I’ve noticed consistently that my rolled staples are difficult to flatten symmetrically. What I mean is that one side is a bit less tapered than the other. I usually end up hammering the dern thing a helluva lot more than I like so I can get the tapers to even out. I attribute this difficulty to the uneven amount of strength between the two sides due to one being contiguous and the other being seamed.
Any insight into this matter, along with any experiences and suggestions, would be appreciated.
Aaron, this seems to all balance out when you finish hammering the seam closed and roll it on the file. Yes, the bottom edge is uneven, but here is where you hold the staple upright and file off the bottom to level on the file. Now the sides will look fairly even.
I make a mandril with the ID of the small end of the rolled staple at the very tip, then file the flattened portion like I want my finished staple to be. I use a 7/8 inch taper (thinking of going to 1 inch) down to the tip which has been filed down to about 0.060", which gives my finished staple a 0.062" elevation (the short direction).
I insert the staple, lining up the seam to hit the middle of the “flat” of the staple, then tap down with a plastic mallet, turning sidewise and tapping the seam closed, then tapping the flat down, closing seam, etc.
I measure the elevation and make sure it measures between 0.060" and 0.062".