I've just bought this Fisher on ebay. This is one of only three Fishers I know of in the UK.

It's a number 10, which I understand means it's about 100lbs. I plan on downsizing and using this as my main anvil for the time being as my big PW is just too big for my shed.





Made in 1942!!! So mid WW2 US made anvil found in the UK, can only suggest it was brought over during the war. It must have some very interesting history behind it.



It looks like the horn has been welded up at some point which does concern me slightly, but it was still worth it given how rare these anvils are in the UK. Would a crack be of any major concern to you Fisher pros out there?





The edges look pretty good and the face itself looks pristine.

Just thought I'd share. All the best
Andy

I looked at that .... thought it may well be but couldn't see the fisher logo on the ebay pics !! good job.

 

I wonder if it came over during the War ?

nice anvil, congratulations!

to me, as I could see from the pictures, the weld seems like someone just welded a seam over the horn, like checking the rod, but not actually  trying to weld a crack in the horn. or if he wanted to weld that crack he doesn't weld it properly 

btw, I have the exact size, shape, but made in 1976, Fisher :)

An elegant solution to a "small shed" problem! It will please your neighbors too. IIRC Fishers were supplied as shipboard anvils for the US Navy so it might have made it over that way.

Going the opposite way I have bought several Broad Arrow, WWII dated hammers over here and one 7# straight peen sledge broad arrow marked and dated to the 1980's which must have made good time to get to way over here in the USA by the border with Mexico!

I looked at that .... thought it may well be but couldn't see the fisher logo on the ebay pics !! good job.
 
I wonder if it came over during the War ?

I had no plans to buy an anvil but couldn't resist when I realised it was a Fisher. It's a handy sized that will be useful to have.

TP, yup I think my neighbours will be much more appreciative of this one. The PW is a beautiful anvil and I am loathed to pass it on but it doesn't half make a lot of noise, even with a lot of dampening put in place.
One has to be realistic and practical about these things, and the reality is I just don't need an anvil of that size at the moment.


matei, you might be spot on with that idea. Hopefully things will become clear when I go get it next week. I'm actually hoping it's not a weld bead and is just some kind of gunk.

Supposedly the seller has another anvil as well so we will see what that is too.

I'll get better pics of this up ASAP.

Just to satisfy my own concerns. - I've only ever used forged or cast steel anvils and usually bigger ones too. Do I need to be more careful with this anvil or baby it in anyway?

Andy

I have a slightly larger model also dated 1942
Mine came from the San Diego shipyards originally.
I agree with Matei that the weld looks odd, the horns are fairly soft, I can't imagine one breaking that close to the body even with fantastic abuse, can you actually see a crack?
I am sure Nj anvil man will have some input for you as well.

How heavy a hammer do you usually use? Do you do your heavy work over the sweet spot? I would not baby it anymore than I would baby a built up anvil with forge welds at the horn and heel...No sledging on the end bits! Warm it on subzero C days---need to do that anyway to be able to forge efficiently.

How heavy a hammer do you usually use? Do you do your heavy work over the sweet spot? I would not baby it anymore than I would baby a built up anvil with forge welds at the horn and heel...No sledging on the end bits! Warm it on subzero C days---need to do that anyway to be able to forge efficiently.

Thanks Thomas, I knew it was a daft question but I'd rather ask and be a fool for five minutes than remain ignorant.

I'll check the horn over when I see it in the flesh, which won't be until next week as I'm on the rigs just now. I can make out a line in one of the pictures but it is hard to say if it is a crack or not.

All the best
Andy

Check around the weld to see if there is any HAZ as an anvil makes a pretty good contact quench and as I recall the top of the horn is High C

Weld looks pretty cold to me, based on the condition of the rest of the anvil I would say somebody welded on cause they had welder in hand and that was the closest piece of steel. At least they did it on the horn and not the face! Glad it survived thru the scrap metal drives during WW2.

If it was a Naval anvil then it was probably more protected from scrap drives than from dive bombers...

All of the production of Fisher during WW2 had to be cleared with the US Gov't for sale to civilians.  Most of the production went to the military.  Most likely the anvil was brought over to England to be used at an air base.

