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Most experienced coaches are already quite familiar with the advice I am about to give. In their case, please forgive my restating of what might be obvious, and browse some of the other articles on this site. The new baseball coach, however, would do well to pay attention.

I am about to reveal to you the single most useful tool for improving the hitting skills of your batters. Please, take a seat. I don’t want the shock to overcome you. Are you ready?

I present to you: the batting tee!

That’s correct. The tee is the single most useful tool for improving the hitting skills of your batters. You may bellieve that your players are too old to benefit from a tee… and you could not be further from the truth. Did you know that major league hitters practice by hitting off of a tee every single day? Are you suggesting that your eight (or ten or twelve) year olds know more about hitting than Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Derek Lee, or other big league stars?

Now that I hopefully have your attention, I will explain why this is. Understand, there is no substitute for live pitching – tee drills cannot help with your batter’s sense of timing, or his ability to pick up on or identify pitch location, pitch type, velocity, etc. But unless you have Greg Maddux pitching your batting pracice sessions, there is no way you can hope to put the ball in the same place every time, which allows you to analyze the batter’s swing. With a tee, you can really watch what your hitter is doing, make suggestions, and get many, many repititions in in a reltively short period of time. This is the reason that, if you were to take your player to pretty much any professional hitting coach in the country, the first thing the coach would do would be to drag out a tee.

If your player has a hitch in his swing, you can identify it with a tee. If he needs to work on the inside pitch (or the low pitch, or the outside pitch), you can simply move the tee and give him extra repititions. If he has a loop or dip in his swing, you can place a second tee behind the one holding the ball and force him to adapt a correct swing path. With a tee, you can build the all-important muscle memory needed for a good, consistent swing.

I cannot emphasize this enough – very few practices should ever go by without your players hitting off of a tee. This is an absolutely ideal station activity, is easy to place, and if you happen to also own a net, can be done in even the smallest of spaces.

The bottom line: if you do not own a tee, and you coach a youth baseball team, go and drop a few bucks on one today. You will not regret the investment in the best hitting tool ever made.

Olan Suddeth is a little league baseball coach in the Birmingham, Alabama area. His website, Youth Baseball Info (http://www.youthbaseballinfo.com) offers free drills, articles, and tips for youth baseball coches, parents, and fans.

Small Stream Fly Fishing

I believe there are more fish lost before an angler makes his first cast than at any other time when fly fishing the small stream. Picture this; you’ve spent some time hiking into a small stream in the back country.

It’s early morning, mist is rising and the midges that have been swarming around you are breakfast for the small browns you have come to catch. You quietly walk up to the stream, watching the swirls of rising fish. You tie a nymph onto your leader and step into the water.

A trout skids away from under your feet, its flight sending out warning signals as bright as any neon light. The feeding fish flee in response and you are left with a section of river devoid of all but the midges. Welcome to fly fishing the small stream.

Stop and look before fly fishing the small stream

Before you get into the water stop and look at what is in front of you. This is especially true when approaching the small stream. Trout are well camouflaged, especially when you are looking down into the water. (A good pair of Polaroid glasses helps here.)

I like to make my first cast well back from the waters edge. If there is little cover then I tend to use a long leader and lay the line on the riverbank, allowing only the leader to enter the water, as close to the near bank as possible. That way, if there are any fish lying close under the bank, I will have given them first look at my fly.

Reading the water of the small stream

The waters of the small stream are like those of any river, just on a smaller scale. The fish will be in the same types of water that they would be in if you were fishing any trout stream. When you are fly fishing the small stream, look for those areas that provide the fish with their need for protection from predators, relief from fast flowing currents, and access to food.

Fishing the pocket water

I like to use dry flies when fly fishing pocket water in a small stream. The fish will usually be holding out of the main current but close enough to grab any food that comes floating by, and a drifting fly is often too tempting to resist.

