Fisher

[kubiack]

Here is a 250lb from 1939 Fisher I owned for a while. It was in fine shape but never found its way into use in my shop. I sold it to a good friend and now I use it more when I visit his shop than I every did in mine. I do have first right of refusal if he ever sells it.

 

[Black Frog]

Here is one of my most cherished combos, a 100#  Fisher anvil paired with a Fisher anvil stand.

I think Fishers are the most visually appealing of all London pattern anvils, and this was a very fine example.

This was so nice of a find, it almost seemed like it should be saved from general wear and tear of the shop, so I decided to retire this anvil and stand. 

They now occupy a highlighted spot in a corner of my living room. 

I purchased this from the grandson of the person who originally bought the anvil and stand so many years ago.

Unfortunately over the years they had applied several layers of paint.  It took many hours to get this combo looking like it should.

 

 

 

[fluidsteel]

I have two Fisher anvils.
My first one I acquired was 300# made in 1913. It's missing around 3-4" of the horn. I found it on CL for $400. The rebound is fantastic. It sits on a tripod stand with 1-1/2" plate top.

My second one I bought two days after hernia surgery. It is a 150# and made in 1907. I was driving my work truck in to get my paycheck and a friend called. Thank god I have a ramp for heavy loading as I wasn't supposed to be lifting heavy weight and the old guy was 85+ and not able to lift it for me. This was on CL under blacksmith tools. I called and the woman who answered said a man was coming to buy it in an hour and a half. She was almost an hour away. I drove straight there. I was pulling out of the driveway with it in my truck as another truck pulled in.
To raise funds I sold a #119 Kohlswa on CL. I received a call and the guy asked me to promise not to sell it out from under him since he drove an hour to get the last one only to arrive when some guy was leaving with it as he arrived. ;) Yup. It was me. He never realized it was me who bought the Fisher.
I am especially glad I got the Fisher as he was a farmer and was taking the Kohlswa to beat on tractor parts with it. The Kohlswa as a short fat little pig and being cast steel will be easier to weld up and repair years from now when he's done beating on it.

[njanvilman]

Had to include in this list the 1400 lb FISHER Centennial Anvil they made for the 1876 Philadelphia centennial exhibition.  This anvil was displayed at the event, then was moved to the Fisher factory in Trenton, NJ.  There is sat outside the foundry on the street for 85 years.  It was then moved to the home of the owners where is sat outside for another 14 years.  In 1975, it was loaned to the NJ State Museum for a Bi-centennial exhibit, eventually being given to the museum.  It is now on display.  See the scale of the dollar bill for size.  If I remember correctly, the anvil is almost five feet long, and almost two feet tall.  It has never been weighed on a certified scale, so the exact weight is not known

[Frozenforge]

I have seen pictures of the big Fisher before and will see it in person one of these days, after I visit Joshs' museum!

[njanvilman]

I can only dream to borrow it from the state someday. With the way money and politics are in NJ now, I seriously doubt that the museum will lend it out anytime soon. But I still have lots of other stuff here. If anyone is going to the ABANA event in Dover this August, plan on coming here the Sunday or Monday following the event.


Adding to the history of the company and the name:

Around 1847, Mark Fisher makes his first anvil in Newport, Maine. He had run a tannery there. When it burned down, he found iron that had fused to steel in the rubble. He figure out that this might be a way to get the steel top onto a cast iron anvil. No one knows why he tried this, but he succeeded. Anvils were made at his foundry there until around 1852. Named Fisher Anvils at this time.

In the early 1850's, he moved operations to Trenton, NJ. The foundry was located on the Delaware River, near better transportation opportunities than in Maine, and had water power and more labor available. He took on a financial partner named John Norris and the company was known as Fisher & Norris. Mark Fisher had success as the first major anvil manufacturer in the US. The Civil War increased demand for anvils and he was able to supply them.

In 1870, Mark Fisher passed away, and his son, Clark FIsher took over. He expanded the operations, and began producing bigger anvils to meet demand. By this time, John Norris was not part of the company, but his name stuck with the company. Mark Fisher changed the Eagle with wheat logo to and Eagle with a Naval anchor, to reflect his role as a Naval Engineer in the Union army. During this time, the company as known as Eagle Anvil Works.

These three names have stuck with the company to this day. Even when Crossley Machine Works, Trenton, NJ, was making Fisher anvils from 1962 to 1979, they were still known as Fisher Anvils.

[Frank Turley]

I can't chime in with Fishers I've owned or presently own. I don't see too many of them in New Mexico.

[njanvilman]

Early 1900's FISHER brochure.  Shows the specs for all of the standard sized anvils they made.  The back page shows how they referred to their anvils by name.  It shows the extent of their product line.

 

I like their telegraph cable address, "Anvil".   The street address does not exist anymore.  That part of Trenton, NJ got swallowed up by urban renewal and highway building in 1961.  That development is why production went across town to Crossley Manufacturing.

eagle anvil ad reduced size-1.pdf

[kubiack]

In reading the ad it states that the horn is forged steel. How was the horn attached to the body? I have read in your other posts how the face was welded on through a special mold which preheated the plate but nothing of how the horn was attached.

