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Old 08-25-2006, 05:18 PM
Allan Allan is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Baltimore. MD
Posts: 103
Default Re: Push graver vs Palm Control Airgraver

Well since we're now getting paid in big gulps to answer questions.....


After using traditional gravers for about twenty five years the transition to the Lindsay tool was about half an hour. Most of it spent it playing around the air pressure controls on the regulators. Everything else flowed very naturally.

I use quite a few different sized round tools, but no matter the width the cutting is done with a great deal of control and the power is adjustable from very fine cutting to brute force removal of metal.

In doing my general jewelry engraving there isn't a whole lot of time saved over traditional tools. That's just as far as the cutting is concerned.

This is where the time actually gets saved. Like Ray said you save a ton of time in not having to do repairs caused by broken points. As long as you are not helping the tool cut by pushing excessively the most you will get is light scratching as the tool dances in place. In five years of constant use we have not had to repair any pieces due to tool breakage. And I work in soft metals where the surface is easily marred.

If you cut long lines you save a lot of time in just letting the tool keep cutting instead of having to stop, flick off the metal and start cutting. I have a trophy with complicated lettering that used to take four hours with traditional tools that now takes a little over two and a half.

Another time saving is in bulk removal of metal. Again this is in soft metal but when I have to take out lots of metal around an image I crank the classic up to about 45PSI, open the holes up and the metal flies out. There's not a lot of fine control under these conditons but I'm not looking for any either. I usually use flat tools for this.

I work in a store that bought my tools for me. I'm not sure that the store would have gone for the price of the palm control, but the classic with the foot pedal was an easy sell. Tell your boss that we probably paid for ours in saved time and not replacing merchandise in about three months if that. We have three in our shop and they are as reliable as any tool can get. Five years of service, fifty hours a week with no repairs. The only thing we have to replace on a regular basis are some rubber o-rings, the screw that tightens the graver into place and the allen wrench that tightens the screw into place. And the only reason we replace those on a regular basis is because we change tools, literally every few minutes. Even with that, Steve supplies enough with the intial purchase to last for a while. I think that in the last five years I have spent maybe ten dollars for those three parts, and only because I insisited that I pay for them. Steve wanted to send them out for free.

If you do any kind of engraving, the purchase of a classic airgraver is a complete no-brainer.

If your boss wants to talk to me about send me a private message and we can work out a time.

I'll have the diet coke big gulp with the cherry flavoring.

Allan
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