njanvilman Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 I finally have the anvil home, so I figured it was time to chime in. First FAQ: 1. No, it did not cost 14G. A lot less. Lets leave it at that. 2. The anvil is in great condition. 3. I did drive to North Carolina to get it. It started its journey in Missouri. 4. This completes the display of all of the 'common' sizes Fisher made. The display count is over 35, some duplicates(Fisher vs Crossley of the same size). It took me about 10 years to find all of the sizes. 5. Of course, Fisher made many custom anvils. They do turn up now and then. The number made and design is lost to history. I am hoping my photos upload when I post this. Here is their description. #1: Anvil with my nylon strapping "braking system" in the back of my SUV. I run the big strap under the tailgate and around the trailer hitch. The smaller straping goes to the floor hooks. I also had plywood and dense foam against the seat, and oak on the other side of the seat, secured with the seatbelts. I did want to be wearing this if I had to stop quickly. I never had to find out. #2: Anvil ready for removal from my car. #3: On the scale, always the first stop. #4: 675 lbs. Close enough to 700. The weights were never exact. #5: The original Fisher pattern that made this anvil. Every "defect" on the pattern is on the anvil. The anvil is reunited with its parent. There is no date on the anvil, but I suspect that it was made around 1950. #6: On my cable elevator, going into the museum. I will post pictures of the entire display once I get it in place. If anybody is in the NJ area and would like to visit, just send me a message or email me at njanvilman @ gmail.com. I always like to know who is pulling into my driveway, and do not let any stranger in. The final quest is to convince the NJ State Museum to lend me the 1400 lb Fisher when it comes off its current display. I am going to invite the curator to visit my place to show him this is serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 Sorry about the big sized pictures when you click on them. I could not get them any smaller. My Tech savy daughter is away. If anyone can resize them, please do and repost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 To see an image sized to your screen. Right click on the image when it comes up right click again a menu will pop up select view image. It will come up sized to your monitor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Download the FREE program called Fotosizer. I use it and it works great to resize pix. For posting on IFI I resize to 450pixel X 600pixel. You can choose any size that works for you. Hope this helps. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Impressive! Of course I'm easily impressed when it comes to a Fisher anvil. I have a 300 pounder and sure loved working on it, great anvil Thanks for the pictures of your new baby. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewed Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Nice anvil, too bad it will spend its time in a museum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FieryFurnace Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Very nice! It's nice that you have the whole display now. I've got a 280 pound Fisher I use as my shop anvil. It is marked "30." Do you also have that one? I would love to see pictures if you do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Nice anvil, too bad it will spend its time in a museum. I am not going to go through the collecting vs. using arguement again. This is my last words on this topic: My collection has all of the artifacts, patterns and even some of the building and cranes from the original Fisher foundry. My collection is a historical study of the product of this company. I have been working on a book for some time now, and hope to finish it in a few years. I have spend over 10 years and a boatload of time and money putting this collection together. All of my collection was gathered on the open market and available to anyone. And my research of this company is also going to be used in the new version of "Anvils in America" that Richard Postman is finishing now. I sent him many corrections of the history of the company that he had wrong in his first book. I do use a 300 lb Fisher anvil in my home shop, and a 100 lb Fisher anvil at school where I teach. I will not live long enough to even start to wear one out. Some day, this collection will be dispersed. I am the caretaker for a few decades. This is the ONLY complete collection of Fisher anvils of all sizes that exist today. Hopefully, it will stay together after I am gone. If anyone out there knows of another, please let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Having a nice anvil is great. If you want to look like a blacksmith you gotta have one. If you wanna BE a blacksmith..........well, any hunk of iron will do. "If you can't be with the one you love.............love the one you're with"! The majority of blacksmiths around the world make do quite nicely with "any hunk of iron"! (Or even rock) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Good morning all This is very cool! What was the process, 101 version, from pattern to anvil. I don't even get all the bits, especially the top part, of the pattern. -tks grant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Furrer Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I never mind seeing a collection with a purpose. You may wish to contact the Milwaukee School of Engineering...they have a good museum of art which includes metalworking and blacksmithing. http://www.msoe.edu/about_msoe/manatwork/ mayhapse they would buy your collection when the time comes...though I am sure they, like all museums, would talk donation first.... Ric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Cool! I for one don't mind this collection as it has saved a lot of equipment that may have been lost forever. It is also available for viewing unlike some collections that never see the light of day, and this is a one stop shop if you are interested in such things. I would hope that a loooooong time from now when it gets passed down that someone can give it a permanent home. Being a machinist I love seeing things like the original pattern with the production piece. At the Browning museum in Ogden, they have the handmade prototype over a production piece. I love seeing the file marks in the prototypes, and other handmade clues. So, what is next on the to get list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakedanvil - Grant Sarver Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I applaud your documentation of the history of Fisher & Norris. My earlier comments were aimed at "woubes". You know; "I woube a blacksmith if I had a real anvil (or forge or whatever)". I never wanted to be a blacksmith, i just wanted to beat iron. A lack of "real" anvils won't slow down real blacksmiths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Wow... Just wow... That is really amazing... I think it is really cool to have the pattern and the anvil there together... I for one think it is fantastic when someone has such deep appreciation and affection for something that he spends countless hours and dollars in its pursuit.. I think most naysayers are just jealous ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Good morning all This is very cool! What was the process, 101 version, from pattern to anvil. I don't even get all the bits, especially the top part, of the pattern. -tks grant I have matching anvils and patterns of the 800, 700, 600, 500, 350, and 150 lb. I also have one matching sawmaker anvil and pattern.