Manno Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 Been seeking an additional anvil for...over a year now? First anvil was given to me by a good neighbor. 75lb Columbia. Been working with that since. Budget is mighty low. Front Range Colorado is filthy with over priced "antiques". So buying one of those at about $10 a lb was out of the question. Suddenly today a guy I talked to about a year ago is liquidating his families garage tools and he called me because I had expressed interest once upon a time. Well, I walked away with this collection for $350. Looks like a Fisher 200lb, A Trenton 75(ish)lb, and a vice that is either missing it's leg, or is a bench vice? I believe the Fisher endured a barn fire and maybe has 50% rebound and little to no ring, but still seems serviceable. The Trenton appears to be more or less new. The vice has good looking jaws and a well maintained screw. Still a fairly new smith and buyer of smithing tools. Does this lot look good to you folks? Any advice on what to do with that Fisher in terms of servicing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goods Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 Looks like a fair amount of rust on the fisher and that could interfere with the rebound. Clean the face up real good with a wire brush and test it again. If the result doesn’t change you not out anything but a few minutes of cleaning. Honestly, it should still work as well as an improvised anvil and if you can avoid dinging it up too badly, it should work harden over time... With today’s prices you did good! David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 What leads you to believe the Fisher was in a fire? They are very quiet anvils to begin with. I believe the vise is a wagon mount. I would say you did well at $350 U.S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 A Fisher never rings, they thunk instead. They were even advertised as quiet anvils. I love my 260# Fisher due to how quiet it is. Looks like a wagon tongue vise to me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 I call it a "thwap" when I am working on my Fisher. A wagon tongue vise---note: they are more "collectible"; rather than modify it; you might be able to trade it straight across for a good leg vise---especially if you clean it up a bit before showing it off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manno Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 That's very interesting about the Fisher thunk. Thanks for the info all. Also, Thomas, thanks for the heads up on the "collectibility" of that wagon tongue. I'll have to put it out there and see what happens. 51 minutes ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said: What leads you to believe the Fisher was in a fire? They are very quiet anvils to begin with. I believe the vise is a wagon mount. I would say you did well at $350 U.S. Well, the stump it was on when I bought it was charred fairly well though still intact. There also appears to be some blacked spots on the base. However, when I asked the owner before purchasing, he said it was "Fire adjacent". haha. Pics of it on the stump attached. I've already mounted the Fisher, which turns out is 100lbs. Made a few leaves and hooks on it. Wow, what a change from my 75lb Columbia. WOuld not have imagined 25lbs would make that much difference. One last thing, Does anyone know what the foot of the Fisher are? Four marks, a U mark and two more marks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 Char is a bad sign, especially if it goes deep; but the proof of the pudding is in the hammering stuff on it and see how it does! (Folks may not want to eat if I'm providing desert!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manno Posted September 11, 2020 Author Share Posted September 11, 2020 Ah sorry folks. Mis-typed last post. The Fisher is the 200lb and I have mounted the Trenton which is 100lb. It seems nearly new. Very clean all around. One interesting thing about it is this strange border around the face. Does anyone know what this is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 Looks alot like someone welded around the edges then ground it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 That looks like someone tried to repair damaged edges by welding all the way around the face and grinding it smooth. That carries a great risk of causing cracking in the HAZ, so be careful! Ah, Das got there first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 Tried to repair it with high nickle rod. I hope they did a proper preheat so you don't have a brittle zone in the HAZ! (Such "repairs"? really drops the price for me as you can't tell if they did it right or not. The high Ni rod makes you wonder if they knew anything about welding on anvils.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manno Posted September 11, 2020 Author Share Posted September 11, 2020 Was worried you all would say that. I gave it a good pounding yesterday and didn't notice any chipping or other problems. Still, what do I know? I guess we'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 Might take a file and see how the interface between the face and the weld "feels". You may be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 It really looks like the person who did that Thought an anvil is better with sharp edges. With experience you'll find different radiused edges are actually beneficial. Don't worry too much about it, it's still a very usable anvil. Just try not to misstrike on the edges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manno Posted September 11, 2020 Author Share Posted September 11, 2020 Got the brush to the big Fisher this morning. Here on some shots of the face. Lots of chipping here. Still serviceable I feel, but like my 75lb Columbia, not much to work with in terms of edges. Any input on this one? Truthfully, mostly bummed about that big chip out of the nearside where a lot of my work gets done as an amateur. My Columbia has that same chipping pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 Turn the horn the other way? Make a 4 radii edge tool for the hardy? Find an ABANA Affiliate hosting an anvil repair day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manno Posted September 11, 2020 Author Share Posted September 11, 2020 Thanks Thomas. You are some kind of all present demi-god of this forum aren't you? While I'm at it, anyone want a go at the serial on the Trenton? As always, thanks everyone for this amazing community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 If you need a radius, weld a hardie post on a piece of plate (the width of your anvil face) and put a different radius on each edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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