The Chukster

I want to remove the ball caps because the handle is bent on a 15+ degree angle, and the ball caps don't look much better, I have a set of 1 1/2" brass balls from an old machine I was restoring that I thought would look good on a stainless shaft to replace the beat up one that is one the vise now..

Guys, I am trying to separate the ball caps on the handle of my Chas. Parker Model 434 1/2 vise and I am having some difficulty. I assumed these were screwed on, but now I am wondering if these darn things were forged on the ends of the rod handle. Any one else ever have trouble separating these ball caps on this model of vise before? I could use some help on this one.

Anvilman, You need to put me in your will for your complete Fisher collection of anvils! Also, put me on your list to buy your Fisher anvil book, send me an email when it comes out. Thanks

Everyone is right, when you think about it $50.00 for a USA vice is worth it. I will go pick it up next week and send some additional pictures. I was just curious on the brand name, never heard of this manufacturer before.

Guys, I as looking for another shop vise for my shop and came across an old Desmond Stephan MFG Co. Urbana, Ohio vise. Doesn't swivel, but it seems pretty tight. Any one know anything about this manufacturer? The seller is asking $50.00.

Anvilman, You already have the pictures and helped identified my recent Fisher 150 pound anvil purchase that had U68 stamped on it. Yet here is a picture of my first anvil, it is a 1903 Fisher that I purchased from an old farm being sold to a developer. You can see that it has the number "7" stamped on one leg and the word "FISHER" is impressed into the front of the base, the date is stamped on the back of the anvil. There are no markings underneath it that I can see. The edges are pretty chewed, but it still has great rebound and the face is relatively mark free. Not any where near as cherry as my other Fisher purchase, but this is still very functional. Both of the them look really sweet in my shop.

Wow, a 350-400 pound Fisher anvil, now that would be cool to have in my shop. Hell, we could probably use it as a lunch table if things got slow! That thing must have looked awesome.

Thanks Frosty. You know, I really didn't know how lucky I was till I read everyone's comments. I am not kidding you, when I was inspecting this anvil and couldn't find a name on it, I started to get really nervous. It reminded me of my "Mexican/Chinese" anvil, because that one did not have a name on it, either. Yet I kept trying to remember about the Blogs here on anvils when I was looking at this one, and also thinking about my 70 pound Fisher and how the face looked similar to this one. I thought I was taking a pretty big gamble for $200 when I bought it, glad to hear it's a jewel. The Farmer's son's comments that it was "really old" may be a little off, as Anvilman says it is from 1968. Yet I suppose if I ask my daughters if they consider something made in 1968 old, I surmise that they would agree. I was a teenager in '68, and it just doesn't seem that long ago but I guess it is. You were probably right, I should have bought a lottery ticket yesterday, but I am going to buy some today just in case my good luck is still hanging around! Thanks for everything.

Guys, Thanks to everyone who made comments and helped identified that my new anvil purchase is a Fisher. If you guys remember, several weeks back you all identified that my second anvil purchase for $40.00 was a "Mexican or Chinese" 75 pound piece of junk. I know it was only $40.00, but it killed me that I was stupid enough to buy that anvil. You know, it still has one heck of a rebound, though! With this purchase I now feel like I have slightly redeemed myself. Yet to be really honest, I have to tell you that I was really nervous shelling out $200 for all of this. The Mexican/Chinese anvil debacle really scared me. Here I had thought I knew how to test and recognize a good anvil from junk, and I bought that thing. Let's just say I learned from that lesson and just appreciate all the support I have had reading these blogs and learning more about anvils and blacksmithing and finally find the size and quality that I have been searching for. The Mexican/Chinese anvil can know go in my wife's landscaping plans! Thanks to everyone, appreciate the support.

