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Miniature anvil, gurus ID please??

ritzblitz

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May 5, 2013
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Hi guys,
I got this small anvil today for free, I am not sure what it is or what it's worth so I was hoping some anvil junkies could chime in perhaps.

There are no markings. It's probably nothing but I want to be sure.
 

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WWIIjeep

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It's a jewelers' anvil. For making and repairing jewelry. Also sometimes called a jewelers' stake.
 

WWIIjeep

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I strongly doubt the top piece was hand made. The base may have been; hard to tell.

Agreed. What's the base made of?

Jewelers' stakes usually have a tapered pin at the bottom to set into a socket on a jewelers' bench plate or to be driven into a block of wood or other material like that one appears to have been.
 
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ritzblitz

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The base is wooden. I doubt a jeweler would want to use such a small anvil for anything other than decoration? The length might be 2" and maybe it is 1/2" across..
 

astroracer

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The base is wooden. I doubt a jeweler would want to use such a small anvil for anything other than decoration? The length might be 2" and maybe it is 1/2" across..

Why would you doubt that? You asked the question. You got an answer and that is EXACTLY what it is... If you had Google you could search "jewelers anvil" and get a thousand hits... Try it, works very well...
http://www.firemountaingems.com/itemdetails/H203228TL
 
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neophyte

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The base is wooden. I doubt a jeweler would want to use such a small anvil for anything other than decoration? The length might be 2" and maybe it is 1/2" across..

Thats a jewelers anvil. I've seen them in catalogs, and I've seen jewelers actually use them when working on very small pieces. Many jewelers actually work in very small shops, and sometimes even just on a desk sized bench in a corner of their house or apartment. They may not do their kiln or torch work on the bench, but much of the other work likely is, so using a small anvil hammered into a block of wood that they can put away in a drawer when not needed makes sense. The tiny work surface is also needed for some operations dealing with very small parts.
 

Scout Driver

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Again, jeweler's anvil. I've also seen them for sale on Eastwood's website to be used for repairing auto-body trim pieces.

Scott
 

Outlawmws

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The base is wooden. I doubt a jeweler would want to use such a small anvil for anything other than decoration? The length might be 2" and maybe it is 1/2" across..

Jewelers work with VERY soft metals typically. gold silver copper, maybe brass. it takes VERY little to form these materials in the sizes they work with. I'm sure a Watchmaker could make use of the thing as well at times.

The hammers used (of many types) are ofter in the 1 oz or less category. even brass, copper and leather faced hammers are in use, and they make a tack hammer look like a sledge...

When I was a kid it was a popular thing to take a (Silver not clad) Quarter and tap on the edges using a teaspoon. eventually the edge would mushroom out and when they got it where they wanted it, they would drill out the center, and finish it off, inside an out, and voila! A silver ring! All using a teaspoon!
 
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ritzblitz

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Quakertown, PA
Why would you doubt that? You asked the question. You got an answer and that is EXACTLY what it is... If you had Google you could search "jewelers anvil" and get a thousand hits... Try it, works very well...
http://www.firemountaingems.com/itemdetails/H203228TL

Thanks for the kind reply.

To everyone else, thanks. It just seemed so small to even bother with, but having never worked on jewelry before, I guess I wouldn't know. I have a family friend who makes jewelry, and she uses a much much larger anvil. I really just thought this was a toy or something since it was so small and not even half a pound.
 
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Tbabble

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Aug 22, 2013
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Location
Southern California
Double Horned Stake Anvil, driven into a piece of wood. They come in various shapes and sizes and very common since producing enough metal to make a full size "modern" London pattern style was very difficult a few hundred years ago.

Here's a link to a few sites I've come across as I've trained my blacksmithing skills with some interesting reads on them.

Black Iron
Anvil Fire
 
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zkling

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Jan 23, 2007
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I strongly doubt the top piece was hand made. The base may have been; hard to tell.

Only reason I said that is because I know a few guys that make small custom anvils for the jewelery crowd. The ones they make look exactly like that. Typically the production versions are a bit more intricate with smoother lines and or a casting of the manufacture. :dunno: More than likely I am wrong though.
 
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