I lost internet late this afternoon. There were some things I wanted to add to this discussion.
First, would be that knowing what needs material added to it is every bit as valuable as being able to add it. Very likely for investment grade guns, more so. Secondly, that "the knowing" has value, and we should be willing to pay for it.
Craft dies when we no longer support Craftsmen.
I mentioned the little shop in PA, because it might be nice to have a shop that can do the little stuff for people. I don't know them, but having been in dozens of tool shops, the pics tell most of the story. Give them a little job (like maybe an off face Tobin) and then see how it goes. Remember, after the material is added, it still has to be fit, dressed and polished.
I added the link to the Kiwi shop, because it was the first site I could find that showed the tiny filler rod being applied. There are applications where the filler rod must be held in robotic graspers because the resonance of the heart beat shakes the filler rod too much. Tiny stuff.
Even after knowing about this stuff for 30 years, I am still amazed that a person can put three beads across the crimped end of a copper capillary tube free hand.
There was another site that showed how the light is directed to create pin point heat. I should have grabbed that illustration.
Very likely, within your immediate surroundings is something that was formed in a mold. Maybe a plastic cup or utensil. The cavities in the molds are marked with tiny letters or symbols. Making changes to these tiny codes requires micro welding. The mold could wear, or break, or be revised, and the little cavity stamp would need to be changed. Hot Wheels used to have tiny print cast on their bottoms.
I find as I get older, that I want to pay people to do stuff. Mostly to keep craftsmen crafting. I wonder how many of us have decorative plaster cornices in our living rooms. That's another craft area slowly disappearing.
