Wow. Tried my new hand piece barrel with the 10 mm ball bearing as piston, combined with the new tire inflator this afternoon. I’m afraid that with this combination, I’m afraid that I might have too much power; power which I, at this stage, am unable to control.

The first thing I noticed is how loud the impact of the ball bearing hitting the tool holder is. With the old inflator and old piston made from bolt and nuts, I could still work without earphones on. The current setup produces a constant tapping sound which is not only loud, but also rather high-pitched. I had no choice but to put on my earphones which muffled the sound and listened to some 80s music as I work.

Working at my usual speed (30 – 35 on the speed control), it wasn’t difficult for me to make cuts which went too deep, too quickly. I had to tune it down to the 20s to make fine shading easier. Though the practice plates I’m using are made of copper (soft metal), it was still impressive to see whenever my graver made such a deep cut as though it was cutting through butter.

With my current skill level, this extra power might be too much for me. Also, I doubt I will be working with the harder metal (like steel) in the future. However, it is good to know the potential of this setup.

The spring I’m using with the ball bearing, is nothing more than the make shift spring I made with a random piece of 925 silver flat wire I found in my tool box. It’s made from the same piece of silver wire the spring in the other barrel is made from; I cut it in two because it was too long.

Although I didn’t get my box of springs yesterday, I actually do not need them at the moment. However, I did place another order from another supplier online right after I applied for a full refund for the wrong delivery. If my box of springs ever made its long and perilous journey across the world to me, it means I can, potentially, have EVEN MORE POWER!

Okay. Time for me to go back to practicing. Today, I am learning about “flare cut”.