Often it is not necessary to match the fly closely to whatever is hatching. Instead I like to fish a fly that is visible enough for me to see in fast moving water. Something like a light elk hair caddis works well. When the strike comes I can see it and I catch more fish this way than missing the strike by using a less visible, hatch matching fly.

Fly fishing the small stream usually requires a more sensitive approach and a finesse that is not necessary in larger rivers. Experience and practice are the great tellers here. Ability to read the water is more critical as the fish are often more easily spooked than their big water cousins. But when you make your way home at the end of a successful fishing day in the back country you know that the time spent learning to fly fish the small stream has been worthwhile.

1) Just preparing for it by dieting properly and training could well put you in the best physical condition of your life.

2) By improving yourself, you do a wonderful thing for your family and all those close to you.

3) In the eyes of those same people, you will be a role model, a hero and an inspiration.

4) You will give your life new meaning. As a 14 time Ironman(my last at 55), I guarantee it.

5) You will most likely learn new skills you previously knew nothing about. Just learning how to swim is a huge bonus and could one day save your life or the life of someone imporant to you.

6) In the course of your training and the race experience itself, you will meet some truly remarkable people.

7) You can combine your Ironman race with a holiday and take the family. Most important of all, they will be there to cheer you on and share in your incredible achievement. Its one of those situations where everyone wins.

For the first time, you will learn what you are truly capable of on a physical, emotional and even spiritual level. You will amaze yourself and be a better person for the total experience.

9) You will discover there are few challenges the human spirit cannot overcome and the strength within all of us just has to be given an opportunity to show itself.

10) Finish this race and you will forever have the title Ironman in front of your name. That can never be taken away from you and everytime you hear the word you will be reminded of what a remarkable journey it was and how taking up the challenge was the best decision of your life. Though many people in your circle may doubt you and wonder what on earth you are doing, don’t let anyone deter you from reaching this remarkable goal

My name is Ray and I’m a veteran of over 25 years of endurances events including 14 Ironman Triathlons. I’ve created a site called “IRONSTRUCK” that is full of training and racing tips for the beginner triathlete and Novice Ironman. triathlon-ironman-myfirstironman-ironstruck.com

Baseball the game, its players, its fans, its team owners, its history, its statistics, its rules, all is a constant source for generating controversy. Shakespeare in his great writings might have had a notion that baseball would one day be a great game.

Shakespeare even had “Hamlet” involved when this young man said, “To Be Or Not To Be That Is The Question” The answer is now abundantly clear. Yes there will always be controversy in our game of baseball as with all sports.

Society with human nature by its side dictates a constant controversy, It’s inescapable.

Pay attention as to how a contest is started. Football games are started by gambling. Do I tell the truth snaggle-tooth? The first thing the head referee does is call the team captains to the middle of the field. He has a coin usually a souvenir type keepsake. At any case the by chance or gamble is right there before our eyes. One captain calls the heads or tails while the coin is tossed in the air.

There is no way skill can be involved in the landing outcome of that coin toss. Well! you say, “That was not gambling because the wind was blowing just right to make the flipped coin lay tails down.” Gambling on a game is verboten but a coin toss has no value and thus there is no gamble.

Now the start of a basketball game is a sporting mans delight. Here we have two jumping jacks all poised to spring into action. Normally the tallest of the two called upon to challenge the tip of the ball will control. Hey, not so fast stud that shorter man just might jump like a gazelle.

Perchance the referee dosn’t toss that basketball cleanly and perfectly between the two young saplings then immediately the crowd roars. Fans of any and all sports keenly watch every move and every boo boo. So the game of basketball can have controversy even before the game begins.

What we are witnessing is human nature and our societies love of sports up close and personal. Without a little difference of opinion as to a call or the performance of the players then the games would not go on.

Football has been known to have controversy over gambling. Basketball is constant controversy over every referees whistle.
Baseball is immune to all and every controversy.

Immune is something every medical professional and research scientist has pondered in an effort to rid mankind of all life stopping threats. Baseball leaders and Commissioners for over 150 years have diligently fought to rid baseball of any life stoppage.

