A second Rigid Peddinghaus No. 9 for comparison
Another newbie here. I've been lurking for a few months and discovered this thread a few days ago while waiting for my Peddinghaus No. 9 anvil to arrive.
I went to the shipping company depot today to pick it up and dropped a 1" ball bearing on it from various heights before loading it. The anvil was wiped down with acetone first.
The rebound in the center seems very good, dropping off a bit towards the edges. Measured carefully once I got home, it is 37.5 inches out of 40 or just over 90% near the center.
Interestingly the ball leaves marks on the anvil, but these ones are not divots like the ones on Barry's anvil. They are grey marks when side lit and they disappear when lit from behind.
They also have no perceptible depth when viewed or lit from any angle, and I cannot feel them with a fingernail. They buff out with 1500 grit paper fairly easily, although you can tell the steel is hard and cuts slowly.
My guess is that the ball being harder and smoother than the anvil is able to slightly flatten the peaks of the grinding scratches and modify the way they reflect light. By the way, the anvil finish looks a little bit finer than 1500 grit and the camera really emphasizes the grainy appearance some of you have noticed. I bet if this anvil was a decade old and no longer shiny I would not be able to see any effect.
I'm satisfied with keeping this anvil and hope to get lots of good use out of it.
Here are some pictures showing the marks, how they are less visible when wiped with WD-40, how they buff out with 1500 grit paper and a picture of the anvil itself which looks just like Barry's except that I think the droop is is less on this one.
Best of luck to you, Barry - hope you get a good one soon.
