Mouse Hole Anvil Opinions?

[Donal Harris]

I found this for sale. 120#. Asking price is $450. 

I’m a little concerned about the edges which appear to have been welded. I think I can make out traces of welding in the Hardy hole. 

It is 4 hours away from me. How risky would you say this is?  I like the Mouse Hole anvils. They all look thick and stout. 

What do you think. Take a day trip to Arkansas and see the sights along the way to look at an anvil that is likely a dud?  Maybe even pick up some other anvil or tools along the way. Central Oklahoma has a few anvils to be found but all see to be at full inflated Forged in Fire and Game of Thrones prices. 

[JHCC]

A little under $3/lb for The Undisputed King of Anvils, so not bad. Edges look a bit rough, and I share your concern about the possible welding. The thick heel of a MH can be hard to work around sometimes, but the thick waist is great for heavy hammering. 

That said, are you willing to invest the time, gas, and wear-and-tear on your vehicle if it's NOT the anvil for you? Are you willing to walk away if it's not right, or will you fall prey to the Sunken Cost Fallacy?

[ThomasPowers]

Would that be similar to the "clasping of cold anvils" that Epictetus deplored?  

[Donal Harris]

I let a very clean (except for the bird poop) 154# Sodefors @ $750 pass me by at the Sulphur, Oklahoma Tractor Show a month or so ago. 

I let a decently repaired 130ish# Arm and Hammer anvil pass me by last month. It had two Pritchel holes which threw me. That coupled with the welded and reworked edges. $500. 

Peter Wright. Unknown weight (described as all you can carry) $400. It was just 40 miles away, but someone had welded chain links to the base. So I passed. 

Properly priced anvils in the Central Oklahoma area seem to be rare now. Any one of the above anvils would have been acceptable. 

I suppose I am like my dad in a way. He can spend two or three years looking for a new truck. 

[ThomasPowers]

On the other hand I was once bemused at an on-ling used vehicle site that wanted to know what color I wanted---the color of the first one that meets my specs on age, mileage, condition and cost...

[Donal Harris]

Bought it. $400 + a steak turner/bottle opener in trade. Now I have to make the 4 1/2 hour trip to BFE to pick it up. 

[Donal Harris]

Well that one fell through. I made the mistake of telling She Who Must Be Obeyed that I was going to Arkansas to pick up an anvil.  Since I prefer to not cook my own food, wash and iron my clothes, and certain other things, I obeyed. 

The anvil I actually ended up with is much more beat up than that one, but being 92lbs is probably better for me now anyway. I sometimes need to load up for demos. Not to show off my awesome smithing skills. I do it primarily because it lets me forge all day without worrying about the noise, and to show people that, yes people still do this AND it doesn’t cost nearly as much to start as you think. 

I think it may be a farrier’s anvil, because the waist is narrower and the heel is thinner than they are on most other Mouseholes I have seen. The face still has most of the plate left and is reasonably flat. Less than 1/16th of an inch light visible under a straightedge. A half inch ball bearing bounces 9 inches when dropped on any place the face is left. Someone in the distant plast welded the edges. Not a good job but it has not hurt anything as far as I can tell. 

Since it is a rather common anvil and not one I spent a lot of money on, $2.60/lb, I think I should be able to repair it for less than I could buy a comparable Mousehole in perfect condition, especially here in Oklahoma where almost any decent anvil appears to be selling in the $4.50 - $6.00 per pound range. There is plenty of info here on how to do it. My son-in-law is a welder, that coupled with the instructions should make it possible.

[duckcreekforge]

I tried to follow the storyline, but got lost. If other people welded the anvil, top or base, it’s no good but if your son welds it it’s good? If you found a very nice “original” anvil for cheap, would you then sell your “welded” anvil for dirt price? Trying to follow the line of thought.

[ThomasPowers]

Thickness of the waist has nothing to do with it being a farrier's anvil. Usual indicators for an old farrier's anvil are two pritchels and the clip protruding  on the side of the cutting plate. For a new farrier's anvil: turning cams!

Is that a marking on the side?

[Donal Harris]

On 12/25/2018 at 5:37 PM, duckcreekforge said:

I tried to follow the storyline, but got lost. If other people welded the anvil, top or base, it’s no good but if your son welds it it’s good? If you found a very nice “original” anvil for cheap, would you then sell your “welded” anvil for dirt price? Trying to follow the line of thought.

I know nothing of the other people or how they went about welding the edges. My son-in-law, on the other hand is a known for me, as will be the process he follows. As for selling it when a perfect anvil presents itself, no. I want a larger one as a primary anvil, but will keep this one because I can easily transport it. But if I were to sell after repairing it, I wouldn’t let it go dirt cheap. As long as we follow the proper steps, the anvil should be almost as good as when new. 

 

2 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

Thickness of the waist has nothing to do with it being a farrier's anvil. Usual indicators for an old farrier's anvil are two pritchels and the clip protruding  on the side of the cutting plate. For a new farrier's anvil: turning cams!

Is that a marking on the side?

Thanks for the info. One of the two different anvils the SCABA is considering selling has turning cams. I have one of their swage blocks and like it a lot. Assuming the anvils are also priced well, I will likely buy one of the 75 lb models to use in my garage.

it does have making on the side facing you when the horn is to your right, but it is almost all gone now. I will try a pencil rubbing or maybe chalk dust to see if I can get it a little more legible for a photo. There is still enough left the I can make out part of Armitage, what appears to be an image of a mouse followed by the word HOLE. At the bottom I can see the 0 and 3 pretty well, but the third part of the weight number I can’t. It is either an 8 or 14. If an 8 the anvil weighs 92 lbs and if 14 it weighs 98, if I am calculating the English system correctly. I can’t actually weigh it because we are one of the few homes in the USA without a set of scales in the bathroom. 

I got it mounted today. I didn’t forge anything. All I did was make a hair thing for my wife from 4 gauge copper ground wire.  I will try to make a steak turner tomorrow evening. 

It was very loud until I got it chained down to the stump. Now it is too quiet, but perhaps that was just because I was striking copper and not steel. 

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Hmmm, it will be interesting to see how much the repair cost + anvil cost compares to buying the first one in better shape.

[Donal Harris]

The true cost of buying the first one would be hard to calculate. Oklahoma doesn’t require alimony, but they do child support. Plus unlike many men, I really would miss my wife if she were gone. :-)

i will track what I spend. I expect it will be very close unless I add the cost of the fuel I would have spent driving to Arkansas to pick it up. 

One benefit of doing the repair is the experience. Having succeeded or failed with an anvil no one cares about, I will feel a little more confident attempting repairs to my Dad’s anvil. He got it from his maternal grandfather who was a working blacksmith in Graham, Oklahoma. It is in very bad shape. Much of the plate is gone from the plate. The only flat spot on it is the table. The Hardy hole area is still there, but the Pritchel part of the heel was broken off long before I was born. If Dad agrees, I will probably find a professional to do the skilled work and I will just do the cleanup.