This is a hexagonal steel anvil. It is used as a base for riveting, drilling, and staking small parts. It has been cased harded for long life. It has 15 holes and 5 slots (of varying thickness for making rivets). Measures 2inches, corner to corner. 7/8inch thick. (Model: AN200, made in India).
Now, the next important question: how to use the hex anvil?
How To Use Hex Anvil
All I found are the few videos below. They all touch on it and a bit on how to rivet pin heads. I have listed them below in my order of preference & recommendation.
Sorry - that's all the best I can find at the moment.
Most of the information available on the hex anvil is on how to use it for riveting. NONE of them provide a how to, or an explation on all the features on the hex anvil: how to use the holes for drilling and staking; how to use the angled slots on the sides. It is all a mystery.
DIY Silversmithing 101
by Wild Prairie Silver, on YouTube
Another video on how to use the hex anvil to make headpins. This is the best of the 3 suggested videos here because the person gets right to it with no useless ramble and fluff.
How to Make Headpins
by Cool Tools Videos, on YouTube
The video starts talking about the riveting anvils (including the hex anvil) at 0:25 in. The whole video is pretty much worth watching if you want to see how to use the hex anvil to make headpins.
Tool Tip Tuesday - Watchmaker's Block
by Little Metal Foxes, on YouTube
In this video, they do ramble on but they are talking about the hex anvil and another differently shaped riveting block. If you would rather not suffer the rambling talk, then you can start at about 1:10 in. They are not the most comprehensive tutorial on the hex anvil, but they do fill in some information gaps. They are also not very sure about the purpose of the slots on the sides.
Note: They don't provide a full tutorial. They talk a lot and show some basic uses of the rivet blocks. If you feel like it, you can watch the full video (17:37) but I couldn't watch it all - too much rambling talking.
