njanvilman

I eagerly await photos and more information. I am constantly gathering any Fisher data for my book.

The story told to me by the last living relative of the Fisher family was that the anvils and vises were painted with black or whatever color paint they had. They were not too perticular about the color or details. Their priority was to have the face be hard and the weld between the steel and iron good. And no glaring defects in the casting. Fisher actually guaranteed their anvils for a year. If the face separated or any other factory defect appeared, you had to ship it back to Trenton, NJ to be evaluated. If is was defective, it was replaced. This was the reason for the dates on the anvil, starting in 1880. The #2 vise was discontinued back in the 20's or before. Towards the end, Fisher/Crossley was only making the #4, #5 and #6 vises.

I have lots of 3"x3" air dried hickory. I cut it for baseball bat stock, but could easily be resawn to 4@ 1 1/2"x 1 1/2. Maybe I should plan on bringing some to Quad States. Or perhaps it would give some of you an excuse to visit the Fisher Museum here in NJ. Anyway, the wood is in 8' lengths now. If anyone is interested, contact me with your wish list and I will get you a price. I could ship in in flat-rate boxes.

What you have is an 1870-1880 vintage FISHER anvil. Fisher did not cast the FISHER into them until 1880-81. I would not do any more sanding on the top. Just keep it protected from any further rust and USE the anvil. This era FISHER has my favorite of all of the various Fisher logos. Nothing beats that proud Eagle.

Thanks for the plug. I have not jumped into this thread because of the extreme viewpoints of some of the participants. Yes, I do have a lot of iron, but it is all on display for anyone to see. Eventually it will be the basis of my book on the Fisher Anvil Works. And yes, someday all of this iron will be released into the wild for others to enjoy. For now, it remains the most complete collection (that I know of) of Fisher anvils, artifacts, and euphemera that exists. And I repeat my invite for any interested party to contact me and come a visit. Anyone who has been here has said it is a must see for any blacksmith or person interested in industrial history. Nothing except the material that I obtained from the Crossley plant is anything that anybody could have bought. Luckily, I have the means and an understanding wife and have spent the last 13 years building my collection. And it all started in 1998 when I bought Postman's book.

Sweet! Probably 1950's vintage.

When I moved a 50LG in a small trailer we stood it up and did a six point straping from the top and through the frame. When it came time to install it through a small door into a shed, I built a 4" thick laminated plywood cradle for the back of the frame and laid the hammer into it. The bottom was toward the rear of the trailer. Again, lots of straping during transport. At the site, I laid the tailgate on supports and winched the hammer through the door, then stood it up. It took time, but everything worked out as planned. Just remember to attach slings and straps to the main frame, not the top shaft. I would build a cradle and lay the hammer into it. It prevented shifting and made strapping easy. I will check to see if the cradle still exists, and if it does I will get a picture of it.

Stuart is absolutely correct. The small anvil is a FIsher, in extremely good condition. No, I did not get it, although I was a bidder. It went for too much for my budget. 10 lb Fishers are rare, and even rarer in this condition. Yes, I was hoping to buy it for the museum, but even I cannot buy them all. If it had been a HayBudden, it would have brought between 3 and 10 G's!

Fisher first made anvils in Newport, Maine from about 1847 to around 1853. Early in the 1850's, Mark Fisher made the move to Trenton NJ to be closer to shipping and railroads, easier to get materials, and labor. Newport Maine was very remote in that era. He had at least two different foundries in Trenton, with the later one used to make Fisher anvils until May, 1961. At that point urban and highway development claimed the land, and all operations were moved to Crossley foundry and machine works about a mile away. They made anvils until Dec. 1979. In 2001, Crossley building was demolished. All remnants of the operation now exist in my museum, including the legal rights to the name and all designs.

Stewart Have you weighed it? All of the 450 Fishers I have seen have a 45 on one leg. They never marked their anvil on two different legs(although with Fisher there is always a first time for anything).

Tim is correct. It is a 1860's era Fisher with the round Eagle logo. It is missing part of the horn. As for the handling holes, they were cast in to facilitate the grinding that went on in the factory in the finishing process.

Various small 'stakes' were inserted into the square hole, and a wedge was driven between it and the boss to hold it in place. These 'stakes' served as secondary horns. There was lots of tooling on hand depending on the size and style of chain being made. The hand made chain made this way was quickly outdated once induction welding and automation came about in the early part of the 1900's.

Anvil shooting caused ABANA to change from chapters to affiliates. A few chapters refused to stop the practice, and since the chapters were insured through ABANA, they disavowed themselves from the chapters. Affiliates are only loosely associated with the organization. Yes, an individual who was involved with anvil shooting did remove some fingers while setting up a shoot. I have not heard much about him shooting anvils since. The only anvil shooting that takes place in my museum is people shooting pictures of the collection.

Nice work. The possibilities are endless.

Could that be 250 kg? 550 lbs? Nice anvil.

Jon Nedbor sells those French hammer heads at meets in the NE. He has never said where he got them, but seems to have an unending supply.

The chain is not roller chain. It is conveyer(manure spreader) type. The #42 links are about 1 1/2" long and a bit over 1" wide, to fit the gears.

I checked my #6 and here is what I can find: 27 links Size 42 I would suggest using the 42 number in your search of conveyer type chain. These link or unlink by rotating one link and hammering it apart. It is a bit tricky to get the chain onto the gears on the vise. I have experimented with various methods and have not found the 'easy' method yet. I hope this is helpful.

I will check my #6 and try to count the number of links and see if they have their size listed. Many agricultural supply place 'might' have the chain. I am sure that it is available. Might take an internet search. I will repost this evening with the information.

That "oval" cavity is where a core went when cast. After casting, the core was chipped out. That one point is what made Star anvils different from Fishers. Mark Fisher acually sued Star for patent enfringement in 1857, but lost. That cooling cavity is what made the difference. The 5 point star and the cooling cavity are the identifying marks for this company. No lettering, no dates. Fisher still made a superior product and by 1870 the Star company was gone. I have 16 Star anvils in my museum ranging in size from 20 lb to 250 lb, and one stake they made. If your anvil is ever for sale, please let me know.

No, it is not a Fisher. It is a Star anvil, also made in Trenton between 1855 and 1870. Direct competitor of Fisher, run by a former Fisher employee. More tonight when I have more time.

Or what ever else they needed to work on.

I agree. You can just make out part of the word, "Manufacture" that was under the HB name on most of their anvils.

Good cleaning first, grinding a good v notch in both halves, mild heating with a O/A torch, then clamping. Tack weld all corners, then weld multiple passes. Good technique is vital here. If you are not a good welder, find someone who is. Stick welding, or flux cored MIG is how I would go. Then slow cooling of the weld area. Wet rags will keep the face cool. The rest of the anvil body will absorb the heat. Stay away from glue!

In NJ, you are allowed to keep any road kill deer that you kill. Not that many people do. Almost everyone I know has hit or came real close to hitting a deer in the last few years. My wife and I have both taken out deer. I had one big doe run into the side of my car last fall. More deer are killed by cars than hunters here. They have become a real pest, commonly refered to as long legged rats.