Old anchor

[Treyd7723]

Anyone have an idea of type and possible date .. and steps to preserve this beauty

 

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[Treyd7723]

Measurements are 68inch tall 54 fluke to fluke

 

[Treyd7723]

More pic

 

[MPH200]

Looks like a Kedge anchor 1700-1800. Get it in fresh water ASAP.

 

[villagenut]

distilled water would be good for an extended time. It will help leach out the chloride ions from the rusted iron.

 

[capt dom]

Agree with the kedge Anchor description.
Looks like the shaft is about gone to ferris oxcside.. If you wish to attempt preserve it. It must be run with electrostatic reduction in a large enough tank to preserve it. Make a tank out of two by twelves PT and line it with heavy plastic or a landscape pool liner. Wrap anchor with heavy stainless steel wire preferably touching bare metal here and there. Cover with fresh water and add some caustic soda to it to create an electrolyte. Do this in a well ventilated area. Get another chunk of stainless steel and a 6 volt low amp battery charger. Hook up the positive and negative wires one end to the wire on the cannon the other end on the chunk of stainless steel. I think positive to the chunk of stainless steel and the negative to the wire wrapped around the anchor. Make sure the cathode and anode ar not touching then plug the battery charger in and turn it on. If you put enough caustic soda in eventually small bubles should start appearing and rising from the artifact.
Now wait about a year or two occasionally brushing off the anchor and then changing the solution.

When you think its done. Brush "Ospho" all over it and cover it in heavy black epoxy.
I don't suggest you attempt to use it as that shaft really looks punky...

 

[xaos]

I would suggest that given the condition...the efforts to even stabilize may not be worth the cost and effort.

Restore...well

Capt Dom....simply having a stainless anode will do little for a restoration...while this will facilitate the cathodic reaction, this will take material away from the artifact in the reaction.
You need to have a a counter anode to replace the electron produced by the anodic dissolution..typically that is a platinum or other high density material such as graphite. This will act as an inert material with zero net exchange of material.
Luckily, while platinum anodes are expensive, there is no loss in the process.
I have used graphite sheets, and they are cheap compared to platinum, the results are not the same, and one uses quite a bit more, so you have to watch the process more closely.

 

[Madmox]

Agree with the kedge Anchor description.
Looks like the shaft is about gone to ferris oxcside.. If you wish to attempt preserve it. It must be run with electrostatic reduction in a large enough tank to preserve it. Make a tank out of two by twelves PT and line it with heavy plastic or a landscape pool liner. Wrap anchor with heavy stainless steel wire preferably touching bare metal here and there. Cover with fresh water and add some caustic soda to it to create an electrolyte. Do this in a well ventilated area. Get another chunk of stainless steel and a 6 volt low amp battery charger. Hook up the positive and negative wires one end to the wire on the cannon the other end on the chunk of stainless steel. I think positive to the chunk of stainless steel and the negative to the wire wrapped around the anchor. Make sure the cathode and anode ar not touching then plug the battery charger in and turn it on. If you put enough caustic soda in eventually small bubles should start appearing and rising from the artifact.
Now wait about a year or two occasionally brushing off the anchor and then changing the solution.

When you think its done. Brush "Ospho" all over it and cover it in heavy black epoxy.
I don't suggest you attempt to use it as that shaft really looks punky...

I am not positive about cathode vs anode but using stainless steel as an anode gives off hexavalent chromium which is WAY bad news. Just ask Erin Brockovich. It seems like it would be less bad as a cathode since it wouldn’t dissolve as readily but for my money I would rather use copper wire.

 

[Madmox]

If you have access to a stick welder I would try to open a small patch to clean metal and tap the welding rod on the clean spot to weld the rod to the metal then use that as your point of connection instead of the wire. Then the corrosion won’t act as an insulator between the anchor and the wire acting as a cathode.