1841 mountain howitzer anvil!!

[Branson]

I just plopped down the first bid on the anvil of my current dreams.  Gonna be watching it like a very hungry hawk!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/230923792797?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1426.l2649

Luckily, my cohort in crime has money to spend, 'cause I don't. 

But who would have thought to see two of these anvils on eBay in three months time?  I was greatly surprised.

Wish me luck.

[Plyerman]

Well firstly let me say good luck Branson! So what is the story behind this anvil? What's this 'Mountain Howitzer' name all about?

[john k]

That is much smaller than what I was anticipating, interesting shape.   A fellow could get real creative and copy it, but why if you can swing the real thing!

[Branson]

Well firstly let me say good luck Branson! So what is the story behind this anvil? What's this 'Mountain Howitzer' name all about?

A friend and I are putting together a complete, working set of the tools used by the artificers who were assigned to mountain howitzer units during the Civil War.  A mountain howitzer is a small, largely anti-personnel cannon that was originally designed to be taken apart and carried on pack animals.  The reason for this was to enable horse artillery (in which all members moved on horseback) to move as quickly as cavalry, and also that cavalry could carry with them such a weapon.   Speed of deployment was all. 

Light artillery artificers were accompanied by a 1200 pound (unladen) battery wagon to carry long tools and spare parts, and a mobile or traveling forge both of which were drawn by six horse teams.  These were highly mobile, but nowhere near able to travel as quickly as cavalry.

The first mountain howitzer was the model of 1839.   In 1841, a series of changes were instituted in the gun carriage and in the tools carried.  These were used throughout the Civil War and into the Indian Wars periods.  Photos of mountain howitzers used and captured during  the Civil War show both types of gun carriage.

All the tools, for both smithing and carpentry, were carried on pack animals.  The forge and bellows itself folded up to fit in one of the boxes, another carried the tools and a special anvil.  These amounted to a travelling shop for all maintenance and repair and farrier work, one that could move as fast as cavalry or mounted artillery.

We bought a set of period plans and dimensions of all the equipment, which we are building and acquiring.  I've seen pictures of one surviving forge, and rather doubt that many, if any other of these survived.  The pan was constructed of .10 thick sheet iron, and I imagine that in the ensuing years, simply burned out.

It's taken a years worth of research to find out exactly what the anvil looked like.  The drawings made for the 1841 plans are different from the anvils as have been found, including the one in the photos of the known surviving kit.

[Branson]

That is much smaller than what I was anticipating, interesting shape.   A fellow could get real creative and copy it, but why if you can swing the real thing!

The cost of copying one of these is around $375 to $400.   We were looking at this until the second eBay deal came along.  Another sold in November of 2012, but we didn't recognize it for what it was until after the auction closed.   Whether we win this one, or end up having to have one made, I look forward to working on it and seeing what it can do.  During the 1850s onward, the Union Army supplied ready made horseshoes that could be fitted on such a small anvil.  Maybe it can do more, though making as well as fitting a shoe would seem to be impractical.  Some of the tools furnished, however, are tools for fabricating a horseshoe out of raw stock. 

[johnsironsanctuary]

It would take an enormous amount of grinding, but it looks like you could fake one out of a track anvil with the forged stake welded to the bottom.

[wrenchguy]

r u concerned about it being painted?

[Branson]

r u concerned about it being painted?

Mildly concerned.  You never know what could be hidden by paint, do you?  I think that anything hidden by the paint won't matter that much -- at least I hope so.

[Plyerman]

Thank you for the background information. Naive me, I couldn't figure out why a howitzer crew would ever have need of an anvil. Forgot about those pesky horseshoes that occasionally need to be replaced.

[rusty]

>why a howitzer crew would ever have need of an anvil

I was trying to figure out why Union Pacific would need farriers this morning, till I saw the picture of the Chinese laborers hauling fill for a track grade in horse drawn carts. Easy to forget how side by side technology was up till fairly recently..

[Aunt Phil]

Pawpaw Wilson was writing of a smith in the time of the Revolution when he left us too soon.  There are references to the trade in his book that quite probably didn't change much in the century that followed.  Dam good read along with information that holds today.
http://www.pawpawsforge.com/storyindex.htm

RIP Jim

[Branson]

Well, we got it.  It was a bloody bidding war, but getting an original cost only $5 more than having one reproduced.  Luckily, my partner in crime has enough money to make it possible.   I'm beginning to turn a stump into the stand pictured in the drawings.  Not having a lathe hefty enough to swing a 12 inch diameter log, it's going to be all hand work with hand saws, drawknives, and planes and such. 

The next thing on the list is the vise, which fits into the roughly 1/2 inch hardy hole.

[Plyerman]

That sounds like no small feat. Any chance you could post a picture of what you're hoping to reproduce?

(and congrats on the win by the way)

[Aunt Phil]

Well, we got it.  It was a bloody bidding war, but getting an original cost only $5 more than having one reproduced.  Luckily, my partner in crime has enough money to make it possible.   I'm beginning to turn a stump into the stand pictured in the drawings.  Not having a lathe hefty enough to swing a 12 inch diameter log, it's going to be all hand work with hand saws, drawknives, and planes and such. 

The next thing on the list is the vise, which fits into the roughly 1/2 inch hardy hole.

Couple flanges & stubshafts, 4 rollerskate wheels & a chainsaw make a pretty handy emergency lathe.

[Branson]

That sounds like no small feat. Any chance you could post a picture of what you're hoping to reproduce?

(and congrats on the win by the way)

Thanks for the congratulations.  I have a couple of photos of  an original, but they're too large to post here.  I'll see if I can reduce them.

The base is 10 1/2 inches by 7 1/2 inches,  tapers to full round at 5.7 inches, decreasing to 4.4 inches at the top, at a height of 18.7 inches.       
The worst part is going to be rip sawing the log to 8 X 12 before beginning the taper so I can register the dimensions accurately.  I can rough the billet out with broad hatchet and drawknife, and finish it off with plane and spokeshave.  (and probably belt sander).