tales from the shelf : Spring-Loaded Impact

I hauled my chassis back up to the wooden workbench and ran straight into a knurled brass cylinder resting on the cedar grain. An automatic center punch—unfired, spring-loaded kinetic payload! I stood the heavy brass tube upright against a notched pine block, planted both boots firmly on the scarred benchtop, and slammed my claw down over the cap with full chassis weight. Down, down, tension spiking—KER-CLACK! The internal spring tripped with a vicious snap, driving the hardened steel point straight into the timber and kicking my arm back with an almighty metallic jolt! A clean, millimeter-perfect crater punched into the wood! Kinetic penetration calibrated!