JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 a hand punch is rapidly run

7 4 2 1 s 7 4 2 1 5 7 4 2 1 s down the holes, punching throueh each a i d e hole in

MAKING YOUR OWN PUNCHED C A R E

- - turn. The punch used is a paper punch purchased at the ten cent store. It is important to keep the cards lined UD durine this oDer- ation, ind a t ti& point'the advantage of using as fern holes as possible will he- come apparent.

The only piece of com- mercial equipment I have is a notching punch purchased from the McBee Company.' In each field any number from 0 to 9 may be punched

GEORGE M. BEGUN k , 2, and 1, ihe S hole is a~sd punrhed out to enable selec-

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee tive sorting of any number

S 1 2 b L S I Z b L 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

SOME years ago I wished to use punched cards to start a file of Chemical Abstract references. I found upon investigation that the available cards were considerably more complicated than I needed, and that the cost of cards and equipment was more than I wished to invest. For these reasons and for reasons of convenience, I have been making my own punrhed cards ever since. The card design illustrated is the one I have been using, al- though other systems could be used provided the num- ber of holes is not too large.

A master template was first cut from heavy galvanized iron to insure the production of identical cards. This master mas cut exactly 5 by 8 inches. The corner was beveled, and holes slightly larger than those desired in the final card were drilled a t the positions shown. In making cards, four or five common 5- by 8-inch file cards are lined up behind the master template. The corners of the cards are then cut off with scissors, and

by combining the digits 7, 4, 2, and 1. If only one

desired. Zero is punched by combining 7 and4. This

method of punching is described by Casey,? except that a separate zero hole is employed. Numbers up to 999 may he punched along the top edge of the card, and 99 addi- tional on the lower edge. The two fields on the lower edge of the card are quite convenient for an atomic- number classification. Ice picks are efficient as sorters although it is wise to dull the points a hit for safety.

A close examination of what is desired in a filing- system code using punched cards will often show that either a very elaborate system is needed or that a rela- t,ively small number of holes will be sufficient. In this latter case it is quite simple to make your own cards. An added advantage of the system is that notes can he taken on any 5- by 8-inch card, and the card can be made into a punched card later without recopying.

The McBee Co., 295 Madi~on Ave., New York 17, New York. 1 CASEY, ROBERT S., '*Punched Cards," Reinhold Puhlishing

Corp., New Yark, 1951.

~ u n c h is reauired, as for 7.