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I am confused as to the extent of his own power as it existed apart from the ring
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I have that problem with all of the ring bearers. For instance, Elrond's ability to send a massive flood down his river may have little to do with his ring (at the most, the ring would maybe just help him make the flood bigger). And also, if I'm not mistaking, he actually has the ring of air, not of water.
As far as Gandalf's use of physical fire, it may have little to do with his ring of fire. I recall Cirdan saying something about using the ring of fire to kindle hearts and move them.
Here's what Tolkien said about the rings in Letter 131-
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The chief power (of all the rings alike) was the prevention or slowing of decay (i.e. 'change' viewed as a regrettable thing), the preservation of what is desired or loved, or its semblance - this is more or less an Elvish motive. But also they enhanced the natural powers of a possessor - thus approaching 'magic', a motive easily corruptible into evil, a lust for domination.
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So, if the rings just "enhanced" power, that means whatever the bearers could do with the ring, they could do without it. It's not as if it gave them new abilities, it just improved certain abilities they already possessed (and who knows exactly which ones).