Not to worry, sports fans, baseball is alive and well. If we simply keep on keeping on. But here is my controversial topic for baseball.

How do we start a baseball game? For all these many years and a couple or three generations we start by having the visiting team always bat first. This then allows the home team to have the last bat in the bottom of the seventh or the ninth inning.

This gives the home team an unfair advantage.

Here is the solution if we are to make every game straight up fair and square. Could we use bigger crowds at our games? Now we simply vote a rule to allow no game to start until the crowd count reaches a certain level. No crowd, no game, no pain, no gain and it never rains.

Let’s say for a high school game 100 fans.

Let’s say for a college game 700 fans.

Let’s say for a professional A class 700 fans.

Let’s say for a professional AA class 1500 fans.

Let’s say for a professional AAA class 2000 fans.

Major Leagues “The Big Show” 7000 fans.

The fan coming thru the turnstile reaching the starting game attendance number gets to make the decision as to which team bats first. But the home team crowd will naturally have the odds most favorable fan coming at that count. Yes ! But not absolute. Now we have controversy for baseball.

Batter Up—Let’s Play Ball…

Major Wiley B, Channell USNC (retired) at home or at play bringing baseballfarming to you at http://www.baseballfarming.com for everyone.
Baseball is a game filled with passion and controversy and we love it.

So the New York Knicks have the worst record in the entire Nation Basketball Association. What else is new? The only true thing different is that Stephon Marbury has been playing “Larry Brown” basketball now. Well that’s going to change according to Stephon “Starbury.”

Recently Starbury spoke out saying he is going to let loose and play the way he knows how. He thinks that following the path of a soon to be Hall Of Fame head coach is not the right direction. I have a simple question for Starbury, what have you ever won?

The only thing I remember from Starbury’s “winning” days is that running floater he hit against the Spurs in the playoffs. That was a great “clutch” shot, and probably his only great “clutch” shot. Starbury has never won a playoff series, Larry Brown has won rings…

It has come to the point where Stephon Marbury needs to go. I do not care if we trade him away for nothing, his poor demeanor and cancerous personality is nothing but a detriment to the New York Knicks franchise. Once Stephon is taken out of the equation, and a Larry Brown point guard is brought in to replace him, the Knicks will finally start to flourish. There is no reason why a solid point guard couldn’t feed Curry and Frye all day.

AJ Vaynerchuk writes for http://15sports.com and http://www.blogcritics.org.

A Daily video blog about sports can be seen at 15sports.

An Introduction to Rotary Hot Stamping David Polkinghorne, link: DMS Inc.

Hot stamping is a process for transferring a dry film to a substrate through heat and pressure. This requires the following basic components:

Main Components of the Hot Stamping Process:

ANVIL Usually made of a hard rubber or phenolic. The anvil must be hard enough to resist cupping under the load of the die, soft enough to protect the die from irregularities in the substrate, and resilient enough not to take a set through repeated pounding.

SUBSTRATE A wide variety of substrates are suitable for the hot stamping process. Surface tension of the substrate has the same affect on hot stamping as it does on printing. In addition to surface tension, the porosity of the material has a profound affect on stamping speed. A dry material will tend to cool the foil before it gets a chance to adhere properly. The resulting stamp will show a mottled surface similar to how ink looks on such a material. As a rule of thumb, a material that prints well will also stamp well.

ROLL LEAF Also known as Foil Roll leaf is the ink of a hot stamping operation. It is made up of a carrier with a series of coatings to be transferred. The carrier is made from polyester film that can range from just under 0.0005″ to about 0.0015″. The thinner the carrier, all other things being equal, the faster the foil will transfer.

The first layer applied to the carrier is a thin release coat. This layer affects whether or not a foil is suitable for fine copy or heavy coverage and affects the “cutting” properties of the foil.

