Subject: Bog Iron and Furnace Town

From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 14:36 -0500 (EST)

Mark,
Thanks again for the invite.  I'll have to consider coming down there. 

The mining info you provided is helpful -- I always expected it was something 
like that, but I got my info from oblique references (like the fact that only in
swamps would the water be slow enough for the iron to precipitate out, that the 
"miners" were called "ore lifters", and that they worked in boats).  

Mind if we reprint your email in the next AVBG newsletter?

Bruce

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From: Page Thomas <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 12 Feb 1996 13:45:18 -0600 (CST)

>From The American Blacksmith, September 1914.  History of Development of 
the Anvil--1, by James Cran.  Evidently he had just visited the Mouse Hole 
Forge in Sheffield, England and the Peter Wright Forge in Dudley, England.

For he states, "The present owners [of of the Mouse Hole Forge], Brooks & 
Cooper, have run the works for upwards of 38 years, and are still making 
anvils that are hard to beat ... and they operate their forge to this day 
with no other power than that developoed by an old-fashioned water wheel.
 
The same old-fashioned helve hammer, or 'metal helve' as 
it is locally termed, is still doing duty and is operated by the already 
mentioned water wheel. The building itself, with its old-fashonied solid 
stone walls and low arched windows and doorways, shows but slight signs 
of the ravages usually worked by time, and are apparently good, barring 
misfortune, for centuries to come.
 
Originally the Mouse Hole anvil was made up of 6 pieces by the building up 
process. The corners of the base or feet, the horn and tail or heel was 
welded on to a centerpiece.  After this the steel face was welded on in 
sections, trimmed and finished to the desired shape by hand tools.  The 
face was then ground and hardened and, after hardening, the face was 
again ground and finished."

I have a Wilkinspon anvil, made in Dudley. It is a six piece anvil, the 
horn and tail have been broken off, but it is  clear that they have been 
forged on to the centerpiece as have the corners of the 
feet.

More next time.

Page.

[email-masked]