 

As for the weld, I would take a sanding flap disc and carefully level it down to the shape of the horn, and no more.  As was stated above, it was probably not a repair and more likely carelessness or just not respecting the tool.  If there was a defect under the weld, hopefully the weld took care of it.

 

No need to treat the Fisher anvil any different from any other anvil.  The top plate should be very hard, including the edges.  Just try not to miss when working over an edge.  Many Fisher anvils have chipped edges from carelessness.

 

Use the anvil properly and it will last for many generations.  Congrats on joining the FISHER family.

All of the production of Fisher during WW2 had to be cleared with the US Gov't for sale to civilians.  Most of the production went to the military.  Most likely the anvil was brought over to England to be used at an air base.
 
As for the weld, I would take a sanding flap disc and carefully level it down to the shape of the horn, and no more.  As was stated above, it was probably not a repair and more likely carelessness or just not respecting the tool.  If there was a defect under the weld, hopefully the weld took care of it.
 
No need to treat the Fisher anvil any different from any other anvil.  The top plate should be very hard, including the edges.  Just try not to miss when working over an edge.  Many Fisher anvils have chipped edges from carelessness.
 
Use the anvil properly and it will last for many generations.  Congrats on joining the FISHER family.

Thanks for posting NJman. That's very interesting I'll have to see if there were any air bases in that area during ww2.

I'll just have to suck it and see regarding the weld. I'll take it off with a flap disc nice and slowly. The main body of it will get the wire cup treatment.

Andy

Andy   It would be very interesting if you could trace back any history of the Fisher.  I have always said about these objects of history, "if they could talk" and tell us their history, who has worked on them, and what has been made on them.

 

We know where many anvils started their lives, and where they are now.  Its the in-between that I wonder about.

A quick google reveals there were numerous RAF bases in the area. Several of which were used by USAAF.

Most noteable is RAF Burtonwood:

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Burtonwood

Whilst still a few miles from where the anvil is currently located it is quite conceivable that this is where it went originally. Interestingly Burtonwood had a large maintenance facility and was transferred to the Americans in 1942.

This is all Just speculation obviously but made for interesting reading.

All the best
Andy

Two of my 1942 dated Fishers have a tag riveted to the anvil marked "Government Services Administration", which is the material buying and storage department for the US Gov't.   Your anvil 'might' have had it at one time.  See if there are two rivet holes about 1 1/2 " apart.  I will try to get a photo posted of what mine look like later.

Picked her up today and gave it a few minutes with a wire cup and then went over that nasty weld.







The face isn't as nice as I'd hoped, it looks as though someone used it as a welding table. There an 1/8" deep hole right in the middle, I can't tell what made it but there seems to be a few bits of weld splatter on there.
I took a flap disc to the horn and cleaned off that weld bead too.


More pics to follow,
Andy

Still a mighty fine anvil and I've no doubt it will clean up nicely with some hot iron and scale to smooth the face out.

as I supposed earlier, someone checked his welding rods on the anvil. how about the welding on the horn?

I took a flap dudc to the horn to clean off the weld bead. It seemed to clean up ok.

There were a few hammer dings on the horn too sadly.

I meant to get some more pictures up. I'll do that tomorrow.
Cheers
Andy

Even a 100# solid wrought anvil should be treated differently than a 200#. 

Pretty much avoid using a striker or at least, avoid using a long handled sledge above 6# (2.25 kilo). Only strike over the center of mass. 

If you can hurt it with a one hand hammer I would be surprised, but I would still never strike cold steel on it. 

 The hardy is the other weak spot on a small anvil.

Fit your hardies hot or grind them very carefully so you don't wedge the heel off. 

Thanks bud, all basic stuff really, just wanted to be sure.

I'll be building a better stand for it soon.

Andy

Thanks bud, all basic stuff really, just wanted to be sure.

I'll be building a better stand for it soon.

Andy

I actually had to be told not to use a huge sledge on a small anvil. Not trying to patronize, just passing it on. 

I have a pristine 70# Fisher, but I do zero heavy work on it. It is set higher than the larger Hay -Budd and used for finer work. 

 

I hope a grandchild cherishes it someday, still in mint condition. 

No worries mate.

This one will be set a little high too, like you say just for light work.

Andy

so, how about the horn weld, was it actually a real weld, or just some welder "droppings"? still curious...