The second layer called the “tie” or “color” coat serves dual purposes in a roll leaf product. The first function of this layer is to provide a hard abrasion resistant surface to the foil when applied. At 1.2-1.5 microns the tie coat makes up about 30% of the transferred product. Since the metallic layer is always made from aluminum, a tint is required to make a gold or other colored metallic . This tint is the second function of the tie coat.

Under the tie coat is a vacuum deposited aluminum layer. This is the most opaque layer in the construction even though it is only 0.02-0.05 microns thick. This layer has no structural integrity of its own.

The final layer in the foil construction is the sizing. This is a heat-activated adhesive that glues the foil image to the substrate. At 1.5-3 microns this layer makes up 50-70% of the transferred product. A thin layer of sizing cuts cleanest and tends to work best on films or high gloss materials. Heavily sized products do a better job of filling a more porous substrate.

HOT STAMPING DIE The hot stamp die is an engraved plate where the non-printing areas are relieved. It is important that the material used holds as much thermal energy as possible at the surface. Copper alloys excel in this area and are used almost exclusively in rotary applications where dwell times are extremely short. There are two primary methods of engraving hot stamp tooling.

The original method is photoengraving. In this process the image is transferred via a photographic negative. The unwanted metal is then etched away by a strong acid. The process is very similar to printed circuit board production. The advantage of photoengraving is that as the complexity and scale of the image increases the cost remains more or less fixed. The disadvantage is that as image complexity decreases the cost remains more or less fixed. Photoengraving is a high overhead process that excels in producing complex images.

A more recent method of producing hot stamp tooling is CNC engraving. In this process the image is taken in an electronic format and specialized software generates tool paths that remove the unwanted material. The advantage of CNC engraving is that simple images can be produced very efficiently. As the quantity and complexity of the image increases the cost increases proportionately. CNC engraving is a low overhead operation that most efficiently produces less complex images.

HEAT + PRESURE + TIME = FOIL TRANSFER.

Foil is transferred to the substrate when a heated die forces the foil onto the substrate against the anvil. The die must be hot enough to activate the adhesive (sizing) on the back of the roll leaf and adhere it to the substrate. The die also performs the very important function of cutting the foil all around the perimeter of the detail being transferred. Without this cutting action the foil will bridge across any small reverses in the copy.

ROTARY HOT STAMPING The information provided up to this point is general and applies to both rotary and flat bed hot stamping. In rotary hot stamping the time element in our transfer formula becomes an inverse function of press speed. Since the contact point between two rollers is theoretically a line this time function becomes very short. A good point of reference is that at 100 FPM 0.020″ of material goes by in one millisecond, it takes about 75-100 millisecond to blink your eye.

This extremely short dwell time explains why porous materials prove difficult to process rotary. As the top fibers cool the sizing, the foil solidifies on top of the material before it can creep down into the fiber. The dwell time that allows a flat bed system to force the foil down into the substrate also allows heat to move laterally through the film. This causes the foil to release or “bridge” across fine reverse details. Thus, short dwell time is also the reason rotary hot stamping is able to produce a greater level of detail than the best flat bed equipment.

ROTARY HOT STAMP EQUIPMENT For a rotary hot stamping system to operate it must perform two basic functions. First it must maintain the desired temperature of the die. Second it must hold the die securely in position to produce even depth of impression through heavy and light coverage regions of the die.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL Temperature control of rotary hot stamp systems is achieved by one of two methods. Most common is internal electric. This can be used with or without cooling. The second is hot oil. While inherently more accurate, hot oil also adds a dangerous component.

IMPRESSION CONTROL The second task of any rotary hot stamping system is that it maintains an even depth of impression. The main problem with this is that the heated die must also be taken off of impression when the web is stationary. The original hot stamp units used a pneumatic bridge to achieve this. After time the shortcomings of this system became obvious. First, the amount of lift-off was limited by the gearing. This was a particular problem on 32dp gearing where the small teeth limited throw off to approximately 0.030″. Second, any variation in line pressure would affect the impression.

