Hi,

I bought my first anvil today. The seller said it was a 1840 William Foster, 150lb. I'm not sure I trust his assessment as I see 1.0.13, which to my very limited understanding would be 125lb. Anyway, I don't see a crown, or a date, or anything else that would ID it as a Foster. It's just too hard for me to read. I tried baby powder, oil, and a combination, but I can't read a thing on there except the weight and a few letters.

Does anyone have an idea what I've got here? 

Regardless, I'm pretty excited to start using it. It's in pretty good shape except the chip in the face at the heel. Edges on the one side have dings, the other looks good.

Thanks in advance!

Hey Jesse- welcome to the madness. You are correct re the stone weight stamped in the side. These old eyes aren't seeing anything else I recognize. I don't think it is a Wm Foster, as according to Postman, they had logo and date on the side with the horn facing right, and the weight on the other side. There is some pretty good stamping in your pix, but I'm not seeing it right now. I have a few anvils with obscured stamping that I've been looking at for years. Then suddenly, I'm at the right angle, the lights are at the right angle and I finally found enough info to date my Hay-Budden.  You might also have one of the more obscure  anvil maker's product in your posession. I'm curious how it was determined to be a 1840 Foster.

Steve

Thank you Steve. I'm in SE PA too, just North of Philly. Originally from Central NJ.

The seller said when he sprayed it with WD he saw the date and Foster, or something like that. I don't think he was trying to deceive anyone, but I'm not seeing it. I hope you are right about it revealing itself in particular lighting. I'm going to try to do some gentle rust removal (no grinding). I don't want to risk damaging the stamping that is there. Hopefully that makes it a bit more clear. I'll need to get myself a copy of that book.

Does anyone know if the hundredweight markings would make it most likely English? When did they stop using that system? I'm hoping to get a date range at least. The pritchel hole commonly began in the 1830's I believe...

CWT makings == English.   When they switched to KG At the latest. I don't know if they ever went to a pound system in between.  I had a coworker from the UK whose bathroom scale still gave stone weight...

I believe that Brooks/Vaughn anvils (made in England) have the weight cast into the anvil in kilos on one side and pounds on the other.

I figured out what it is. 1830-35 Mousehole. The stamping is:

M&H

ARMITAGE

MOUSE HOLE

1.0.13

I've got the Anvils in America and Mousehole Forge books by postman ordered. 

Things became a little more clear after some vinegar cleaning. Next I tried electrolysis, and I was very impressed. I'm going to mount it up on a stump that I happen to have, but I need to level it. I'll post a picture when it's all mounted (if I remember).

Thanks for the help everyone!

Jesse

 

Same vintage as my Mousehole (aka The Undisputed King of Anvils). Good, solid piece of metal; may it serve you well. 

(Next John will be singing the Mickey Mouse song filked with Armitage Mouse hole...I think you should look up the meaning of "undisputed"...)

Agreed. John, you keep using this word, "undisputed," I do not think it means what you think it means.

Nice looking anvil you scored Jesse, congratulations. I'm a huge fan of electrolysis or other deoxidization of rust where applicable. My first experience was with dilute Naval Jelly and a hammer head with the eye literally filled solid with flaking rust. It came out like it was fresh from the factory, the only blemishes were where rust flakes had fallen off. 

What did you use for the electrolyte? 

Frosty The Lucky.

16 hours ago, Frosty said:

 

What did you use for the electrolyte? 

 

Just the regular washing soda. I think the ratio was like 1/2 cup per 5 gallons of water.

You got a mouse...COOL. I have a later made 100lb mouse and for some reason it just feels good to work on. I need to pay it some attention very soon.

Older English anvils have large sweet spots compared to later American anvils.  Much more suited for heavy work whereas the elongate American ones are better for ornamental work.

Got it mounted up. I had leveled a little pocket for the base to sit in, so hopefully it isn't going anywhere. The chains can be tightened if they loosen up. I threw some extra chain around the waist, but I'll experiment with it.

It isn't anything, but I heated some rebar as hot as a MAPP torch will get it and smushed the end. I felt like Hercules... Can't wait to get my real forge set up.

Thanks again for all the help everyone.

Looking good!