Most only take 2-3 whacks. I find using the bar stool I sit on works well. Bricks and cement floor worked as well but my workbench not so much.

The vise on my workbench has a little 3 inch square anvil-type area that is perfect for whacking with the bullet puller.
As for components, I would be very hesitant to reuse any powder unless I was absolutely sure I knew what it was, and then still maybe not. Ken

Frankford Arsenal, blue with aluminum shaft bullet puller? If so, save you're money for a an RCBS because the Frankford is going to break. I had a Frankford Arsenal puller that lasted less than 150 rounds before the plastic started cracking and broke. As far as technique goes, when you strike whatever surface you're using as an anvil, do it in such a way that the hammer head doesn't bounce back off the surface....strike bluntly. More forward inertia is transferred to the bullet this way.

The surface I use to strike the hammer is a 10# lead ingot.