Originally developed by Ultra-Speed Products to spray cooling water onto glass that is being deeply engraved, the Turbo-Carver Misting System has become a Godsend for egg carvers. Why? Because the water can be set to a fine mist which will eliminate dust as you carve. Teachers will love it because the units are small enough to carry to classes, thus avoiding the problem of how to get dust boxes to all the students.

Lets look at the unit itself. The storage tank is molded from tough ABS plastic and measures only 5" tall by 4" wide. When filled with distilled water, the tank can release anything from a fine mist of water to a concentrated spray on your work, cooling the cutting bur and making it last much longer.

But, the really good news is that tests show that, when properly adjusted, it removes virtually all of the egg dust and 90% of the fumes! Debra Jenny has been using this unit out in California since November of last year and she says, "I've been using my Turbo-Carver with the water mist spray almost on a daily basis, and I have been impressed with the ease of its handling. Since I have asthma, the spray mist is very useful, and it does in fact, keep the dust to a minimum. The spray is directed at the area being carved, and the stream can be adjusted so that if you don't want the mist you can simply turn it off." Paul Dietermann of St. Louis has been running the unit through its paces for one of his friends in his local Egg Guild and he echoes Debra's sentiments: "I have found the water mister system to be very good. I used it on an egg at my dining table and could see no dust residue at all." And finally, Marlene Farmer, of Blairsvile, Georgia, wanted to see if the mist would serve to protect her lungs as she suffers from severe asthma. "Even with out a dust box," she told me, "my asthma would kick in. But now, with the misting system, I haven't had a single problem."

When set on a fine mist, a small towel beneath your work will take care of any moisture produced. An additional advantage that I found in my own testing was that the moisture from the misting system kept the egg "healthy" and easier to work. That is, the water helped restore moisture to the shell and this advantage is easier to see when working on the delicate white layer of Emu eggs.

Currently, the cost of the complete system (without an air compressor, of course) is $357.00 However, if you already have a Turbo-Carver with a textured rubber grip, either the older lube model or the new lube-free models, you can upgrade it to the water misting system for only $150.00

New technology such as this does not usually come without some bugs, and one certainly did emerge and has been dealt with. Bill Vogel (the developer) noticed that the moisture would "sputter" when he used a CO2 tank to power the drill. This was because the water in the storage tank was becoming carbonated. He finally found that adding a little bit of food-grade glycol (available also from Ultra-Speed Products) to the distilled water would prevent this.

So, I have to say that the development of this integrated misting system is an impressive step forward for us egg carvers, offering many advantages for a comparatively low expenditure. Kinda makes you wonder where our unique art will go next, eh? If you're interested in this new technology, give me a call at (319) 338-2094 or drop me an e-mail at eggzotic@aol.com. At present, I'm also planning to demonstrate this system at the Rockford, Illinois Egg Show next month, so stop by! Or, if you'd rather deal directly with Ultra-Speed Products, contact them at (800) 373-0707. Their web site, which contains a great deal of information about the Turbo-Carver and about using high speed drills in general can be found at http://www.turbocarver.com.