Fisher hardie holes?

[humphreymachine]

Have photos of the Fisher patterns been posted here in the past? I’m guessing that the anvil’s steel top plates were prepunched with hardie holes prior to the casting process? If so was there a core print for the hardie hole sticking out of the pattern's top? I’m guessing that the core would have used the punched hole in the steel plate to ensure alignment during the casting process.
 
I have a 300lb Fisher with an 1 ½ hardie hole which is large for that weight class of anvil when compared with other anvil makers. If anything I’m surprised that Fisher didn’t make their hardie holes slightly smaller than the norm for a given weight anvil to give as much strength to the weaker cast body.

[ThomasPowers]

my 515# Fisher also has 1.5" hardy holes, perhaps it's more of an "industrial standard"?

[humphreymachine]

It sounds then like Fisher used a 1 ½ hole for all their larger anvils. The makers of wrought anvils seem to have used a wide spread of hardie hole sizes depending on the anvil’s weight. A 150lb Peter Wright is going to have a smaller hardie hole than a 250.
 
The Hay-Budden catalogue shows a wide spread of hardie hole sizes. 40-100lb anvils used ¾” hardie holes, 125 -150lb = 7/8”, 200lb = 1”, 250lb = 1 1/8”, 300 – 350lb = 1 ¼”, 400 – 450lb = 1 3/8”, 500 – 600lb = 1 ½”, 700 – 800lb = 1 ¾”

[njanvilman]

First:  Hardy holes in the patterns.  The Fisher anvils made by Fisher until 1961 had the hardy holes cast in with a core.  The pritchel holes were drilled after casting.  Yes, the top plates were put in the mold with the square holes in them.  The core print only went to the top of the plate.  Since Fisher anvils were cast upside down, most of the core was stabilized but a core print above it.  After Crossley began making Fisher anvils in 1962, at some point they modified the patterns and cast the anvils without the hardy core.  They created the hardy hole after casting by drilling and broaching with a very large hydraulic press.

 

I have the aluminum patterns that they used for this layout in my museum.

 

Secondly, the size of the hardy hole.   According to the original literature from Fisher,  1 1/2" is not an "industry standard".  If your 300 lb Fisher has 1 1/2" hardy, it could have been ordered that way.  Fisher prided itself on making whatever someone wanted.

 

The List:

 

250 lb = 1 1/4"

300 lb = 1 1/4"

350 lb = 1 3/8"

400 lb = 1 3/8"

450 lb = 1 3/8"

500 lb = 1 1/2"

600 lb = 1 1/2"

700 lb = 1 5/8"

 

Just like other manufacturers, the hardy and pritchel hole size was in proportion to the size of the anvil.

 

Tom P. remember your anvil is a special anvil made for the Blacker power hammer.  

 

Most of the known original Fisher patterns for their anvils, vises, swage blocks and horns are in my museum.  Ping me for a visit.

[humphreymachine]

Thank you for clearing that up. 1 ½ seemed large for my size anvil so it makes sense that it was a special order. Interesting that the latter anvils were drilled and broached. Did they offer all sized anvils in the last decade or two or only the smaller ones?

[njanvilman]

I believe 500 lb was the biggest anvil the Crossley made.  They still had the patterns(I have them now), so they could have made the 600 or 700 lb sizes, if one was willing to pay for them.  Towards the end (1979) the biggest anvil they were making was around 300 or 350 lbs.  And the smallest was 50 lbs.  They had slowly eliminated the in-between sizes over the years to standardize production.

 

And don't forget, your anvil's hole size is only 1/4" bigger than standard size in the literature.  It could be custom made, or they might have changed the specifications for the era your anvil was made.  Does it have a date?  Eagle?  If so, what design Eagle?  Fisher name on front?

[humphreymachine]

1915 - I forget the exact spec concerning the name and eagle. Photo on the first page of the survey but it’s not a great one.  

[humphreymachine]

What is the earliest 300 lb or over Fisher that you have come across?

[njanvilman]

I have a 400 lb Fisher from the 1870's era.  I believe that is my "biggest, earliest" Fisher anvil that is not damaged.  I also have a 500 lb Fisher with the FN on the front, also from the 1870's, with some faceplate and horn steel damage.

 

Biggest pre-1870's is about 200 lbs.  I will check and confirm all of this later today.

 

Lots here to see if any one wants to visit.

[humphreymachine]

Thanks njanvilman. That's a great collection. I don't make it down that way too often but hope to in the future. How far from NYC?

[njanvilman]

If you know the roads, and traffic is OK, I am about an hour south of NYC.  Exactly 3 hour drive from Hartford.

 

I checked my collection.  The biggest pre 1870 Fisher is about 180 lbs.  That is the Mark Fisher era of Fishers.  After 1870, Clark Fisher took over.  He was an engineer and greatly expanded the business.  I have the damaged 500, a nice 400, and several 300 lb anvils from the 1870's.  My big Fish, 600,700,and 800 are all from after 1900.

 

The sizing was all driven by demand.  Before 1870, the industrial revolution was just ramping up.  Most anvils were for individual blacksmiths.  As industry grew, the demand for larger anvils grew.  And Fisher also had to complete with what other manufacturers were producing.  I would love to find a pre-1870 Fisher over 200 lbs.  I do not know if they were made.  If anyone knows of one, please tell me about it. 

[VaughnT]

My Fisher weighs between #300 and #350, made in 1882, and has the most aggravating hardy hole.  It's not a inch and it's not an inch and a quarter.  Just my luck that I'd get that funky 1.125" or so.  Either grind down a hardy shank or build one up, nothing's easy!

 

Would a pre-1870 Fisher be dated, for certain, or would you have to go by the type of logo stamped on the side?

[njanvilman]

My Fisher weighs between #300 and #350, made in 1882, and has the most aggravating hardy hole.  It's not a inch and it's not an inch and a quarter.  Just my luck that I'd get that funky 1.125" or so.  Either grind down a hardy shank or build one up, nothing's easy!

 

Would a pre-1870 Fisher be dated, for certain, or would you have to go by the type of logo stamped on the side?

 

Fisher first put cast in dates on their anvils in 1879, on the bottom.  In 1880/1, they started to put them under the heel.  The only dates on Fisher anvils prior to 1879 were some that had stamped in patent dates and the name along the top edge on the opposite site from where their later Eagle was.

 

I date the 1850, 1860, and 1870 style anvils by their logo and overall shape.  No way to put an exact year on this group though.