Guys---I think I bought a good one today and I don't think this is a "Mexican" anvil like the one I had asked you guys about before. This one is a 150# anvil, no name that I can find but it does have the insignia "U68" stamped on the back side of the anvil (see picture). This anvil has 150 embossed on one of the legs, and has (2) lag tabs for mounting it on its base. The back mounting tab is off-centered to the front one that is centered to the anvil, not sure what the theory was on this when they made this one. I thought that this might be a Fisher, but I have a 70# Fisher from 1903 that has the Fisher name embossed in it with the number "7" stamped on one of the legs. I have read the blogs here and it sounds like it could be a Fisher, but the U68 marking is throwing me a little bit. It does sound like my 70# Fisher when I hit the face; it doesn't ring. Do you guys have a clue what brand this is? Is this a Fisher? I paid $200 at the Estate Sale today, and it came with all the tools that are shown in the pictures and the oak mounting base. The son of the farmer that was liquidating the estate said the anvil was "really old," but he did not know the date. It is in really good shape, the edges on one side are close to new and the face of the anvil is extremely smooth with very little pitting or marking. Has great rebound as well. I could use some senior member advice as to what this is and a possible age---Thanks!

Fisher anvil 70#, embossed with the name and date of 1903

I just learned that I have a Model 434 1/2 Chas. Parker, manufactured somewhere in 1939 - 1946. Says it's original cost was $24.00, and I paid $20.00 for mine at a flea market so to learn that it depreciated only $4.00 in 70+ years shows USA goods hold their value. Of course, $24.00 was a Hell of a lot of money in 1939 - 1946, but still that is pretty neat to know. I had to machine that special nut, if you can call it that, inside the swivel assembly as it was cracked at the threads. Didn't know that when I purchased it, only after I mounted it and noticed that the base would not tighten up. I was lucky enough to have one of the machinists at work machine a replacement for me. It is a pretty complicated item to machine. Not too sure if this was an issue with this model of vise, but now that I have it fixed it is one solid piece of equipment. I have attached a picture of it, feel kind of guilty showing this because I do need to clean it up a bit after learning that this has some history to it. Give me a couple of weeks, It will look like brand new again!

Thanks, great chart. I learned that I have a 434 1/2 Chas. Parker, manufactured somewhere in 1939 - 1946. Says it's original cost was $24.00, and I paid $20.00 for mine at a flea market so to learn that it depreciated only $4.00 in 70+ years shows USA goods hold their value. Of course, $24.00 was a Hell of a lot of money in 1939 - 1946, but still that is pretty neat to know. I had to machine that special nut, if you can call it that, inside the swivel assembly as it was cracked at the threads. Didn't know that when I purchased it, only after I mounted it and noticed that the base would not tighten up. I was lucky enough to have one of the machinists at work machine a replacement for me. It is a pretty complicated item to machine. Not too sure if this was an issue with this model of vise, but now that I have it fixed it is one solid piece of equipment. I have attached a picture of it, feel kind of guilty showing you this because I do need to clean it up a bit after learning that this has some history to it. Give me a couple of weeks, It will look like brand new again! Good luck on finding out more info on your vise. it certainly has some character and attitude to it---and it's cool looking.

There are deals out there to be made, you just need to keep checking estate sales in your area or the ones a bit out there in the rural areas of Utah. I got my first anvil, a Fisher 70# from 1903, at an estate sale where the farmer had sold his land to a developer. The estate auctioneers did not even advertise they had one, I had to call them up and ask them because I thought an old farm would have had one. They went hunting (probably checked the dictionary first to learn just what an anvil was) and came back to me that they had an "old one stamped 1903" but could not see any manufacturer name on it. They were going to post a picture of it on their website but luckily for me, they either forgot or never got around to it. I was one of the first one's there, found the anvil and purchased it for the $40.00 they were asking for it. I probably could have paid less, they looked surprised when I handed over the $40.00 without any haggle. Got the anvil home and wire brushed it and what is when I saw the Fisher name embossed in it. Advice is to sign up on those estate sale internet sites and just be patient. Your anvil is out there, just takes time to find it at a good price.

Wow, that is one cool looking anvil. I would like to know more of how you made this to work for you.

