Garage sale find.

[Dave Beauchesne]

Well, it has been pretty slow around here, but one thing I have been looking for is a small anvil. Not for Smithing work per se, just for tapping out dings, adding planishing marks, etc.
Originally from the Prairies, anvils of all sizes were a dime a dozen. West Coast, rare as hens teeth.
At a garage sale on Saturday, I looked under a table and there it sat. Not in great shape at all, but nothing I can't deal with. I guessed about 40-50 pounds; it is 40 on the nose. Perfect for the bench top.
Looked up FISHER anvil on the 'net, turns out this little puppy is from 1895, and is marked as a 40 pounder!! Lucky me. The ask; a couple bucks, she was thrilled when I gave her five, wouldn't take any more. They were her Dad's tools; she was just happy that it was going to be put to use.
I will get the top machined; May or may not bead blast it. It is in pretty poor shape in that regard.

[Christopher Pine]

What a steal! Great find!

Chris

[Todd Burch]

You suck!! Anvils are high here in Texas. Easily $4-$5/lb.

[David Weaver]

That's a great find. They're not quite as expensive here as they are in texas, but a dealer at a flea would've asked $100 for that here.

[george wilson]

I recommend that you get the top of your anvil GROUND. Preferably BLANCHARD ground(It is a coarser type of grinding). When blacksmiths around here have had to have their anvils ground,they have taken it to some place where they get them Blanchard ground.

Blanchard grinding is cheaper than having the anvil surface ground.

If you do get the top ground,first have the bottom milled so that the top is parallel to the bottom. If you do not do this,they may grind clear through the hardened top of the anvil trying to get it flat,if it sits on a tilt in relation to the bottom. Hope this makes sense.

I am assuming the anvil does have a tool steel top welded on. Now,I have seen Fisher anvils with a face only 1/4" thick,which is WAY too thin,and they were made that way. The top needs to be 3/4" thick,so it will not become sway backed from being hammered into the soft iron body. If you have a very thin top,and big chips around the edges,it may not be possible to grind the top completely clean and square edged. Smiths do require a fairly square edge. You may not.

The only cure for big chips around the edges is to have them filled with HARD WELD. Then,you can go back and have the top ground smooth. Hard weld is so hard,it can't be filed. It has to be done by a welder who knows about hard welding rod,and has it on hand. Regular weld will not do:it's soft.

[Judson Green]

George, couple years ago I had a blacksmithing acquaintance and he said something about striking it (the anvil) to see if it had a certain ring explaining that some go dead. Any truth to that? What happens?

[Dave Beauchesne]

Thanks George for the information.

It does indeed have chips on the edges; all I require is a smooth surface with some mass behind it, more for some hard ' tapping ' versus really wailing on it like a large, proper anvil.

I will ask the machinist about Blanchard grinding - I know they have a surface grinder, I think if they take off a sixteenth or so it will clean it up.

Again, thanks for passing on your knowledge.

[george wilson]

How thick is the tool steel top,and does it have one? Don't want to grind it too thin,or with pounding,your anvil will go sway back. If you have to,you can go with a surface grinder,but first mill the bottom of the anvil to get the top perfectly parallel. I'm sure surface grinding will cost more as it's slower. Depends upon the size of the surface grinder,and how coarse a stone it has available. They even surface grind table saw tops these days,and jointer tables. But they use huge surface grinders. Formerly these things were Blanchard ground,and left the circular swirls you see on old table saws. It was not as accurate as today's grinding.

About anvils going dead-I have not heard of an anvil that rings going dead. Be aware that some good anvils have purposely been made that do not ring. To save you from going deaf. I had a very nice non ringing anvil many years ago,and sold it because I thought it was faulty. Now I know better. Back then,even the black smiths apparently did not know such anvils were made. I chain my anvil down tight to the stump to make it not ring. All I want is a clack clack. My hearing is already a bit diminished as is.

Some anvils will not respond to being chained down,and might need an innertube wrapped around the waist,or around the base of their horns. Anvils are not all made the same way. Mine is solid tool steel all the way through,with no separate top welded on. It is quite hard. Then,there are anvil shaped objects made of just cast iron. Grizzly sells them. They will very soon wear out,and are no good for any kind of serious work.

[Daniel Sutton]

A Fisher is cast iron with a tool steel top. I would look up www.iforgiron.com for information on cleaning and repairing anvils. There is a member who owns a fisher anvil museum and has lots of knowledge on the subject. I have a couple of Fishers, they do not ring. A good test for quality is the ball bearing bounce test. Most people would advise against grinding an anvil without it being absolutely necessary.

[Dave Beauchesne]

Daniel:

Thanks for the info - I sent a message to NJ tonight - -

Dave B

[Daniel Sutton]

I hope he is able to help you out. It is a nice looking anvil.

