<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.3429" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>So how exactly did this post inspiration come to you David? I'll bet you were lying in bed thinking that Terry Farrell probably just spent half the day yesterday yanking staples out of a set of new hammers for weight reduction - "I know, I'll write a post about how staple removal will ruin a set of hammers......."</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=4><STRONG>;-)</STRONG></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Anon....</FONT></DIV><FONT face=Arial> <BR>> ----- Original Message -----  <BR>>> An older subject but I've been meaning to comment on this.  A few things<BR>>> have been written about whether the staple is necessary to secure the glue<BR>>> joint on a hammer.  While I do agree that the glue does most (if not all) <BR>>> of<BR>>> the work holding the felt to the molding, I think the staple does play a<BR>>> role in maintaining the overall tension in the felt.  Hammers without<BR>>> staples must resort to reinforcers (which I have done on occasion) or some<BR>>> application of heat to stabilize this region.  I think the use of heat to<BR>>> create stability has a potential downside in that too much will simply<BR>>> remove tension from the felt rather than reinforce this area in any<BR>>> particular way.  For that reason, I'm not yet ready to abandon the use of<BR>>> the staple.<BR>>><BR>>> David Love</FONT></BODY></HTML>