Furnace1 Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Just wanted to show my new anvil purchase. It's a 400 pound Fisher made in 1901. It took a 14 hour round trip to bring it home but, it was worth it. As you can see from the pictures it is in great shape other than some knot head using the horn at some time in it's life, for a chopping block. They are not too deep and I should be able to weld it back to almost new. Any thoughts on what would be the best rod for that fix would be appreciated. I've seen hard facing and hard build up rod but would rather ask first. Also, does anyone know how deep that steel face is on the horn before it gets to the cast iron? it looks pretty thick but it's hard to tell.The anvil face has almost no marks at all and the rebound is great with a 1 1/2" hardy and 3/4" pritchel hole. Just have to build a block for it now and back to work it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hammer Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 It's hard to tell how deep the cuts are in the horn, but I'd be more inclined to grind the horn down to smooth than weld and fill. Nice looking anvil overall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyshackleford Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 I'm inclined to side with Dave on this. Nickel rod is recommended for anvil repairs on Fishers as a base layer, I would try that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Nice looking anvil. Looks like all the anvil you'll ever need. That horn looks like someone took a cutting disc to it. But still a great find. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 Beautifull! Yea it looks like somebody either got chisel happy or tried to spilt firewood on the horn! But the face looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mainely,Bob Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 The first approach I would take would be to take a HAND FILE and knock the high spots off the horn and then use it for a while.You many find that smoothing it with a file is all you needed to do. Welding cast iron is risky even for a seasoned hand.The nickel repairs will stand out even more than the cuts will. You have a very nice anvil there,it`d be a real shame to ruin it by welding it and then having the welds crack and larger pieces of the horn break away. If it ain`t broke don`t fix it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 That's a beauty all right! You can see the thickness of the horn plate by just looking at the side of the horn. As I recall the horn plate is a flat bottomed slab so what you see is what it is. (One of the Fisher ads had an example to show what you were getting IIRC) Don't think any of those cuts are near to be through the plate. Remember to do a good preheat and post heat so as to shock the material as little as possible. You might remember me mentioning that I was taking top tools and forging the eye area down to fit my 1.5" hardy as a way of building up tooling for it. (and I could always drift the eyes back out if I wanted too.) Welcome to the stealth anvil confraternity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otisdog Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 What did you pay for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGensh Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 That's a nice looking anvil. I have a 400 pounder also and use it as my main forging anvil. You may not know it yet but there is a very good possibility that the feet of your anvil are tapped with or cored for 5/8-11 threads from underneath. Lay the anvil on its side or lift it on a hoist and look for the holes which may well be full of junk right now and need cleaning out. (Hint, when later style Fisher's (without the v in the back) don't have lugs look for the mounting holes on the bottom. I've seen it on several.) If you really find that you need to fix those cuts on the horn remember that the top of it is not cast iron but a thick tool steel insert. Don't try and weld it like cast iron or with cast iron rods. The best thing in most cases is to not weld at all but if you do just preheat very little and use a mig welder with mild steel wire for a quick pass and sand it to shape with a paper disc on a grinder. I think you will love this anvil the more you use it. I'll add a picture of mine bolted down on it's fabricated stand. The stand has it's hollow center area filled and packed with the chips from my cold saw for extra mass. Good luck with it. Steve G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted January 18, 2011 Share Posted January 18, 2011 As Steve and others have said, do not weld it unless you have a real need for a smooth horn shape. The steel horn plate in that area for your anvil is about 1/4" thick. It was never hardened. I would file or use a 120 grit flap type wheel and just polish it off. If you have a real need to weld, follow Steve's advise about a mild preheat, then mild steel MIG weld, followed by a post heat and polishing. Doing this on a hot summer day would probably be better than now. Leaving it out in the sun will do a lot of the preheat and post heating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveMartell Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 You got a steal on this one - congrats. I know because I almost jumped in on the bidding but held off. Now I'm really kicking myself but I'm also happy that someone who will use it snagged it. Again - congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philip in china Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 I am delighted to see you have got such a good anvil and a very good size. Don't be too anxious to get the welder out. See how much the damage actually has any effect on the work you do. Then see what remedial work is needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furnace1 Posted January 20, 2011 Author Share Posted January 20, 2011 Thanks guys for all of the input....lets see I'll try to respond to all of the comments