Hello
Newbie here I just started in trying to blacksmith. I picked up a Fisher anvil for a good price but the only thing wrong is that the tip of the horn is busted off. Does anybody have any direction I should go in repairing this? Thanks for any replies.

How much of it is broken off? Like an inch? Or 3 inches? How heavy is it?

can you weld & do you have a welder ? ck & see if tip area is weldable then build it back up & grind it to shape

OR take it to a weld shop & let them ck it out --  some cast Iron anvils will weld up with a GOOD 220 V wire feed

if there's more steel than cast in the mix Ive fix 2 like that --- So you never know till you try ! to weld it

 

Steve's Welding

The anvil is around 150lbs and I would say about 2-3 inches are missing. I have a 110 mig and a 180 tig and stick machine. Thanks for the help

And what is the diameter of the part missing? Because to be honest, if you are only interested in the functionality of the anvil you could make a hardy-horn that has the diameter of the missing piece. And it could have a a finer tip than the normal horn would be.

Picts help greatly.

 

 

Don't even bother thinking about the 110v mig. It doesn't have the power for this job. Stick, maybe. I can weld well, but this wouldn't be on the top of my list of things to tackle. I'd be more inclined to suggest making a separate free standing  bick from some decent steel and using the anvil as is myself. Cast iron doesn't always weld well. This can be especially true if your skills are not high and you have had some experience with it. Fishers are cast anvils with a steel plate top. if it was  a wrought anvil, I'd be a bit more confident in welds.

There is a reason so many old anvils have a blunted nose.  Only have to stick a sharp horn in a sensitive place once before taking a hammer to it seems like a good idea.

 

As previously mentioned if you need a small bic making one that fits in the hardy hole is a good idea.  I usually use an old bull pin; I've got both vertically and horizontally mounted examples.  And another one made for doing sockets for bodkin points.

Thanks for the help I will just use as is. The anvil is in good shape beside the eagle missing on the side. Top plate looks good with 1 little chip missing about 1/4 inch.

The eagle is gone? But it still says 'fisher' on the foot? I would very much like to see some pics if you have any, it sounds interesting.

Will take some when I get home. The date on the back is 1904

I have a two fishers, one is from 1904 but it's only about #130 (we guess, we haven't weighed it yet), and a #150 from 1944. The older one was badly abused and we are trying to restore it a best we can, but regardless, they are both wonderful (and quiet!) anvils that my wife and I thoroughly enjoy working on. Where are you located? (If you don't mind me asking)

My Fisher was the anvil for a Blacker powerhammer and squats in my shop like a sumo wrestler!

Location is Mass. Here area a couple of pictures.

Greetings Deadeye,

 

Your anvil is an easy fix..  If you look at the thread on Bashers re-forging his big anvil there is lots of good info on rods and procedures to repair your lil Fisher...   You have a good anvil and it will serve you well.

 

Forge on and make beautiful things

Jim

Remember, Fisher anvils don't have a monolithic horn.  The top half and most of the tip should have been tool steel, and the bottom cast iron.  Two entirely different animals when it comes to welding.

I put a file to it and it cut it easily. I do not believe it is hardened.

The steel on the horn of FISHER anvils was never hardened.   A weld repair would be very difficult.  Better to use it as it is, maybe a mild grind to get it to what you want.  Make a pointy swage and use it in a vise or your hardy hole if you need a finer round to bend around. 

Location is Mass. Here area a couple of pictures.

 My shop is in eastern Mass. PM me if you want. 

Listen to Njanvilman---he runs the Fisher museum.

Your anvil is fine as it. All I would do is smooth the broken section with a grinder/sander so it won't easily chip.

Greetings Deadeye,

 

I stand corrected the welding would be much more involved than I thought..  I was under the impression that the horn had much more tool steel when manufactured..  

 

Forge on and enjoy your anvil

Jim

I would suggest since your not in the area of the hardened face to go to a welding forum and look up info for welding cast iron. 

 

If you think about it just because someone collects anvils doesnt necessarily make them a good or knowledgable welder, and just because someone knows about welding doesnt mean they know much about dealing with HT on some metals and retaining the hardness. However since your working on the horn I would say go for it. 

I would suggest since your not in the area of the hardened face to go to a welding forum and look up info for welding cast iron. 

 

 

 

You won't find a lot of guys who  generally have a lot of practice welding cast iron. Those that have done some, are usually used to smaller projects than anvils. I know of only one guy on the  welding forum I'm on who is a real expert on welding cast. However he also has all the tools to do it right, like an oven large enough to fully preheat large engine blocks and so on as well as the ability to spray weld. If I had an important cast project I had to weld with no other options, he'd be who I'd consult 1st. I've welded enough iron to know that I need more info than I have on the subject.

 

If the Op is interested, PM me and I'll pass along who he is and where you might be able to contact him. However I'm betting NJanvilman has more info on exactly how this was originally made from what he's gathered together on Fishers. That information will be very important on doing this correctly if you want this to hold up. Remember most welded iron objects don't get beat with a hammer regularly. this will.

I always hate to get into an argument, but besides have the collection and studying these beasts for the past 15 years, I spent 37 years as an instructor of all phases of metalworking, including teaching thousand of people to weld.  I think I know what I am talking about.

 

The only alternative that *MIGHT* work, although I have never tried it, would be to drill a hole directly into the cast iron part of the horn, tap it with a machine thread, then tighten in a bolt with the length you want to work on sticking out.  This would then be built up with a MIG welder to shape, and eventually welded to the remaining steel plate.  The iron part underneath could then be welded with nickel rod to the built up area.  Then grinding and sanding to shape.  I repeat, I have never done this, but it would probably work.  It is still not as good as an original intact anvil, but better than no tip at all.

Thanks for all the replies. I am just going to leave as is maybe just clean it up a bit. I have some small round stock that I have made up already to go in my vise with a tang on them that should work for small pieces. I just like the look of a intact anvil.

I always hate to get into an argument, but besides have the collection and studying these beasts for the past 15 years, I spent 37 years as an instructor of all phases of metalworking, including teaching thousand of people to weld.  I think I know what I am talking about.

 

The only alternative that *MIGHT* work, although I have never tried it, would be to drill a hole directly into the cast iron part of the horn, tap it with a machine thread, then tighten in a bolt with the length you want to work on sticking out.  This would then be built up with a MIG welder to shape, and eventually welded to the remaining steel plate.  The iron part underneath could then be welded with nickel rod to the built up area.  Then grinding and sanding to shape.  I repeat, I have never done this, but it would probably work.  It is still not as good as an original intact anvil, but better than no tip at all.

I didn't want to get into an argument either, but I have seen you be entirely wrong before, and then get very defensive about it. The bottom line is you really are not an expert at repairing cast iron. I have no doubt you know more than most anyone else in the world about Fishers in general, but you were wrong again in this thread. 

 

Antique dealers bring me broken cast iron from all over the country to repair. I learned cast iron welding at United Welding Process in Boston mass, a Caterpillar block and head welding facility. I can think of at least four different ways to fix that anvil, and all of them would make it as good as new. 

 

Since the subject is open, the method I would use is very close to what you mentioned. First I would rough out a horn from A-36. Then I would drill and tap the anvil and the replacement horn and screw together with a 3/4" grade 8 stud. I would then weld to within a 1/4" of the surface with MG 600, a far superior repair rod than nickel, and capable of welding to tool steel as well, with a yield strength of 180,000 pounds. Finally I would cap weld with 70,000 series wire for color match. Guaranteed never to break again, nor be a noticeable repair.