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I Forge Iron

A really nice ugly Fisher...


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I got this because of the stand and a decent asking price. Both the anvil and stand were covered in paint which gave it a nice look but i wanted to see what I had bought. I'm not really up on Fisher history but I do recall reading that the later Fishers could be pretty rough...my Fisher appears to have been made with a putty knife. The rebound is great over the entire face with the normal drop out on the heal. The corners/edges are about as clean as they can be so there's no question of it's useability. The only stamp I've found is the weight stamp on the foot. I figured someone out there might like seeing how ugly a really nice anvil can be.

 

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Yes, it is a FISHER anvil.  Probably made in the 1962 to 1979 era of production by Crossley Machine, still in Trenton, NJ.  The "putty knife" marks are from an air chisel that was used to clean up and remove extra iron from a bad casting.  They chiseled off excess metal from under the heel and a bit on the side face, then did minimal grinding to smooth it out slightly.

The lack of FISHER and the logo is common on Fisher anvils from this era.  Most of the moldmakers were former Fisher employees, but Crossley was very concerned with costs, and cut out some steps to save even minutes or seconds.  The stand is also a Fisher/Crossley product, but it is not marked as earlier stands were.  Again a step to save seconds in production time.

While not cosmetically perfect, it is perfectly usable.  If it is ever for sale, PM me.

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Gorgeous anvil and stand.  I've really like to get my hands on a heavy stand like that.

I'm trying to wrap my brain around the Crossley era cost-cutting measures.  Putting out unbranded equipment doesn't seem like it would be a good financial idea in the long run.  Of course, maybe they saw the writing on the wall and knew their days were numbered.

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Gorgeous anvil and stand.  I've really like to get my hands on a heavy stand like that.

I'm trying to wrap my brain around the Crossley era cost-cutting measures.  Putting out unbranded equipment doesn't seem like it would be a good financial idea in the long run.  Of course, maybe they saw the writing on the wall and knew their days were numbered.

​Crossley produced anvils from 1962 to the end of 1979.  The only reason they ceased anvil production and all casting was new Air Pollution standards from the Federal Gov't.  They could not justify the cost of putting filters/scrubbers on their melting furnace.  They used the type that had been used for a couple hundred of years:  dump in scrap iron/ coke/ fluxes/ and a few more ingredients, add a strong high volume blast of air, and draw off molten iron from the bottom.  Continue to add fuel and scrap throughout the pour.

Crossley produced the Fisher anvil as long as they could.  They had a deadline to meet by Jan. 1, 1980.  They chose not to do anything except shut down the foundry and not produce anvils or any of their other products.  They were producing anvils/vises/saw anvils to the very end, and according to records I have, were actually making a small profit from this part of their operation.  The final anvil pour was the week before Christmas 1979.

When I finish my book, I will publish their time/work sheets that I found.  Very interesting. 

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I was guessing that the "putty knife" marks were from someone fixing a bad mold. Never would've guessed they were from post pour clean up. I saw (your) the Fisher display at ABANA and I was aware that they could be rough. At first I was a little disappointed with how rough it is. Then I saw how good the rebound is so I started to think of it as, Beauty and the Beast.

I haven't weighed anything so I can't say how much the stand weighs. I'm guessing it's around 50-75lbs as the pair feel a little heavier to move than my 198lb anvil. 

NJ, check your inbox (if you haven't already)...

 

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