On Mon, 03 Jun 2013 22:02:51 -0400, woodchucker
Always wanted a place to bang metal w/o ruining my workbench.
So I clean this puppy off and try peening a piece of metal.. I start
seeing the metal's shape appear in the anvil. Looks like the anvil is
too soft.. Then I just hit the anvil with the ball peen and it dents.

If you decide to try another anvil, you might consider one of these.
I've got one and it seems pretty solid. It's only 7 lbs, but it might
meet your needs.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/pag...=1,43456,43465