or was it?Jimmy Saville, or was it?Gandhi, or was it? Budha, or was it? Those Telly evangelists? Those nicely dressed folk at my gate last week. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 On 7/10/2018 at 6:33 PM, JHCC said: The Undisputed King of Anvils. 2 hours ago, ianinsa said: Don't say things that start fights! Pay him no mind Ian, when John is looking for a little attention he says silly things. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 2 hours ago, JHCC said: The truth is the light! The quoted sentence, supra, is a tad ambiguous. Was it a green light, An orange light, Or a red light. Indeed, is that light on daylight or standard time? Which time zone is truth? I wonder? SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 6 hours ago, ianinsa said: Ok you got me beat when you can quote the Pope, or was it? L. Ron Hubbard , or was it?Jimmy Saville, or was it?Gandhi, or was it? Budha, or was it? Those Telly evangelists? Those nicely dressed folk at my gate last week. Ian Ralph Ellison: “The truth is the light, and the light is the truth.” (from Invisible Man) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jclonts82 Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 On 7/9/2018 at 5:34 PM, TheLearned1 said: potato quality, With that remark, I imagine a banana for scale in the picture might be appropriate? Unless I'm way off the mark, in which case, disregard this comment completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Lady's Fingers, or Cavendish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 On 7/9/2018 at 7:34 PM, TheLearned1 said: Sorry for the potato quality Now you see how easy it is for a thread to "go off the rails". No matter what brand of anvil, it should serve well, nice find even with the little damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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