"You built it this quickly?"
Joseph looked in surprise at his proud old man, then weighed the gun in his hand.
The gun was heavy—swinging it could easily smash things like an iron hammer, brimming with the thick, metallic feel of the steam age.
Louis XVI said gleefully, "Originally, welding the hammer linkage wasn't nearly strong enough, but now I machined it directly with this milling machine. And as for the rotating cylinder, handmade grinding could never achieve high airtightness."
He gestured at the revolver: "Now, at least, I can barely see a gap with the naked eye."
He turned and pulled another cylinder from the box he'd brought: "This is the one Mr. Emmerich filed by hand—the difference is obvious."
Joseph took the handmade revolver, and he could see file marks on it; its smoothness and edge finish were nowhere near the one machined by the rotary mill.
