Anvil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An anvil is a manufacturing tool, made of a hard and massive block of stone or metal used as a support for chiseling and hammering other objects, such as in forging iron and steel items.
Contents |
[edit] Types of anvil
There are many designs for anvils, which are often tailored for a specific purpose or to meet the needs of a particular smith.
The common blacksmith's anvil is made of either forged or cast steel, tool steel, or wrought iron (cast iron anvils are generally shunned, as they are too brittle for repeated use, and do not return the energy of a hammer blow like steel). Historically, some anvils have been made with a smooth top working face of hardened steel welded to a cast iron body, though this manufacturing method is no longer in use. It has at one end a projecting conical bick (beak, horn) for use in hammering curved pieces of metal. Occasionally the other end is also provided with a bick, which is then partly rectangular in section. Most anvils made since the late 1700s also have a hardy hole and a pritchel hole where various tools, such as the anvil-cutter or hot chisel, can be inserted to be held by the anvil. Some anvils have several hardy and pritchel holes, to accommodate a wider variety of hardy tools and pritchels. An anvil may also have a softer pad for chisel work.
An anvil for a power hammer is usually supported on a massive anvil block, sometimes weighing over 800 tons for a 12-ton hammer, and this again rests on a strong foundation of timber and masonry or concrete.
[edit] History
Anvils have been used since early Bronze Age times by smiths of all kinds for metal work, although the tool was also used in much earlier epochs for stone and flint work.
There are many references to anvils in ancient Greek and Egyptian writing, including Homer's works. The anvil was perfected during the Middle Ages when iron working was commonplace.
[edit] Etymology
The word "anvil" derives from Anglo-Saxon anfilt or onfilti, either that on which something is "welded" or "folded," cf. German falzen, to fold, or connected with other Teutonic forms of the word, cf. German amboss, in which case the final syllable is from "beat," and the meaning is "that on which something is beaten".
[edit] Anvils in art and entertainment
[edit] Television and film
A typical metalworker's anvil, with horn at one end and flat face at the other, is a standard prop for animated cartoon gags, as the epitome of a heavy and clumsy object that is perfect for dropping onto the villain of the story, a convention started and most often used in Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts and later animated properties based on or influenced by them.
[edit] Musical instruments
Anvils have been used as percussion instruments in several famous musical compositions, including:
- Verdi's Il Trovatore, featuring the famous Anvil Chorus (1853)
- Wagner's Das Rheingold (1854)
- Holst's Second Suite in F for Military Band (1946), which includes a movement titled "Song of the Blacksmith".
- Pieces by Lully.
- Howard Shore's orc material in The Lord of the Rings films.
There are at least two notable compositions titled Anvil Polka, one by Albert Parlow and the other by Strauss; the latter traditionally features a percussionist wearing a leather apron.
[edit] Entertainment
In the past, people in the Southern United States practiced anvil launching for entertainment as a substitution for fireworks.
[edit] Trivia
The Norwegian municipality of Hol has three anvils in its coat-of-arms.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
 Metalworking:
|
|
|---|---|
|
Smiths | Blacksmith | Coppersmith | Goldsmith | Gunsmith | Locksmith | Pewtersmith | Silversmith | Bladesmith | Tinsmith | Whitesmith |
|
|
Metalworking tools: |
Anvil | Forge | Forging | Fuller | Hardy hole | Hardy tools | Pritchel | Slack tub | Steam hammer | Swage block | Trip hammer |
|
|
|
|
Casting | CNC | Cutting tools | Drilling and threading | Fabrication | Finishing | Grinding | Jewellery | Lathe (tool) | Machining | Machine tooling | Measuring | Metalworking | Hand tools | Metallurgy | Milling | Occupations | Press tools | Smithing | Terminology | Welding |
|