Frosty, what a great response, especially the part of the many burners on her stove. I forwarded your response to her at work, now there should not be any more negative feedback or additional questions why I need two anvils. I appreciate the feedback, because one of these days I will find me a big anvil ( I have a 70# and a 75# one) and I don't think I will want to part with my first two. When that day comes, I am sure her next question will be why do I now have three anvils? I'll use your killer response of why does she have four burners on her stove?. Now I am in the hunt for my big anvil! You gave me some great ammunition, thanks.

Don't know, I have a Chas. Parker vice in my shop. Not sure of the age if this as well, but it is on fine vice.

Thanks Tom for your comments. Right now I have been using it over my Fisher anvil because it has a wider face and also since I am new to Blacksmithing, I don't want to damage my Fisher anvil. I figure I can learn on this "no brand" anvil for now, and it seems to be fine except for that ringing. My Fisher doesn't have this attribute so it takes a little bit to get adjusted to it. What ever this thing is, at least my wife thinks it look pretty good sitting on the Oak log i have for it. Now I just have to figure out a reply to her question of why do I need (2) anvils? Haven't quite figured out an answer to that one yet so this may end up in the garden one of these days!

Thanks Frosty, I will do that.

Just went out there and smacked it quite a few times really good, it does dent slightly but man, you need to dodge that hammer flying backwards. It looks as if I keep hammering the dent until it is flat, it doesn't seem to dent in that location again, but maybe that is me being more hopeful. One thing for sure, it has serious rebound. Oh well. I have a 70 pound Fisher anvil from 1903 that I like, I was just hoping I had picked up something here with this one that made it special. I guess in some way it is special, it may just go out in my wife's garden! Thanks again.

Attached is a picture of my first and current anvil. It is a 70 pound Fisher with the date 1903 embossed on it along with the Fisher name. I paid $40.00 for it and since I am new to Blacksmithing, this seems to be fine for the moment. Eventually I would like to get a larger anvil, but let's see how I progress with my skills. The log base is a 26" long x 16" wide piece of oak that the local Nursery was kind enough to cut to the length that I wanted. Would have liked to be have seen it cut a little more square, but seeing the owner handle that chain saw, I am not too sure how much more square it could be. I built a jig for my router to machine a base into the log for my anvil to sit in so that is was level to the floor of my shop. Stained the log and added 8 coats of polyurethane. If I had to do the base over, I would have gotten (2) garbage cans and filled one with stain and the other with polyurethane. This time I only stained and coated the top of the base, but every time I move this set-up, pieces of bark come off. I think if the whole thing was stained and coated, this would stop a lot of this from happening. I am currently designing a wheel assembly(s) that would mount on the log and be able to raise the log off the floor to more easily move it around my shop.

Guys, thank for the input. I am new to blacksmithing and this info helps. I paid $40.00 for it because the rebound was good, but this anvil has to be over 60 years old because the grandfather of the farmhouse owner bought it from another farmer in the area when they first got there. Not sure how long he had it, but the farmer I bought it from thought it should be 60 years plus easily. Was Mexico punching out anvils like this? I took some more photos, it does look as if it did have a name on it at one time. One side of the anvil looks typical but the other side looks as if something was ground off, or is this just the bad casting that makes these marks? Here I was hoping I had a 75 pound Peter Wright, only to suspect I now have a cheap, cast iron, made in Mexico anvil. That's a bummer. Do the additional pics change anyone's mind or do I still have a $40.00 door step?! Thanks

I could really use the experts out there to help me identify this anvil, hope someone can help. I just picked up a 75 pound forged iron anvil from an old farm that has pretty good rebound and it rings, something I have not had to hear with my Fisher anvil. It has a somewhat convex (yes, not concaved) face on it, not sure if someone has welded on it or not, but the base is somewhat convex as well. In fact, it almost looks as if the anvil was forged in two pieces as the Heel, Horn, and Base have a small ridge shape to them in the middle as if it was joined in two sections and then ground slightly. It does not have a Pritchel hole, I thought this was odd or is it? The base measures 7 1/4" x 7 1/4", the face is 4" wide by 10 1/2" long, and it stands 8" high. There are no markings whatsoever on this. I have attached some pictures, hope someone has an idea what year and/or manufacturer is was.