(I drove to Maine to get that anvil)! Many of the common patterns(50, 100, 200) were discarded by Crossley when they stopped production in 1979. No one took the time to walk up to the second floor to return them to the pattern room. I also have the patterns for 25 of the sawmakers anvils and their Double Screw Vises. In a nutshell, the anvils were cast upside-down in a three part flask. That top 'addition' created a void under the top plate that molten iron was poured into first, from the side of the flask. This iron actually flowed under the steel and preheated it, and out the other side. When enough had been poured through, they dammed it with clay, and let it sit for a while(depending on the size of the anvil) They then poured the rest of the iron through a complex gating system from the top of the mold. The preheated steel was brought to a red, almost welding heat from the initial pour. Moldmaking was done Tuesday through Friday morning, pours were always done on Friday afternoon, the weekend was for cooling, and they were opened on Monday. Mondays were also cleanup and recondition the clay day. Tuesdays began another cycle. After the anvils were cast, separate operations were then done to finish them. More complex explaination and original documents will be in my book. Its a fascinating story of a industry that is gone now. What I have here are the remnents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Cool! I for one don't mind this collection as it has saved a lot of equipment that may have been lost forever. It is also available for viewing unlike some collections that never see the light of day, and this is a one stop shop if you are interested in such things. I would hope that a loooooong time from now when it gets passed down that someone can give it a permanent home. Being a machinist I love seeing things like the original pattern with the production piece. At the Browning museum in Ogden, they have the handmade prototype over a production piece. I love seeing the file marks in the prototypes, and other handmade clues. I got to the Crossley factory just as they were closing. Finding a saving the origial Fisher patterns was a case of being in the right place at exactly the right time. That event and Postmans book lauched me on this adventure. Luckily I had the time and resources to make it happen. So, what is next on the to get list? I did find a "one off" custom Fisher that a friend has locally. It is probably near 600 lbs, with a huge horn, no cutting table, and the horn is level with the top. Both mounting lugs are on the heel side. Someone obviously wanted an anvil that was all horn. He chased the anvil for 10 years. Eventually he promised it to the museum. And you never know what will turn up. And I have been outbid on more anvils lately than I have bought. Even I do not have unlimited funds. I have done all of this with no outside help, no grants, no donations, on a school teachers salary, while putting two kids through college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 I wonder what response you would get by letting the sellers know that you are looking at their anvil for the museum. Some may sell it cheaper knowing that, or tell them that they will get a mention in the book as the source. I knew guys who sold my former employer firearms at good rates so they could say that one of their guns was in his collection. That collection is well known in the class 3 community. I have a 260# Fisher from 1906/7 (can't remember which at the moment) that my Dad picked up when we got started in smithing. It came from a ranch in Lincoln CA in the 80's, and cost him $250 at the time. The ranch owner also had a post vise that had been mounted to an oak tree many years ago. Dad said that he knew it had been a long time, as all you could see was the outer jaw. The tree had grown around the rest, and it still worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLMartin Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 If you still have a molds for the double screw vises how about having them recast. On top of that have them cast out of ductul iron! Then they would last forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 If you still have a molds for the double screw vises how about having them recast. On top of that have them cast out of ductul iron! Then they would last forever. The problem with that is special flasks would have to be recreated. After the large molds are made, there was a major machining operation to drill and thread for the screws, which had to be exactly parallel. Then the screw shafts had to be timed for the chain gear, then assembly. It is not so simple. First to be tried will be a 100 lb. 12" x 12" Fisher swage block. I just need to create all of the core boxes. I have the pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 I borrowed an engine hoist and carefully got the 700 lb Fisher onto the display table in the museum. Amazing how nice heavy objects move on rollers. I am adding a couple of photos. The first is the end of the display showing the 800, 700, 600, and 500 lb Fisher anvils. A coke can is under the 700 for size comparison. The second is the view looking down the main table of the Fisher anvils arranged by size. I did add some blocking under by display table just to be sure it did not collapse. There is over 2600 lbs on this one table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Again, sorry about the large size photos. I tried to get them smaller using fotosizer, but he upload did not do the smaller format. Help! If anyone can resize these, or tell me how to, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurlyGeorge Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 OK. Lets see if I was able to get them resized correctly. I used fotosizer and went to 700p wide X 525p tall. Yep. I think that will work. Man, that's a bunch of anvils.:o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njanvilman Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 OK. Lets see if I was able to get them resized correctly. I used fotosizer and went to 700p wide X 525p tall. Thanks. Could you PM me know how to find them and upload them after shrinking the size. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Ritter Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 That sure is an amazing pile if anvils you have their. I am kind of jealous, I only have two. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sask Mark Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Very cool. Another bucket list item...visit the Fisher Museum. I also look forward to reading your book when it is finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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