Bench Pin and Anvil

This little tool has done everything I expected it to do!I really need to make a tracing of the bench pin before it gets too beat up. That way, I can easily make a replacement for it when the time comes to replace it.Some reviews mentioned that there was paint on top of the anvil? Mine had no paint and the top was ground flat. It was covered by a film of grease (thank you) and folks, that is a GOOD THING! A little elbow grease and the extra was removed. I like to keep a thin film of lube on the top so it doesn't rust.The clamp holds firmly and my bench is about 1 1/4" thick. A quick measurement shows that with the bench pin held in place as well as the anvil, you may be hard pressed to use the clamp on a 2" thick bench. As always YRMVIt seems sturdy enough, I used the anvil as a base to steady my Rathburn ring sizer (see review on that) on a quick ring stretch job and it held up quite well. Will it hold up to forge horse shoes? Most likely not... Remember, it is for jewelry - human jewelry anyway.

I saw that several others had some negative remarks about this product. I do not agree. Mine arrived yesterday. I took it out and examined it thoroughly. It has been greased by the manufacturer for the purpose of protecting the metal and moving parts. All I had to do was lightly wipe the areas with a soft towel and It was fine. I was able to install it onto my jewelry bench in a couple of seconds. It sits just about where I want it to. The moving parts move smoothly with no problems. The only thing I will say, just for reference purposes, is that the bench pin is slightly narrower than my prior ones. I had a different system to attach a bench pin to my jewelry bench. I decided that I wanted to incorporate the anvil bench pin so I ordered this one. My previous bench pins (the wooden part) are about 1/2 inch wider. It is not a big problem because I can just saw off a bit of the old pins but ends to make them narrower if I decide I want to use one. You just need to order the right size of pin so It will easily insert into the opening.

Works great, and does the trick. You really can't beat this price for the quality. The only downside is that you need to make sure your workbench or table isn't too thick to fit this clamp on. My main workbench ended up being a bit too thick for this, but it's not a surprise as it wasn't originally meant to be a jeweler's workbench, but rather a wood working bench that I just kind of transformed. Try not to get it wet if possible because I don't think the metal is stainless and it certainly doesn't have a protective coat on the anvil head and will likely rust.

The bench clamp is built of strong, thick sectioned, "cast iron." The wooden "pin" is an easily replaceable item which may be readily modified to each individual's preference. This anvil is of the same high quality that I found when I bought my first one in 1965. I gave that away a few years ago when I thought that I would not need it! In "real money" terms this one cost less than did the one back then. Extremely good value for the price!! This is no cheap "clip on!"PS. It requires that the bench top be of less than ~1¼"/30mm or ~30mm thickness. I quickly chiseled a notch a quarter inch/7mm deep and about ¾/19mm inch wide two inches back into the bottom of my 1½"/38mm shop work bench to allow the clamp screw to slide under the bench top.. Not a problem!! It will easily clamp to jewelers'/watchmakers' benches

It seems handy to have a flat metal plate near your bench pin, and it is, the problem with this product is the metal is too soft for stamping or planishing your work. I found after a few stamps into copper or silver with letter stamps, that it left impressions in the metal. Now the marks left behind will texture my work if I used it as a flat surface to straighten or flatten metal with a rawhide mallet. My advice is to get a polished steel stamping block and use one side for stamping and keep the other side pristine for flattening/planishing out work you want to keep clean.

Nice hefty anvil, Solid pin. My only concern is how well the clamp will hold up over time. It looks a little flimsy, but we will see. Very happy with it so far.

I bought this for jewelry designs and love it. The only thing I don't like is that the bench pin tongue has to be long enough to fit the entire length of the top of the anvil or it will not clamp correctly. So, if you purchase a replacement, but sure to purchase one that is at least 3 inches long.

It was not exactly what I expected. It is small, does not latch tightly to my bench, so I am going to create a base and attach it to the base. A bit more work but hopefully it keeps it in place. I would look for a bigger one if you are doing a lot of work, I am a weekend jewelry wannabe so it works for me.