keykeeper

My money says the RRAN is part of WARRANTED, as some anvils had in their markings. The rest of the marks hard to say, without more letters to work the puzzle.

Maybe I'm missing something, but if you are cutting the claws off and using the hammer head for the adze, why would it matter what style hammer it is? Wouldn't a reshaped ball peen work as well? Just curious...

Maybe the reason is to stay within the look of a full size adz, most all the old adz tools I have seen all have a rectangular eye.

The only reason I say this is because I thought the same thing when I read this thread earlier, which got me to thinking about adzes I have seen in the past.

Not to say an oval hole wouldn't work......

The two Fisher anvils I have were bought at $1.08 and $.75 per pound (I only calculated that for curiosity,more later in post about $/pound pricing) . While I'm sure your anvil is a real beauty, don't expect to get $10-15 per pound for it. For that kind of money, a serious anvil user could almost have a foundry cast a real beauty of an anvil for them.

Besides, most blacksmiths buy anvils to USE, and therefore pay more of a unit price for a working tool, as opposed to "antique roadshow" find-of-the-decade, get rich quick prices. In my opinion, per pound pricing is not an accurate way of pricing the tool, given varying conditions that anvils will have.

People buy fruits, vegetable, and meat on a per pound basis.

Blacksmith's buy anvils on a "value of the tool" basis.

As far as anvil collectors, the good lord only knows how they establish what they are willing to pay.

The thing about stories like these that really gets my boxers twisted is most of these folks will die some day, and the heirs will sell their tools for peanuts to some "estate buyer" who will start the cycle again by asking a mint for them, storing them away by their lonely selves in some dark, damp garage. It's CRIMINAL I tell ya, CRIMINAL. All these tools want is someone to lovingly use them for their intended purpose.

To add to elements thought--

He who has the anvils might have the power, but I've never seen ANYONE'S family bury all of them with their beloved. Greed is much more powerful and the wicked greenback speaks loudly to "grieving" heirs.

Try this thread, good info there.

http://www.iforgeiron.com/forum/f7/firepot-cutouts-6372/

Nice design, can't wait to see the real one in action on youtube. Better tell that fellow in the pic to move his hand though, before he steps on the treadle. He could lose a few fingers.:p

First, that is one nice looking machine.

Second, that looks like cast iron where the handle broke, not forged steel. Consult someone skilled in brazing or welding cast iron.

Third, oil that thing lightly, since the cleanup will promote rusting on all those nice slick areas. That grease was protecting everything, hence the awesome shape that machine is in. I'm jealous!!

Good luck on getting it up and running.

I looked at a JHM 260 pound a few years ago. The farrier shop had a price of $748 on it. May be more now, but still worth it, IMO. you might check one of those out.

I think you'll find Thomas P. knows his stuff, ichudov. Don't discount anything he says about smithing, equipment, or the like. The man is a walking encyclopedia of blacksmithing knowledge. I'd bet anyone would be hard pressed to picture a tool he doesn't know the name, use and history of.

Disassemble it, definitely. PB Blaster is good for frozen hardware to help the dis-assembly process. Then, a Long soak in diesel, and lots of elbow grease with various scraping tools to remove the gunk that is probably caked in the nooks and crannies. Good luck, post some pics of the progress. We all love success stories about refurbishing classic equipment!

Pictures are awful small, but the other "attachments" look like tinsmith stakes. They would better be used in a stake plate, I would think. Nice anvil, though.

Jeff,

Try some of these topics in the lessons section. Very good info about coal, coal forges, etc.

LB0003.0002 Coal Forges | Lessons in Blacksmithing

You can also search the archives, tons of info about coal there.

How can I put this....YES!

Fisher's may not ring like some of the other's, but they will work right along with them. Being quiet, they are perfect for in-town forging, when noise is an issue. If that Fisher is in good shape, jump on it. Check the rebound, if you are not sure. Bet it will have great rebound. You can always resell it if you don't like it, probably for more than what you invest. Good luck.

I've posted several pictures in the gallery from my Champion catalog reprint on request from different folks. Scans usually turn out pretty good. Hope to see you do a few pages from your book.

Thomas, I hope you noted I used a loose application of your system. Works well. Thank you.

Something else I forgot to add earlier. These catalogs are a great reference for pictures of old equipment when restoring forges, blower, etc. Sometimes a picture goes a long way toward finding what's needed to bring things back to life.