[george wilson]

A 300# pound 18th. C. style anvil in the Anderson Blacksmith Shop in Wmsbg. I made the pattern for these. They were cast in a foundry in Texas from solid 4140 steel. In 40 years,they have not gotten sway backed,and are used daily.

Note how the anvil is tightly chained down so as to not ring.

They left the pattern with the foundry,and it was lost when it went out of business. I had to carve it so it looked hand forged. A rather bad loss. It takes time to make a pattern like that. And big wood.

Before I retired,I made a 5 leg earlier pattern anvil for them. They are trying to get it cast correctly(the foundry made the hardy hole too large) at a shipyard(I think). It is a 300 pounder too.

The 5th leg is just another leg in the middle of the anvil. It is a vestige of the "church windows" forged into the sides of much earlier anvils. Why they were made that way,I don't know. I could have bought a nice original Medieval anvil last year,but had no real use for another anvil,and it was pretty expensive,IIRC. Not an anvil I'd be wanting to beat on,anyway.

[Mel Fulks]

Too bad they lost the pattern, but one day on a forum...someone will report they found a wooden anvil!

[Daniel Sutton]

If you put a magnet under the end of the horn and on the heel, that will help with noise also. Along with the chain, some people will put a bead of silicone under the base. Chaining the anvil down also keeps it from moving. Even a 300 lb. anvil will move if you're using a striker and it's not secure.

George: Did they have those stumps anchored to the ground in some way?

[george wilson]

No,the stumps are not anchored. The assembly seems to be heavy enough to not walk about.

[Dave Beauchesne]

Update on the aforementioned anvil. I recieved a reply from Joshua at the Fisher Anvil Museum as follows:

'' The faceplate on a 40 lb FISHER anvil is only about 1/4" thick. If you want to clean it up(although I do not recommend it), I would use a surface grinder and take off .001 at a time. I know it will take a while, but it is easier to control the removal amount.
I would not mill the top unless that is your only tool available.
This size anvil has a thin top. It is really better to just lightly sand the top, then use it for a while. Remember that this is a small anvil, not intended for much over 1/2" stock hammered hot. If you intend to use bigger sizes of steel, I would look for a bigger anvil.''

Being this is a small anvil destined ( for me anyway ) for small work, I am very happy with it - I will buff it up and use it, regardless of it nearing 120 years of age.At least I won't have to worry about the casting not being seasoned.

Dave B

[Daniel Sutton]

I'm glad you got the info you needed. At Quad State this year someone had a 700 lb Fisher. It was quite a sight to see. As George Wilson said, make sure that you have it anchored down when your hammering on it. An anvil that size will move all over the place.

[Lon Crosby]

It is a blacksmiths anvil, designed to have red hot metalplaced upon it, after which the metal is beat into shape using big hammers. Itis not a jeweler’s anvil. Most blacksmiths who buy new anvils with sharp edgesimmediately take an angle grinder and round them over. A blacksmiths anvil isnot a precision tool. So take an angle grinder, slap a coarse grit disc on itand go to work on the top and edges. My guess is that none of the rust pits aredeep enough to justify milling. Then move to finer grits, you want smooth andpolished. Beating on hot metal (neander style) is very therapeutic. If you are a serious woodworker, you can build your own chisels which will work far better than most anything you can buy out of a catalog.

[Dave Beauchesne]

It is a blacksmiths anvil, designed to have red hot metalplaced upon it, after which the metal is beat into shape using big hammers. Itis not a jeweler’s anvil. Most blacksmiths who buy new anvils with sharp edgesimmediately take an angle grinder and round them over. A blacksmiths anvil isnot a precision tool. So take an angle grinder, slap a coarse grit disc on itand go to work on the top and edges. My guess is that none of the rust pits aredeep enough to justify milling. Then move to finer grits, you want smooth andpolished. Beating on hot metal (neander style) is very therapeutic. If you are a serious woodworker, you can build your own chisels which will work far better than most anything you can buy out of a catalog.


Lon:

I realize it is not meant to be a precision tool - ' beating on hot metal ' is theraputic - I have done it a very little.

I will re-purpose this one a bit to cold tapping small copper and brass rivets, some small tool adjustments etc. It is just nice to have something with a little mass that gives proper feedback when using it for the purposes I listed. Also, a smoother surface on the backside ( anvil side ) gives a better finished product - just like using a marred up faced hammer on copper rivets gives poor results on that face. Konrad Saurer just posted something along those lines on his blog a few weeks ago.


More than anything, having a 119+ year old anvil at my disposal will make me smile every time I look at it! 'Nuff said!.

Thanks for the replies and input everyone -

Dave B