njanvilman

Where are we going to get boat anchors and door stops???

Congrats on the anvil. I am mostly around till Labor Day, then back to teaching. If you are making the trip, I am 30 miles from Exit 7A on the NJ Turnpike. PM me for the exact address if you think you will make it through when I am around. Last year when I went to Rockingham speedway from here, it took 10 hours and right at 600 miles. Where you are going is about 4 1/2 hours north of here. All of these times assume no traffic problems. I always leave by 4 am and try to travel on Sunday. Labor Day weekend...who knows.

Quote: (I'm looking at a Fisher anvil that I'm trying to get. She's real dreamy, with a perfect horn and a face that shines real pretty. My dream anvil.... sigh :wub: The current owner doesn't know about anvils, and I'm relying on pictures to guess the size, weight and age. From what I'm told, the face is 5" wide and the O/A length is 29". That would seem like a larger anvil, but what weight am I looking at? The owner says her hubbie told her it was 350#. And the numbers on the foot of the anvil, she thinks, are in the stone weight and would make it 320#.) Checking anvils in the museum would put that anvil's weight around 300 lbs. They were never exact. Only way to be sure is to weigh it. My questions: When did Fisher start or stop casting bolt-holes into the feet of the anvil? Fisher first put the lugs on anvils in 1892. They were on anvils from 100 to 350 lbs. I have noted two 400 lbers with lugs recently. Did Fisher have the Eagle's head looking Right or Left, and did they ever switch it? Fisher used at least 6 different Eagles over time. They mostly relate to a particular period of time of production. Did Fisher ever use the old weight system, or are these numbers a date/batch indicator? Fisher never used the English weight system. Those numbers are batch numbers put on by the moldmakers. I am still trying to make sense of the system. The 1882 is the year the anvil was made. If you end up with the anvil, and make the trip up to Mass. to retrieve it, contact me for a visit. You will only be 30 miles away, all highway miles, on you way through NJ.

If you have access to a magnetic base drill, you can drill holes as you need them.

Fisher often cast steel handles into their smaller sawmaker anvils. I have several with "carry" handles. In the last few months, a few Fisher anvils with handles cast into them have come to light. The first one I bought is an 1860's era with the small round eagle. It has one handle under the horn. It is 100 lbs. The second one is an 1870's era with the large proud Eagle. It originally had two handles, one under the horn and one under the heal. The heal handle is long gone, with the round stubs still in the casting. This one is 150 lbs. There was one on EBAY a few months ago that I missed, but did not sell. The one you found is the fourth one to come to light recently. If you could get photos of it, that would be much appreciated. (And if it is for sale, please let me know) As to the rarity, who knows. I thought they were unique, till the second, third, and now fourth appeared. If any one else knows of any, please chime in.

Just try it. Any hammer time is experience time.

If your window weights are the old cast iron type, I would not use them. They are cheap cast iron, very hard to machine, and very brittle. I would find some good steel and machine them using a taper attachment on a lathe. Or better yet, forge them down to shape, then file or machine them.

FYI: Moldmaking was done Monday afternoon through Thursday. Mold were closed on Friday morning and poured once the iron was ready. Cooling all weekend, then open the castings on Monday morning. I think that that anvil had a rough life and progressively lost its face. Then lots more hammering was done on it. If it was closer, I would grab it for the museum, as an example of what happens if you abuse anything.

Are the dates of Sept 21-23 correct? I had it on my calander for the following weeks. Someone who knows please confirm the correct dates.

I picked up a Fisher farriers pattern anvil identical to the one at the top of this post. I now have two of these Fishers with the horseshoe and eagle on its side. Todays has a 1897 date, my other one is dated 1902. This topic is about one from 1900. Anyone out there have one of these? If you do, could you report on its date. I am trying to figure out the year range that Fisher made this style. Thanks.

I have a piece of 1/8" aluminum plate under the carpet in the back of my Chevy Trailblazer, plus I put down plywood for big anvils. And I secure it with nylon strapping to the hooks in the floor, and sometimes to the trailer hitch. You do not want to become "one with the anvil or steel" if you have a panic stop.

Nice score. Just a bit of information about your anvil.....1907 was FISHER's biggest year of production. This resulted from good "world wide" marketing and having a good product. In my museum, I have at least 4, maybe more from that year.

After years of proding of why I never made it to QS, I too will be there for the first time this year. I cannot wait. Already saving my sheckels.

Fisher made a line of Farrier anvils in the early 1900's that were about 150 lbs, and had the horseshoe cast into the side. It also has the toe clip extension on the horn. Your anvil is in great shape. It does not appear to have had much use. Just a light wire wheeling and some light oil and its good to go for a few hundred more years. If you want to know more about Fisher anvils, look up some of my past posts.

Delaware here I come. I did not make it to Rapid City, but this one I will not miss. I have already started talking to Peyton about a visit to my museum, or a display at the conference. Peyton Anderson did mention that he is trying for an August date.

You can always do a small dishing with an small grinder, first with a coarse disc to set the shape and depth, then finish with flap sander disc(not sure what the correct term is for these, but they work great).