Thanks Jim, that's a great observation and idea. I'll file that away in my bag of tricks for tool acquisition.

This is my 2nd Fisher, and third anvil to date. Now I have a 70lb. Vanadium, 120lb. Fisher, and 162lb. Fisher. It's a sickness, ya know.

Thanks Frosty. I'm hoping the fellow calls me the next time he finds something like this, or hopefully, even better stuff.

rmcpb: I theorize something was wedged in the pritchel hole, also.

Something interesting about this anvil that I've not seen yet on another-this one has four little "feet" on the base. Small little half round projections, one on each foot of the base. They measure about 5/8 inch diameter and 1/4 inch or so tall. Anyone ever seen these on other Fisher anvils? My larger Fisher does not have them.

What a great little "find". I'd spend hours paging through something like that. I have reprints of old Sear and Roebuck catalogs that are a great reference, just for the illustrations. Thanks for posting this.

Thanks DK.

Here's a few photos I snapped. Compared to the anvil at that auction, this looks really good. LOL.

Found and purchased a 120 pound Fisher anvil today using the TPAAAT (Thomas Powers Applied Anvil Acquisition Technique) method of anvil location. Here's the story :

Go to local farm auction that has advertised "100 pound anvil" in listing. Find anvil, a Vulcan, with one side of heel from pritchel hole back missing. Less than average condition, chips along all remaining edges of face, varying from 1/8 inch to 1/2 inch in size. Remaining face is level and smooth, with exception of 1/4 inch ball of weld spatter stuck dead center. Decide I will bid on it, as it has some potential.

Fast forward to anvil coming up on the block. Start bidding at $50, two other fellows and myself duke it out up to around $100, in $2.50 and then five-dollar increments. I decide I really don't want anvil, fellow on other side seems like he really does and has been real serious from the start. I stay in until $160 then other fellow goes $165. I quit, smile at auctioneer and walk away. I'm glad I did, now.

A little while after anvil sells, another auction patron walks up and asks if I am looking seriously for an anvil. I perk up. Turns out this fellow is there to buy items to resale for his business, a rural gift/junk/bargain shop. He then proceeds to tell me he has a 120 pound Fisher anvil, in good shape, he'll sell me for WAY cheaper than the Vulcan went for. I get his name, phone number and location after a brief chat about his business and blacksmith tools.

Fast forward a couple hours. I give him time to get back home, as I left auction early. Ring him up, get the directions, and 40 minutes later I'm at his shop, looking at a very nice Fisher anvil. Face is superb, by my standards anyway. Only problem I see is that the heel is missing from pritchel back.

Jeesh, is this heel-less anvil day, or what.

I bought it anyway at considerably less than the sawtooth edged Vulcan. Couldn't pass it up!

Turns out the fellow overheard me tell my wife via my cellphone that I didn't win the anvil and backed off the bidding and let the other gentleman buy it. I was talking rather loud to overcome the auctioneers banter in the background. I'm glad this fellow had good hearing!

P.S. He now has my name and number, as he buys estates constantly for his business. I figure I'll be hearing back from him in the future. Very nice fellow to deal with.

P.P.S. If the fellow that was bidding against me is a member here, sorry for bidding you up! Nothing Personal.

That's works essentially the same as what I and Rob are talking about, except the added safety of a main shutoff valve before the idler circuit. I do like the compactness and ease of the design though. Thanks for posting the picture.

-aaron

Oh, Ok, wasn't clear in the pics, looks like the leg was mounted right in the concrete.

Interesting setup. Did it have a full leg or had it been cut short?

With a full leg, I would have made the mount the same, but put a piece of pipe just slightly larger than the leg in as a shroud from the concrete, with a piece of plate welded to the end of that (before the concrete is poured, welded to the pipe, for a solid bearing surface for the vise, as the mount would be plenty solid, and the leg would still be bearing the brunt of the hammer blows downward). If that makes sense.

Then, if the vise was needed on a bench sometime, just fab up another mount for that. Then you would have two mounting options in the shop.

Otherwise, looks very solid and stable.

Thank you, Rob, for that picture. I was having trouble explaining what I meant. I personally would trust Jay for anything related to gas forges, just based on the help and know how he has given you with your forge, which is a nice little unit. He is very knowledgeable about them.

OT: Weren't you feeling a little under the weather at the Business meeting? that was a month ago. Get better buddy, good weather coming on, and you know what that means...Spring Conference. Take care of yourself.

aaron