The next generation of impression control utilized a cam over center type mechanism where the die remained stationary and the impression roll rotates up to meet it. This system uses air pressure to make and break the impression but will hold its impression regardless of available air pressure. While this approach was a great improvement it is still limited to webs 10″ and less. The problem with going to wider webs is that as solid as the base roll may be, by applying pressure to the bearing blocks rather than die bearers allows to much flexing in the die shaft assembly to achieve good speeds on wider webs.

The key to achieving high speeds on wider webs is in making the hot stamping system follow the same principles of operation as a cutting die. It has been a long time since applying pressure to the bearing blocks in a die cutting operation was an accepted practice. The latest designs have addressed this issue by adding steel bearers to the hot stamp die. With this design the die and anvil are sandwiched between the lower anvil roll and an assist roll where pressure can be set and monitored. With the die locked tightly in the station the anvil is adjusted independently to meet the die.

“Increase Your Website Traffic with NO Cost” is a bold statement don’t you think. But, believe me it’s true. You can increase your traffic by 1000% with no cost involved if you do it the right way. Continue reading if you want to know how.

I’ve outlined 5 ways to reach your target. But, please keep in mind that these are not the only ways that you can do to increase your traffic. There are hundreds of techniques to increase traffic. But these one are the proven one. I’ve used it personally. More importantly, these techniques can get you FREE traffic. You’re money is saved in your pocket. Let’s go to the first one.

1: Linking strategy

Linking strategy is the easiest way to get free traffic. When I say “the easiest way” it does not mean that you can ask everybody to add link to your web directory or your website and do nothing after that. Compared to other techniques that you’ll discover, this one will take less time to do.

Here’s how to do it. First select the site in your niche market. Be selective. Choose one that has a high traffic. Usually a high traffic site is pretty stingy to put link to your site. So, the key here is to be persistent. Ask them how many visitors do they received per month and if they could link to your site. If they don’t answer your request, email them the second time.

Be persistent. If they don’t want to link to your site, ask them to trade link instead (reciprocal link). This is the last resort you want to have.

Word of warning: Don’t crowd your site with too many links. Only accept link trading if it’s really worth it.

2: Offer Free eBooks or submit article

You’ll fall in love with this technique if you see what it can do to your site. This technique can create an excellent’Viral marketing’ effect. It can multiply the no of visitors to your site in a matter of days. This most important thing about this technique is that to offer something that is really useful to your visitor. So useful that they can only get that information from you!

You need to the ‘wants’ in your need market. What problems do they encounter? Solve these problems and you have a killer articles or e-book that you can give away for free. Remember, don’t sell it. Give it away for free. If you feel really reluctant to give your article or e-book for free, you can give your visitors a partial of it. But, make sure it’s really useful. Don’t forget to put your name and your contact information in this article or e-book. Usually, if you write an article, you need to include your resource box at the very bottom of your article.

The most important task in this technique is to offer a reprint right to your visitors. What this mean is that your visitors can publish your articles or e-book to anyone in any medium; email, Ezine, website or anything. But please state your condition: Include your contact information or resource box. This will create viral effect to your visitors.

Before I forgot, there is one particular e-book compiler that is good in doing this kind of task. The name of this e-book compiler is ‘E-book Edit Pro’. With this compiler, you can offer your visitors a customizable e-book. This is a great incentive for them to distribute your article or e-book since they can put their name and information in it.

3: Classified Ad

This is the most time consuming technique compared to all 5. While it is time consuming, it is really worth it.

Tips – This technique should be used together with the above technique. Let me explain:

First, you need to write an e-book or article that you can give it away for free. Then, you need have an autoresponder. If you don’t have an autoresponder (your hosting company should provide this service for free), you can get one for free. Just type ‘free autoresponder’ in your search engine and you’ll get hundred of sites that provided free autoresponder.

Enough talking. Let’s continue.

After you have your own autoresponder, place your free article in this autoresponder. Now, you need to advertise your autoresponder address in the classified ad website. Don’t put your email address but your autoresponder address. The best part with this technique is that you can capture you visitor’s email. You can contact them again and again if you have any offer in the future.

