: Hi Rob, thanks for looking after me. Yes I am using 3/16" strip and
: recuting my old 1/4" I had left over

: I will pay real close attention to that.

: I did seal the edges with shellac on page 20 as indicated in your book.

: Rob I need a clearification on this. In your book you say, "If you
: attach your strip with hot glue instead of staples, do not use tape, but
: seal the edges of the stations with shellac.

: One stupid question? I have a sears electric staple gun. Is this the kind of
: staples you use or are you using a hammer type of staple. After a year and
: a half of reading this board I don't remember this being answered. And I
: believe you guys use a 9/16 staple. Are these driven all the way in with
: the staple gun or do you have to tap it the rest of the way with a hammer.
: I'm not sure my gun has enough power.

: Thanks John

Shellac will be fine on the station edges. I now use nothing. As Nick mentioned
unless you've used hot glue before it's hard to believe it can hold so well yet
release so easily with lateral whack from a dead blow mallet. So over time, I've
learned that the station edges do not need any coating.

Whenever anyone talks about using staples I assume them to mean 9/16" staples.
Anything shorter would be useless for stripping. Most people prefer that the stapler
not shoot flush with the wood surface because the staple head will crush the wood fibers
and leave a bruise that will show up as a dark halo around the staple holes. If you were going
to use staples on your deck I'd suggest taping a small piece of 1/32" veneer just behind the
business end of the stapler to leave the staple head high so you wouldn't get the bruise
marks on your deck.

All the best,
Rob