It occured to me the other day, when filing a staple blank, to jam it into the shooting block, in the gap formed by the part of the block which is screwed on. Know what I mean? Just take a staple blank and look for the part of the shooting block where you can jam the blank into. I keep my hand drill (which I use for winding reeds) in my vice all the time, and had been holding the staple blank while filing it to size, which isin’t the best way to go. With the blank held in the shooting block you can really go to town with the file, the blank gets good and hot. Perhaps this will be of help for some of you.
Even easier is to use a power sander (bench model is nice, but anything will do). Just crank her 'er up and grind away.
djm