What’s cooler than lasers? Plasma! Well, not literally, because plasma is super hot ionized gas, but you get my drift. This week, we had to use the plasma cutter to cut a rhombus out of steel, then refine it into something presentable. Because I love Pokemon, I decided to paint the classic pokeball.

The first thing I did was plasma cut the base out of steel. Since my plan required no negative space, I did not modify the base file. Using the plasma cutter is easy, so long as you read the instructions before and during the cut. The cut went perfectly, and soon I had the two bases needed.

One thing about the plasma cutter: the way it works, it leaves the edge of cuts with dross, or metal peaks, that are unsightly and sharp. One way to remove them is to use the angle grinder to, well, grind them. This leaves the sides polished, with a few scratches on near the edges. 

Before moving to refining, I laser cut a pokeball from wood to serve as a stencil in the later stage. Better do it early so that if there were any errors they could be dealt with quickly. Also, the laser cutter was free.

Next, I needed the front side of the base to be as smooth as possible so the spray paint can adhere nicely to it. To this end, I fired up the sand blaster. How it works is that it uses compressed air to blast sand onto the piece. This sand will sand the area hit, leaving it nice and smooth. Two things regarding the sand blaster: one, make sure the nozzle that suctions sand is covered in it, or you’re just blowing air. Second, make sure to clean your hands before handling the finished pieces or you can smudge them. This does not matter much if you’re painting over it like I did, but otherwise they can leave an ugly smudge. 

Now, no project of mine happens without a sudden realization in the middle, and this one is no exception. Last time it was “read the instructions.” This time, just before spray painting the surface, I realized that I had no backup plan if the painting went wrong. The instructions asked for two rhombi, I made two rhombi. This left no room for error in a process I had not dealt with before. Next time, I’ll make one or two test pieces, just in case.

With that realization, l moved on to spray painting. Or I would have, if the OEDK had any functional spray paint. I don’t know if it was because of underuse or a curse, but every spray paint but the clear and gray colors would not work. Thankfully, Nicholas went to Home Depot (not sponsored) and bought spray paint. What a hero! With that, I taped the bottom part of my stencil to one of my pieces and sprayed away.

My first spray job was not good, with an uneven coat and splotches of paint under the line. However, this was expected and dealt with later. Now armed with experience, painting the second base was more successful. I let them dry for 24 hours, then covered the red part and sprayed the rest white.

The last step was to draw the line dividing the pokeball’s hemispheres. It was a tough decision between black paint and laser etching, but in the interest of time I resorted to painting it.

In the end, I learnt a few valuable lessons. First, always make a backup. Second, always give yourself extra time. Time goes by quicker than you expect. Third, spray painting seems easy, but it takes time to dry and is not exactly precise. Complex designs with multiple colors are prone to error. In the end, I am satisfied with my pokeballs, although if I could do them again I would.

(P.S. If you didn’t get the reference in the title, Rotom is the “Plasma” Pokemon. Seemed appropriate for this project)