4: Deliver informational pack Ezine/Newsletter

People surf the net to look for information. Out of 100, only 3 people surf the net to buy something. But others are doing some research or try to find something informational.

With this keep in mind, you can attract people to come to your site if you can deliver them timely information. By producing timely information, you glued these visitors to your site preventing them from going elsewhere. This can be done by giving them free newsletter or Ezine.

This is not an easy task because there is abundance of free information on the net. You need to give them something different from these ‘free’ stuff. Try to provide something unique in your Ezine. For example, if you’re publishing music Ezine, try to make a deal with music label so that you can give special price to your subscriber. Make sure your subscriber cannot get this of kind if deal in other place. If you can create this unique proposition, you’re already on top of the world. Your Ezine will spread like fire. More people will come to your site to subscribe your unique newsletter.

5: Offer Affiliate Program

This is the greatest FREE traffic generator technique out there. With this technique both parties win; you and your affiliate program participant. You get more traffic and sales, they get more money from referral commission.

This topic is really a large topic. I can write a whole e-book about how to create a successful affiliate program. But, I’ll discuss the basic thing about affiliate program in here.

Basically, to create an effective affiliate program, you need to create an interest for your visitor’s to join your affiliate program. You can do this by giving them high referral fees and marketing tools for them to use. Above all, you need to make them easy to promote your product or service. Don’t make them do all the hard work. It is your job.

The next thing you need to do is to motivate them to spread the word about you. Contact them in a timely manner. Don’t forget them after they’ve joined your program. Make them feel special. In fact, they are special since they are the one who will do the promotion and advertising. A well designed affiliate program can increase your website traffic and sales by unimaginable amount. But again, you need to devote all you effort in this technique if you want to have a successful affiliate program. Don’t do it half way. Even if you’ve to work 18 hours a day to create your own affiliate program, it’s really worth it in the future. The payoff is going to be thousand times your initial effort.

All of these techniques are free. You don’t have to spend a dime on them. Try it on your site. I’ve tried all these techniques. And they work!

Paras Shah
Webmaster & SEO Expert
Web Directory – Add Link – Submit Article – Online Store – Forum
http://www.itsallaboutlinks.com

Going into week 10, Virginia Tech’s Marcus Vick was a shoe-in to make the trip to New York, but after last Saturday’s performance against the Hurricanes, he is on the outside of the Heisman race looking in. The three Heisman front-runners, Young, Leinart, and Bush, did nothing to hurt their chances, and by that I mean had great games, but because we have come to expect such improbable performances week in and week out, they didn’t live up to the expectations we have created for them. I mean, it’s going to be hard for Young to compete with his 500 yd day he had two weeks ago. In comparison, his 16-27 passing for 298yds and 2 TDs leading Texas to a 62-0 romp over Baylor is seen as an average day for Vince Young. Reggie Bush’s 113yds on the ground, including a 42-yard breakaway TD, is a relatively quiet day. Leinart had an efficient outing as opposed to a stellar day. He was 22-28 for 259 yards and 3 TDs in leading the Trojans to a 51-21 win over Stanford, but may have improved his status by outshining teammate Reggie Bush.

Although too soon to say for certain, but the three-headed Heisman monster could be headed for a big showdown in the Rose Bowl. When Young, or one of the Trojans win the coveted award, the National Championship game will take on an additional dynamic as the game will become a personal grudge match. The newly crowned Heisman Trophy winner will be playing to prove he is worthy to be called the best in the land while the runners up fight to prove the pollsters and the Heisman winner himself wrong.

Other players who have a great chance to make the trek to New York are Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn, Memphis’ DeAngelo Williams, UCLA’s Maurice Drew, and Minnesota’s Laurence Maroney. Brady Quinn is the standout in this bunch as he has helped return the Irish to their prestigious form. He torched the Vols last Saturday, throwing for 295yds and 3 TDs. He has a 65.2% completion rate on the season with 23 TDs and just 4INTs. He has rushed for a TD as well. Quinn has received added exposure after his 6TD day a few weeks back. It also seems as though the media is thirsting for a new face as the front runners have been in place for so long.

