Steel Bench Block Flat Anvil Jewelers Tool 4 x 4" x 1/2"
by Beadsmith
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List Price: Our Price: $19.70 You Save: $10.29 (34%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Art and Craft Supply See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Steel Bench Block Flat Anvil Jewelers Tool 4 x 4" x 1/2"
Customer Review: Good low cost anvil
Summary: 4 Stars
Ideally, you want a piece of 4" by 4" top quality steel that's 1/2" thick and a perfect rectangular solid. That would require every angle to be 90 degrees, every surface to be perfectly flat, and have a perfect finish. Every one that leaves the shop would be identical. In real life, the question is how close the item comes to that with respect to how the product will be used.
The short answer is that this product will work fine for intended tasks. You need the working surface to be flat and even, and this one is as good as I hoped for.
This is a good product that stood up to scrutiny when checked carefully. I'll mention what I looked at, if only to let you know that somebody looked. But you already know my conclusion.
One side of my anvil came with a very good finish. It was smooth and flat, and held up to close inspection. The other side has the telltale signs of unevenness that an experienced metal finisher would notice immediately, but not ones that would affect the product's use. It would not be an issue if given as a gift and most people would not have seen anything that looked "wrong." All of this became irrelevant after using the product for a few minutes with a hammer.
Before I used it, I checked the better looking side for flatness with some shop tools. It passed the tests. The other side did not appear perfectly flat, and it wasn't, but it shouldn't make a practical difference. To confirm things, I placed the block on a perfectly machined metal surface on a quality router table. As expected, the anvil had no wobble at all and no signs of deviation when I used the "good" side. The other side, when placed on the same table, had a very minor wobble.
In real life, both sides are closer to 100% flat than your table or work bench is likely to be, so an extra degree of precision would not change anything. For practical purposes, anything better in a steel bench block of this size would be a waste of money.
Customer Review: Nice but I wish I had gotten the one with the rubber bottom
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a really nice bench block but I wish I had gotten the rubber one so that I could work harden my wire without marring it.