JOURNAL O F CHEMICAL EDUCATION
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 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 oDeration, i n d a t ti& point'the MAKING YOUR OWN PUNCHED C A R E advantage of using as fern holes as possible will hecome apparent. The only piece of commercial equipment I have is a notching punch purchased from the McBee Company.' In each field any number from 0 to 9 may be punched by combining the digits 7, S 1 2 b L S I Z b L 4, 2, and 1. If only one 00000 00000 ~ u n c his reauired, as for 7. k, 2, and 1, ihe S hole is a~sd GEORGE M. BEGUN punrhed out to enable selecOak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee tive sorting of any number desired. Zero is punched by combining 7 and4. This SOME years ago I wished to use punched cards to start method of punching is described by Casey,? except that a file of Chemical Abstract references. I found upon a separate zero hole is employed. Numbers up to 999 may investigation that the available cards were considerably he punched along the top edge of the card, and 99 addimore complicated than I needed, and that the cost of tional on the lower edge. The two fields on the lower cards and equipment was more than I wished to invest. edge of the card are quite convenient for an atomicFor these reasons and for reasons of convenience, I have number classification. Ice picks are efficientas sorters been making my own punrhed cards ever since. The although it is wise to dull the points a hit for safety. A close examination of what is desired in a filingcard design illustrated is the one I have been using, although other systems could be used provided the num- system code using punched cards will often show that either a very elaborate system is needed or that a relaber of holes is not too large. A master template was first cut from heavy galvanized t,ively small number of holes will be sufficient. In this iron to insure the production of identical cards. This latter case it is quite simple to make your own cards. master mas cut exactly 5 by 8 inches. The corner was An added advantage of the system is that notes can he beveled, and holes slightly larger than those desired in taken on any 5- by 8-inch card, and the card can be the final card were drilled a t the positions shown. In made into a punched card later without recopying. making cards, four or five common 5- by 8-inch file The McBee Co., 295 Madi~onAve., New York 17, New York. cards are lined up behind the master template. The 1 CASEY, ROBERTS., '*Punched Cards," Reinhold Puhlishing corners of the cards are then cut off with scissors, and Corp., New Yark, 1951. 00000
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