Found & Cleaned-up very old 122lb Mouse Hole

[MayerMR]

So I traded some nice vintage/antique power tools (Craftsman Mohawk drill press, table saw, jointer, and 5" Wilton bullet, and a HF welder setup) for this nice old lady. Turns out it may be quite old, but it looks like it was well-taken care of most of its life. I hope that I can continue the trend of good caretakers. 

 

After some basic prep (knocking off the loose dirt and debris and using acetone to remove that black tar-like substance, it took an overnight bath in the electrolysis tank:

 

 

Out of the tank and after some basic brushing with a SS wire brush. Then sat in the sun to dry out for several hours:

 

After dried, a more detailed brushing was undertaken to get the remaining rust and detritus out of all the nicks and crevices. Followed by a pretty gentle overall wire brushing to even out the bright spots from the detailed brushing. Lastly, a light coating of BLO (boiled linseed oil) over the whole surface. Pretty happy with how it turned out. Now I just need to make a stand for it and get to work.

 

Lastly, does anyone know what this marking under the horn means? Is it a centering mark?

 

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Looks like a very fine 122 pound MH. I think that mark is a British Military acceptance Broad Arrow.

You might want to edit your post and reduce the size of your pictures. While in edit double click on the pictures and a window will open. I usually select 500 for the width and tab over for the other size which will select the best one automatically.

[MayerMR]

Thank you. And that would be neat if that was what the mark was for. Being as old as it is, it makes me wonder what (if any) war this this made items for. 

Also, I don't seem to see where I can edit my initial post...which is weird because I remember doing it yesterday.

[Chris C]

I don't know exactly what the time limit for editing a post, but there definitely is one.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

There is a 30 min window for editing, also quoting the post just prior to your reply is frowned upon. The reason for that and large pictures is there are folks that have to rely on dial up internet and or pay for bandwidth\data and large pictures take up a lot and are very slow to load. More than likely one of the moderators will fix the pictures for ya.

I imagine your MH has been imported from Britain or Europe. I don't think it's old enough for the AWI or War of 1812. Although because it dosen't have a pritchel hole it is old. I learned about the Broad Arrow while restoring old muskets.

I just looked up the Broad Arrow codes and the Arrow with an O is accepted in 1942. The anvil is older but was probably pressed into service then.

[Chris C]

MayerMR,

I communicated with the owner of that anvil you traded for and he didn't want money..............just trade.  I really had nothing to trade for it.  I think you got yourself a nice anvil.  Now that it's cleaned up, you need to start movin' some metal.

[CrazyGoatLady]

I remember seeing that one. It cleaned up real nice

[Daswulf]

Pre 1830's with it lacking the pritchel hole. 

[MrTMichaud]

Nice find.

 

[ThomasPowers]

Notice how clean that stamp is and the area looks to have been dressed before stamping.  Definitely does not date back to the forging of a non-pritchel MH!

Last time I traded a Wilton bullet "cadet" for an anvil it was for a 165# HB and it was an even trade; about 10 years ago IIRC. (He collected vises, I need anvils; we both were happy!)

[arkie]

Mayer, I recommend you acquire a copy, loan or buy, of Richard Postman's book Mousehole Forge.  Fascinating reading about the history of those anvils and the forge.

[MayerMR]

22 hours ago, Irondragon Forge & Clay said:

I imagine your MH has been imported from Britain or Europe. I don't think it's old enough for the AWI or War of 1812. Although because it dosen't have a pritchel hole it is old. I learned about the Broad Arrow while restoring old muskets.

I just looked up the Broad Arrow codes and the Arrow with an O is accepted in 1942. The anvil is older but was probably pressed into service then.

That's really interesting! I wonder if it was taken up and used during WW2 over there before making its way over here?

 

22 hours ago, Chris The Curious said:

MayerMR,

I communicated with the owner of that anvil you traded for and he didn't want money..............just trade.  I really had nothing to trade for it.  I think you got yourself a nice anvil.  Now that it's cleaned up, you need to start movin' some metal.

Yes, I think I may have just gotten lucky on the deal. The real items of value were the 5" bullet, the 2 yr only Craftsman "Mohawk" drill press, and the HF welder setup w/mask/cart/gloves, tools. The Craftsman jointer and table saw need a complete nut/bolt restoration, so while complete, were "throw-in's" on my part - I have versions of both that are already up and running and I just thought he'd like them. 

 

9 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

Notice how clean that stamp is and the area looks to have been dressed before stamping.  Definitely does not date back to the forging of a non-pritchel MH!

Last time I traded a Wilton bullet "cadet" for an anvil it was for a 165# HB and it was an even trade; about 10 years ago IIRC. (He collected vises, I need anvils; we both were happy!)

Thomas, I'm wondering if you mean the dressed up, ie "shinier" area around the stamp after it came out of the e-tank, but before the BLO. If so, that was actually my doing. I cleaned up all the stampings with a dremel tool and wire brush so I could get all the gunk out of the crevices. If that's not what you mean, then I don't know. Everything about the anvil looks original to me, down to the "British Broad Arrow" - so *shrug* beats me. 

 

12 hours ago, Daswulf said:

Pre 1830's with it lacking the pritchel hole. 

Based on Richard Postman's book, this would put it between 1816-1830. I'm tickled to death with how old it is and all that it has "seen" since it's forging. That stuff just gets me excited.

 

9 hours ago, arkie said:

Mayer, I recommend you acquire a copy, loan or buy, of Richard Postman's book Mousehole Forge.  Fascinating reading about the history of those anvils and the forge.

 

Already did and the arrived last night! I must admit that I immediately skipped to the Mouse Hole section to see about placing an age to the anvil, but I'm excited to read through the rest of it!

 

Thanks all for your kind comments and thoughts. I'm pretty excited about this find and look forward to building a nice stand for it soon!

[ThomasPowers]

No I meant that to my eye it looks like a smoother section right where that was stamped and there doesn't look to be a lot of weathering of that stamp. Compare it with the stamping on the side that was original to that anvil.

[MC Hammer]

Nice find and a great clean-up job on it!

[MayerMR]

On 7/16/2019 at 10:29 PM, ThomasPowers said:

No I meant that to my eye it looks like a smoother section right where that was stamped and there doesn't look to be a lot of weathering of that stamp. Compare it with the stamping on the side that was original to that anvil.

 

Ah, I understand. Maybe that could have to do with its placement at the foot rather than on the sides though? 

I just did some (re: very little) digging into the history of the British Broad Arrow and from all the images that I could find, the letter code was always placed to the side or under (what would be the shaft) of the arrow. Really makes me wonder if we are just inferring a Broad Arrow on what may be a centering point? Though why they would be a centering point on an anvil is beyond me. Regardless, still pretty xxxx interesting and I appreciate everyone's input.