Big heavy iron bracket?

[mojjax]

Found this at the remains of an old blacksmith site , same place where I found an anvil back in june .
This bracket is 2 feet across . The only marking is the number 3 . Any ideas

mojjax

 

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[MiddenMonster]

Found this at the remains of an old blacksmith site , same place where I found an anvil back in june .
This bracket is 2 feet across . The only marking is the number 3 . Any ideas

My guess would be a bracket used to hang a bell.

 

[Zobex]

Found this at the remains of an old blacksmith site , same place where I found an anvil back in june .
This bracket is 2 feet across . The only marking is the number 3 . Any ideas

mojjax

That's a cast iron bell saddle mount. That thing is bolted vertical to a beam or post. The bell is bolted to an inverted oxbow shaped cast beam that has pins on the end. The bell is settled vertically on top and the weight of the bell keeps the bell and oxbow cross beam firmly in the saddles. There would be a diagonally protruding arm from the bell cross beam that a rope or chain would be attached to to pull on. Because bells most commonly were made of brass or bronze, they were prone to theft. This made it easy to simply pick up and remove the bell and oxbow cross beam from the saddle mount and put it some place safe if need be. There were also mounts like this that were complete closed loops on the end and held captive the cross beam. Check the ends and see if the ends were cast or show marks of cutting or cracking off the ends.

Zobex

 

[trk5capt]

Yep, Mojjax, That Sure Looks Like A #3 Bell Hanger To Me. trk5capt...

 

[mojjax]

Thanks Midd'n , Trk5cap , Zobex - the ends look like they were ment to be open .The hole piece looks to be cast . I almost left it there , girlfriend rolls her eyes when I bring big hunks of metal home .

mojjax

 

[backitup83]

Yep that is a bell bracket. We had one in our front yard for years. With the bell of course. I would ring it when it was time for the kids to come home. I don't use it any more. One is 18 now and the other is 15. The two never did complain about it either. They would just come home.
Mike
The ends are open. The bell just sits on top of those two brackets. I had mine mounted on a 4x4 and sunk into the ground. Heavy sucker when I went to take it down.

 

[MiddenMonster]

Thanks Midd'n , Trk5cap , Zobex - the ends look like they were ment to be open .The hole piece looks to be cast . I almost left it there , girlfriend rolls her eyes when I bring big hunks of metal home .

I was at a flea market last Saturday (10/21) and some guy had a #2 bell with bracket for sale. The bracket was mounted in a hand-chiseled mortise on a length of tree limb that could have been used as a fence rail. He wanted $90 for the bell/bracket combination. The bell seemed thinner than what I would have expected. It definitely wasn't a brass bell. Too bad you don't have the bell that goes with your bracket, as it would have been worth more than the smaller #2.

 

[Michelle]

Found this at the remains of an old blacksmith site , same place where I found an anvil back in june .
This bracket is 2 feet across . The only marking is the number 3 . Any ideas

My guess would be a bracket used to hang a bell.

There ya go now you need the bell....You have a clapper and hanger now find a bell....Nice!

 

[Brush Creek]

Its a # 2 but does this help

 

[mojjax]

Wow , Brush Breek , that looks nice . Was it originally a school bell ?

 

[MiddenMonster]

Its a # 2 but does this help

That looks exactly like the bell and bracket I saw at the flea market.

 

[RON (PA)]

A bell bracket was my first thought too.