Hello from NJ. I sent a question to the seller yesterday questioning its make. He actually has no idea and put the anvil up more for the fun of it. To me, it looks like a Vulcan or equivilant. I asked the seller how he knew it was a Fisher. He has no idea. I doubt he will get any movement at all. And, yes, it is stiring up conversation. Thats about it. Fisher made various sizes of Minums. 000, 00, 0, and 1 are the small size markings. ooo = 1/2 lb oo = usually 4 lbs(over the years they used different patterns hence different sizes) o = usually 8, but sometimes 10 lbs 1 = usually 10, but sometimes 13 or 15

Fisher first put their initials on anvils in the 1870's. F N under the horn. 1880 was the first year with the FISHER on the base under the horn. This practice continued until the 1940's/50's. Probably because of the disruption WWII taking away workers, there are Fisher anvils without the name. Also, there are Fisher anvils with a cutout cast into the anvil, without the FISHER name. When Crossley took over in 1962, they produced few if any anvils with Fisher cast in. They were using the paper lable on the side to identify the brand. The one sign of a Fisher anvil (Under 400 lbs) are the mounting lugs. They were used from 1892 on. The bigger anvils and very small anvils did not have them. The only other cast anvil to have them were made in Australia. Not sure of the brand name. So, yes, there are Fishers out there without the FISHER name on them. Pictures are always good....

NJanvilman to the rescue? JustinJ It is an early Fisher, made in the 1850's. That predates even the round Eagle with the wheat stalks(1860's). Fisher stamped their name, Trenton NJ, and the weight into the side, as yours is. It should be the correct weight, give or take a bit. If you do not have to hammer on it, I would just preserve it as Fisher anvils of this vintage are getting scarce. If I was closer to you I would offer you a swap for a newer Fisher of a bigger size, but NJ to Texas is a bit far for an anvil run. But please take care of it.

A former member of our group built a heavy duty "pallet" out of oak to mount his 25 LG to. It had built into it a 2"x2" solid bar that extended down below the platform by a few inches. He set up his building with trailer hitch receivers set into the concrete floor flush. He moved his hammer with a pallet jack, moving it out of the way when not in use, and when using it, he positioned it and set the bar into the receiver. The platform pallet was on the floor. It worked fine. If he needed the pallet jack, he just put block of wood under the corners of the pallet. The air hammers that Tom Clark used to sell came bolted to two 12"x12" oak beams. Most that I have seen just sit on whatever floor they have and have angle iron or stakes to keep it from walking.

I take it that there are NO shop classes offered at your High School? If there are any, take them if you are still enrolled(hard to tell if you just graduated or still have your senior year ahead). I guess my students are lucky that I still teach in a full metal shop and a full wood shop. Their foundation knowledge has led many into lifelong careers. If you are set on working with your hands, learn a welding, machining, plumbing, electrician or other craft trade to earn your living. Pursue your smithing work as you get time, money, and a place to do it. There are plenty of schools to learn the basics of smithing. That is the place to start. It is not as easy as it looks. And takes a lifetime of learning. I have many students who take metal shop eager to make a weapon, which BTW we cannot do in a public school. But they do get hammer time to learn the basics. A few have gone on to gather their own equipment and do their own work.

Fisher Anvil Works began producing their design back in the 1870's. They were an iron foundry. This design lent itself to casting. As such, they could make their patterns the size they wanted for strength. Are they better than the forged type? Is one anvil brand better? That is really left up to the smith. In my forge shop, I use the standard leg vise design. I find them quicker to tighten. And I have a monster 8" to hammer on if I need strength. My Fisher Double Screw Vises are all in my museum with the rest of the Fisher stuff. I do use them their occasionally for holding material for hacksawing. They do work fine. They did advertise that the jaws were always parallel and they were very strong. All true. Are they superior? Up to you the user. If you visit my museum you can try them out and see for yourself.

Higher resolution photos would be great. Send them to njanvilman@gmail.com. If you want photo credits, include your information. I again repeat my invite for anyone to visit here in NJ. Just email me ahead of time to make sure I will be here when you want to visit. Always free, but I never turn down any donation. It all goes into the museum.

"Wondering what were the marks from the bottomside of the heel area? They possibly look part of the original casting?" Your AH anvil was forged, not cast. Those marks are from when the steel was drawn out to form the heel on the large steam driven power hammer. They were typically left because they did not affect the functionality of the anvil. Nice anvil. I am partial to these rare large sizes.

Black Frog What you have is actually a Fisher Swage Block stand. Yes, Fisher made swage blocks too, and the stands to go with them. However the swage blocks were unmarked, so the only way to tell if a swage block is a Fisher is to look at the patterns in my museum. I have 4 different patterns, and 1 partially finished swage block from the foundry. Your stand is marked, so that make ID easy. At some time, your stand was put together with you big anvil. The steel plate is not a 'factory' item, just a plate that made the stand usable for your anvil. I have several patterns for both the anvil and swage stands. Yours is the first iron swage stand I have actually run across. I will be asking permission to use your photos in my book.