Jimmy Boyd is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League.
Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com/Jimmy_Boyd.htm

Kevlar – The Miracle Fiber

You’ve heard of Kevlar before. It’s the material used in bullet proof vests. To date, 3,000 officer’s lives have been saved. Here, we’ll discuss what makes Kevlar so incredibly strong and its applications.

What you can take away from this article:

* The basics of the synthetic Kevlar

* The molecular secret behind Kevlar’s strength

* Kevlar’s modern day applications

Above, I refer to Kevlar as a synthetic. This means that nowhere in nature does Kevlar occur; it is man-made. Kevlar was discovered in 1965 by DuPont. Before this, scientists had known of the strength of polymers, but had been unable to produce them. By using ‘light elements,’ DuPont was able to create a very strong polymer. Using these ‘light elements,’ Kevlar is able to offer its services at an incredibly light weight.

Kevlar makes use of a poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide as one of its ingredients. This allows for amazing heat resistance. In fact, Kevlar can protect from heat exposure of up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit. As you might imagine, this is quite helpful when working in a foundry.

* The molecular secret behind the strength of Kevlar

First off, think of the molecular chains that make up Kevlar as spaghetti. Now, which is going to be stronger, a plate of cooked noodles or a box of uncooked noodles? That’s right, the box of sturdy (relatively speaking, of course) uncooked pasta is much stronger because all of the chains lay side by side, adding layers of strength. It’s imperative for Kevlar’s molecular chains to be fully extended and aligned perfectly to achieve its impressive stiffness and strength. FYI: The arrangement in which the molecular chain is placed is known as a crystalline structure.

So, we know that when the molecular chains are laid out like long strands of stiff, uncooked spaghetti, their strength is fantastic; but there’s a problem. If you turn a box of uncooked spaghetti upside down, all the noodles fall out! Well, the Kevlar chains have a force (most easily related to magnetism) holding them together called hydrogen bonds. These electrostatic forces between the molecules hole the chains together like super glue.

* Modern day applications of Kevlar

Now that we’re through all the technical jargon, let’s talk about Kevlar as it relates to us today. Kevlar is popular in underwater constructions, as once it’s submerged, Kevlar is 20 times stronger than steel! In the air, it’s 5 times stronger than steel (on an equal weight basis). And you can thank Kevlar for windsurfing sails that easily withstand wind force of 60 mph. Certainly you remember that Kevlar is also a key ingredient in bullet proof vests!

Not only is this wonder-material used for saving lives, it’s also used for saving fingers. Kevlar is knitted into gloves to make a fine mesh that is extremely cut, burn and rip resistant. Kevlar gloves are available in a variety of shapes and thicknesses. They provide dexterity, comfort and durability all at once. They work well in many situations. For lighter work, you could try an extra fine knit Kevlar glove. These are great for everyday environments requiring protection from small blades or sharp objects.

As your work environment gets more complex, so must your protection. If your work environment is littered with brambles and sharp edges, look to a set of terry cloth Kevlar knit gloves. Here you’ll get double protection. First off, the tough Kevlar material holds it’s own, while the small ‘terry loops’ help prevent snags.

Still don’t feel safe enough? You can find another level of safety with Kevlar sleeves. These tough sleeves protect your arms from cuts, burns and bruises. Protective sleeves are great for environments with sparks. They come in very handy for foundry workers. Combined with a set of Kevlar hot mill flame retardant bandtops, you can rest assured your hands are safe.

For the most extreme environments, Kevlar is simply a must. Its functions reach much further than gloves and sleeves, but when you’re working with dangerous applications, hand protection is paramount. To learn more about Kevlar gloves and sleeves, go to http://www.unitedglove.com.