in this post, please forgive the generalizing. Yep, I'm pretty happy with it and I knew someone would notice it from last weeks Ebay auction.I'm almost ashamed of what I paid for it all of $574.98....yes, I know but they had a "pick up only" which I'm sure had a big factor in the low final price.....I would have paid more but there was only three of us bidding. Rest assured, this is an anvil that will be used and not just sitting in a collection somewhere....this weekend if all works out!! As for the horn, I did take a file to it as suggested and then a sanding disk in my grinder. That worked pretty good but I'm going to wait for warmer weather as another had mentioned to try filling it in some with my mig welder....after pre heating as noted also. I am wondering about those holes in the base underneath and as soon as I have another hand, plan on flipping it over and see where they are. I do have one question though, there seems to be a varing of opinions as to how thick that steel is on the horn. I did look at the side and at it's widest I'd say it was close to 1 1/2" until it hits the cast but I remember reading somewhere that at some point Fishers developed another way of reinforcing the horn by continuing the steel into the body of the anvil "This way assuring the horn will never break" if I recall that correctly but I can't remember where I read this. I'd love to see some of those old ad's if anyone has them? It sure is a big beast and rugged. The person I won the auction from had known where it lived for the past 45 years.....some scrap yard that used it for whatever they needed it for but, they were going out of business so he bought it from them and that's the story. I don't know where it was for the other 65 years but other than those marks it seems to be in great shape. Thanks to everyone again for all the input. I'd be glad to hear more!.......Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
otisdog Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 I'm almost ashamed of what I paid for it all of $574.98.... No need to be ashamed, you done good...I paid $600 for the same anvil, and feel like I stole it . Lady couldn't understand why I would drive 720 miles round trip for an anvil - big ones are rare on the west coast! In regards to how thick the tool steel on the horn is - follow the bottom line of the face steel to the horn, and that is the bottom of the horn steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Big ones are rare anywhere and you got a great deal. Id give $600 for a 400 pound fisher all day long :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furnace1 Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 No need to be ashamed, you done good...I paid $600 for the same anvil, and feel like I stole it . Lady couldn't understand why I would drive 720 miles round trip for an anvil - big ones are rare on the west coast! In regards to how thick the tool steel on the horn is - follow the bottom line of the face steel to the horn, and that is the bottom of the horn steel. Thank you, I will check out the horn where you mentioned. Yes, I don't think people understand how important these finds are to guys like us. I had no problem driving that far to get that anvil....would have gone farther actually. I knew it was worth much more than what I paid for it but that's the way auctions are sometimes....not very often! but once in awhile you kind of fall into these things and be very thankful for it as well! Thanks ...Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furnace1 Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 Big ones are rare anywhere and you got a great deal. Id give $600 for a 400 pound fisher all day long Those big ones are very rare. I had never even seen one other than in pictures before this one. I knew it would be big but until you stand next to it, you just don't realize how massive and hard to move they are!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Welcome to the "Fisher Family" we like the sound of "thunk" and our ears don't ring like church bells neither. :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYBOY Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Welcome to the "Fisher Family" we like the sound of "thunk" and our ears don't ring like church bells neither. Yes, absolutly..My main shop anvil is a 200 pound fisher and its a joy to work on..We also have a 100 pound forged Arm&Hammer that is beautiful, nearly unused..Its wrapped with about 15' of chain because it rings like the bells of Notre Dame. I mean its rediculously loud and high pithced :huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 "Real" cast iron welding is done at a red pre-heat and cast iron filler using a torch. Near perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I have a small A&H I use for demo's. That ring really brings people in from far away---I wear hearing protectors when I use it! And my main shop anvil is a fisher...a big fisher! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furnace1 Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 I have a small A&H I use for demo's. That ring really brings people in from far away---I wear hearing protectors when I use it! And my main shop anvil is a fisher...a big fisher! How big is big?........I take it it's bigger than 400lbs?......how about pictures? I never seem to get tired of looking at anvils or vises for that matter!! :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 515# It was used as the "anvil" for a blacker triphammer and made especially for that use with a 1" cutout along one side to allow the edge of the top die to match the edge of the anvil exactly. (The blacker was set up so you can traverse the top die from side to side in use! It also has 2 1.5" hardy holes and no pritchel, otherwise it is a very beefy london pattern anvil Any one got a pic? shows one in action---not the recess in the front edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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