njanvilman

Nice work. Could you post a tutorial on how you did it(ie. holding the chain together for the initial weld). Thanks.

It looks like the heavy snows and time have doomed all of those structures, except the furnace tower.

I think it looks great. I second the idea of some brass overlay.

You never know how and when a deal will come around. I bought my 800 lb Fisher by selling 31 trees to a landscaper, hunting rights on my farm, and some scrap copper.

WOW! Those prices make what I paid for some of my big FISHER anvils more tolerable. Wondering how many they sell.....at those prices!

Your anvil is known as a "Continental Pattern" and also sometimes refered to as an "Armoror's Anvil". Probably made in the Germany region of Europe. I have a 200 lb anvil that is very similar to yours, just without the stepped feet. Forge away.

What you have is probably a round sawmakers anvil. I do not think it is a FISHER, however, FISHER did make several style round sawmakers. I do not who else make this style, but I am sure there were other manufacturers that did.

Bringing home Fisher #251 this weekend. I sawmaker anvil, about 225 lbs. Rough top. This one I might actually repair. First cleaning and wire wheel, then we will see what to do.

Actually that anvil in Memphis is a 500 lb Fisher. Its the one they use in their ads for the museum. Unless they have another hiding in the woods... Anyway, the quest now is to find some of the Insinora anvils, the ones they mostly exported. And also some of the custom anvils. This will probably never end.

The original steel plate was not cast. It is W-1 type of tool steel, cut from a bar of appropriate size. It was attached during the casting process, welding itself to the iron. The original plate on an 80 lb FISHER anvil was in the range of 3/8" to 1/2" thick. It was never 3/4". If the anvil face is flat, and the edges are good, you might want to use the anvil first. It might work fine.

Chris A bit of Fisher history of the mounting lugs: Fisher first added the mounting lugs to their anvils in 1892. They were on anvils from 100 to 350 lbs only. Anvils smaller that 100 or 400+ did not ever have them. The lugs matched up to cast iron stands that Fisher also produced. The stands were in various sizes to match the anvils. Crossley also made stands, but they did not have the "Fisher & Norris, Trenton, NJ" on them. Some custom anvils had lugs in different places. Also, a few anvils made late in Crossley production era had the mounting lugs moved closer to the corners of the base.

Just found this thread. Wonderful work. You have a real feel for the natural shapes.

Location / condition / size first. Photos are essential. Buyers want to get it low, sellers want to sell high. This site does not do appraisals, but some of us can offer suggestions.

No, FISHER did not serial number their anvils. They dated 'most' of them between 1880 and 1942. Before and after, and some during did not have dates. Manufacture date is also obtained by looking at the logo or lack of one, and the style. Do not take off any more of the paint. It looks factory original.

What do you want to know?

While doing further research today, I came across an ad from 1907. Fisher was advertising that they made two hundred sizes of anvils, from 10 to 800 lbs. So the search for the elusive 1000 lb Fisher anvil is probably over. 1000 lb Fisher anvils were advertised in the late 1800's, but I have never seen or heard of one in existance. Not to say that they did not exist; just probably not any left out there.... My 800 lb Fisher is just one of two I have ever seen. My 700 is one of just two I know of. And my 600 is the only one I know of. Any anvil over 500 lbs are few and far between.

Tim Your anvil is a late model FISHER, made during the Crossley era of production(1962-1979). The lugs are meant for bolting it down to a stand. Many FISHER anvils were made for the US Government. I have paperwork for orders of 50 - 150 anvils at a time. Government orders kept the business alive as blacksmithing was slowing down after WW2. Of course Clark Fisher wrote the specifications for anvils for the government way back when. So they were almost forced to order only Fisher anvils, the only ones that met the specs.

Hijacking the Fisher thread again....

Nice work. Is that a rock for the base?

Well, getting back to my original thread, before it was hijacked by tales of anvil-lifting and space....... Just if anyone was wondering, at last, best count, there are 250 Fisher anvils here. Some perfect, some with normal wear, some almost worn out, and some broken. I have about 40 original anvil patterns, 4 original Double Screw vise patterns, and whatever original paperwork was left before the building got demolished. Also parts of the original Fisher cranes. Plus much more.

I just checked one of my #6 Fisher vises. The leg is threaded into the casting. It is just a steel bar with matching threads to the casting. Changing the length of the leg will not affect the value or integrity of the vise. #3 through #6 have legs added after the vise was cast. #1 and #2 were made without legs and were just top hung.

I have some. I will have to see what size vise and what size chain you have.

Fisher Double Screw Vises: More Information The #1 vise seems to have been made only around 1870-1890. The #2 and #3 were only made until the 19teens. The #4,5, and 6 were made until Fisher/Crossley stopped production in 1979. Below are some data on them: Size / weight / Jaw width / $$cost in 1887 / $$cost in 1981 1 / 25 / 3 1/2" / $7/ NA 2 / 65 / 4 1/2" / $10/ NA 3 / 90 / 5 1/4" / $16/ NA 4 / 120 / 6 1/4" / $21 / $1050 5 / 150 / 7" / $27 / $1100 6 / 200 / 8" / $30 / $1200 The museum has the patterns for the #2, #4, #5, and #6. They used special flasks for the molds. I do not have any of them. These patterns were used many times. When I found them in the pattern room, there was only one set for each size. These patterns probably made the molds for most of the double screw Fisher vises out there.

At one time, Fisher actually made 6 sizes of the chain vise. #1 through #6. The two smallest were made to be bench mounted and did not have provision in the casting for a leg. #3 through #6 have legs. They were not cast in. I believe they were threaded in after the vises were finished. The interesting thing is that the steel jaw inserts were welded to the casting during the pour. I am still studying the patterns to figure out how they ran the gating system. The "holy grail" of these vises is the #1. It is small, only about 15" total length, and light. I believe the weight is about 15 lbs. I have only seen the castings of one. I have never seen a complete #1. The Quest continues. I have all of the other sizes, and their patterns. If anyone has or knows of a #1 Fisher vise, please let me know.