[Steve Lindsay]

I use brass for a gold inlay punch. I have two larger ones used with a hammer and a smaller one used in the airgraver. Attached is a picture of the smaller one. It is 3/32" dia. x 1-1/16" long and tapered down to 0.40" on the working end.

Also in the picture is a stipple tool used in the airgraver. It is brass tubing, 3/32"od x 1/16"id. The 1/16"id fits the dental burs. Squish the back end of the tubing a little with pliers and then jam in a cut off shank from a bur. This is just to fill the void in the back end of the tubing. The front end is then use to slip the dental burs in and out. I'm sharpening the burs into a stipple point by spinning the bur in the NSK handpiece while holding the bur against a diamond lap on the power hone. Use the stippling point to help out with bulino dotting. The working end of the stippling point can be sharpened with a round point (similar to a needle) or ground with 3 flats on it to make up a triangle point. With this in the airgraver it is used the more open places in the bulino scenes to lay a lot of dots down quick. For the more critical areas of a scene, I use a 45 degree face square graver without a heel in an old palm wood handle along with another bur shaped similar to the stipple point bur but used in a pin vise.

The hole in the nose of the AirGraver is .133" diameter which is the size of a 3/32" square measure across the corners. Anything under this size will fit. (1/8 rod will fit, 1/8 = 0.125") To get a shank past the oring in the nose chamfer the end edge of whatever shank you're pushing in or it will tear up the o-ring. This goes for the 3/32" square gravers too. If the o-ring gets torn up after time it can be replaced.

Steve