[njanvilman]

The forged part is referring to the tool steel top, not the entire horn.  The horn tops were made by another (unknown) company, then placed in the mold with the tool steel top plate.  Through Fisher's preheating process, the horn and top plate were welded to the cast iron.  The entire anvil is cast as one whole process.

 

If you look at most Fisher anvils, you can see the line between the steel and cast iron.   I will try to get a photo of an anvil that has this as a distinctive line posted.

[ThomasPowers]

I used to visit the Centennial "hardware stack"  at the Smithsonian every trip; pity it was before I started to smith...

[njanvilman]

Two photos of the steel plates on the horns of FISHER anvils.  The first shows the delineation between the steel and iron.  This is some kind of special Fisher anvil with a very smooth top.  Maybe made for silversmithing.  The second photo is of a 20 lb anvil.  You can clearly see the break between the two metals.

 

The horn steel plates were actually cast steel.  I have never found out who Fisher used to make these.  I have some wood originals and some matchplates for this part.  The brochure that I posted stated that the horn is "tough untempered forged steel".   Fisher might have used forged steel for the horn in the very begining, but all of my Fisher anvils have the same cast steel tops.  I think the description is a bit of artistic license taken by the person writing the brochure.

 

[jeremy k]

Josh - you have some very interesting information on the Fisher anvils - always a pleasure reading your posts.

[njanvilman]

Tom P.  The Centennial Exhibit was in Philadelphia in 1876.    It was never at the Smithsonian.   Please take these posts seriously and delete your comment.

[njanvilman]

Jeremy K

 

I have devoted the last 15 years of my life gathering artifacts, anvils, and knowledge after I became the custodian of the Fisher patterns and archives.  All of this will eventually be in my book on the company.  I have always tried to present FACTS here, not conjecture, or attempts at feeble humor. Thank you for the kind comments.  I have lots more to share. 

[Jakesshop]

And I'll be one of your first buyers of your book when it comes out. Really enjoy my two Fishers.

[njanvilman]

Here is one of my most cherished combos, a 100#  Fisher anvil paired with a Fisher anvil stand.

I think Fishers are the most visually appealing of all London pattern anvils, and this was a very fine example.

This was so nice of a find, it almost seemed like it should be saved from general wear and tear of the shop, so I decided to retire this anvil and stand. 

They now occupy a highlighted spot in a corner of my living room. 

I purchased this from the grandson of the person who originally bought the anvil and stand so many years ago.

Unfortunately over the years they had applied several layers of paint.  It took many hours to get this combo looking like it should.

 

 

 

Do you have the original bolts to connect the anvil and stand?  They are square head machine bolts, 1/2" x 13, usually about 4 inches long.  No finish on them.  I am always on the lookout for this type of bolt.  They are getting hard to find.

[njanvilman]

To add to the above, the bolts also used square nuts. 

[njanvilman]

One of my precious possessions, a 50 lb FISHER from the last pour at Crossley Machine Co., cast December 17, 1979.  This was the last anvil to leave Crossley when they closed up shop.  It was given to me by the owner of Crossley during the summer of 1999.  Thank you, Mr. Louis Russo for your generosity.  All the material you gave me to preserve is in good hands. 

[Black Frog]

Do you have the original bolts to connect the anvil and stand?  They are square head machine bolts, 1/2" x 13, usually about 4 inches long.  No finish on them.  I am always on the lookout for this type of bolt.  They are getting hard to find.

No I don't, but thanks for the tip.  I'll keep a lookout for them at auctions and yard sales.....

[njanvilman]

Black Frog

 

I took some pictures of one of my anvils with the bolts.  This anvil uses the square head bolts as you can see, and they are bolted into tapped holes in the Fisher base.  Not all Fisher stands had tapped holes.  Some had 1/2" through holes and a square head nut on the bottom.  Check to see what kind of holes you have.

[JME1149]

Josh,

Although not authentic, 1/2" square head bolts are still available commercially. McMaster Carr (mcmaster.com) carries a P/N 91465A182 that should suit your needs. They would probably need to be aged a bit to look the part but should do nicely.

And thank you for sharing your knowledge on the Fishers, one of these days I'd love to hear how you came to be the caretaker of the brand.

[ThomasPowers]

As blacksmiths you can also forge hex headed bolts square and that will probably deal with the "aging" too.

[njanvilman]

Along with the traditional London pattern anvils, FISHER also made sawmakers anvils.  They also had a blacksmith's shop dedicated to making saw hammers to go with the sawmaker's anvils.  This is my collection of FISHER saw hammers.  Close up is how they stamped them.  These are all marked, and I have one other that is not marked, but identical to a marked one.

[njanvilman]

As blacksmiths you can also forge hex headed bolts square and that will probably deal with the "aging" too.

 

The original bolts were not forged to square.  If one is trying to preserve the original look, manufactured square head bolts are the way to go.