I can certainly start a round 3 list ;) Lol!

He has returned and I'll start the round 2 list soon.

Yes. I've been waiting for a singleton postal. No one seems to do them anymore.

I've heard this term several times lately but don't know what it is. What is "informed delivery"?

Lol! I'd love to be added to Round #3 too please! 😊

You can set up an account with USPS to receive a photo-preview of what is going to be delivered that day, sent to your email address.
informed delivery

Thanks. I had never heard of that. I've been out of commission for about a year.

Count me in as well!

I'd love to be a part of Round 3 please!

Hi All,

I am brand new to postals and having read the information page on them would love to get involved. I am wondering if there are any that would welcome a participant from the UK or do they all tend to stay within the US? If so, how would I go about finding one?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Jorvik L :)

As far as I know there have not been any postal swaps that included participants in the UK. Years ago we had a couple of Postal LBers in Canada and one ring I was in included a participant with an APO address that went to the Middle East. In those days the Postals traveled as small packages not as First Class Mail so there was extra time, postage, and paperwork (think customs forms) for International mail--postage was much more affordable.

Now most Postals qualify for First Class Mail: Business envelope, 1 oz or less, fit through a 1/4" wide slot, and be flexible, etc. There is an International First Class Forever Stamp ($1.65) that should work. I'd be willing to try it.

Totally not helpful on the postal realm, but are you York based? I noticed your trail name.

I was born and grew up in York :) moved away 5 years ago for work. I adopted all of the original north york moors letterboxes that have been out since the 90s and have a few of my own too so like to go back to visit them all!

How neat! I got to spend some time in York in 2022 and very much want to go back soon. (Plus, I'm a sucker for the Ghost Merchants). I didn't see any AQ boxes there, but now I know there are others!

I made a postal, and I brought it to the post office and the last said it's too thick/rigid

I shaved it down here

And I made a holder and it's made with stiff cardstock, should I use just paper instead? here

Looks still too thick in the picture. I usually keep shaving until I think it's good, and then shave some more, until it's so thin that it's kind of "bendable". I use light weight cardstock folded only once (not folded in thirds), and cut slightly smaller than the envelope. The logbook can be normal paper, but make sure it's separated from the stamp so they can't shift together. Last, I weigh it at home to determine if it's under 1oz or if I need to add the extra postage to it.

Whole package can’t be over 1/4" thick so the stamp must be thinner.

The challenge with Micro Postals is dealing with US Post Office Regulations.

Mail First Class must be:
Flexible
no loose items inside, nothing lumpy
fit through a 1/4" slot
PO will print a destination barcode along the bottom of the envelope
There are more, but these are the main ones.

Specs we use that fit the above criteria:
Use a fresh #10 Business Envelope at each stop
Should weigh 1 oz or less
2oz OK if extra postage provided
Carving medium must be shaved down to make thinner

There’s way more info in the Help drop down on the home page.
https://www.atlasquest.com/about/wiki/browse.php?catId=4
https://www.atlasquest.com/about/wiki/browse.php?catId=33#q792

So I have done a few postals and LTC's, and I know some people turn them into 'traditional' boxes to find when done.

but what about turning them into 'table tops' at events'? Has anyone taken their folios, made a new listing for 'table tops' and then place all the folios in a box and place them on a table at an event for people to get the stamp and log in since the log and everything is already made.

Im just thinking out loud.

Yes, I've brought a stack of PLBs to meet and greet type gatherings; not really to a traditional event. No reason why you couldn't!

I would love to do a postal with you! I have a handful of postals I have on Atlasquest, please join! Or let me know if you've started one, I'll join! Let me know!

I have brought my postals to events and just let anyone stamp into them. I leave them listed as postals though.

Lynn

I just noticed that in an event, there is actually a place where you can register postals...lol.

Hope all is well with you. You should come to the 'all things county fair' event in sept. Looks like a lot of fun.

This ring is available:

https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.php?trackerId=11774

Hello all! I wanted to share a discovery I made recently while workshopping solutions for micro postals that didn’t involve shaving the backs down.

I bought a stamp block kit a while back to try out with a few having a removable top layer. Amazon Keadic Stamp Carving Blocks (specifically the Double-Sided Removable Carving Blocks, though I cannot seem to find them separately.)

I couldn’t quite get the hang of carving in my usual style (or the recommended technique in the instructions) with it, but found that I can peel off the entire layer and then carve on it! It is roughly 1/16” thick when peeled off. The blocks are double sided, so you can get two of these thin layers and then also carve the center layer block.

The thin layers carved great, but was quite flimsy and hard to stamp without the image coming out patchy. I tried gluing it to a clear stamp block but unfortunately still had patchy results.

However, when I added a thin bit of foam backing (making the stamp around 1/8” to 3/16” thick) it started stamping cleanly and consistently!

I am curious if anyone else has tried this method? The material listing is linked above in case you’d like to try and experiment with it as well! I’d love to hear what you have learned if you do. Also if you happen to find this style of carving block alone (the link is to a bundle with normal blocks too), please post a link!

I would be concerned about the thickness of 3/16". The entire postal has to be under 1/4" in order to be mailed 'first class' in a standard envelope. After you put this in a holder of some sort to keep it from shifting, and then inside a folder and envelope, seems like it might go over the thickness level or form a problem lump. I wonder if the backing could be an even thinner foam, or maybe something like the thin wrap that comes around shipped items to prevent scratching, or even a flexible canvas??

Yeah, I’m a little worried about it being too thick, but plan to build an envelope for it to test out soon.

The flexible canvas is an interesting idea, that or even maybe a thin sheet of hard but flexible plastic? The main issue was that the stamp alone was too floppy and needed stability. I was hoping that using a clear mounting block would be a good solution, but apparently not. Foam is what I had on hand, but I’ll look around my craft supplies for some other potential backing materials!

Try using a prescription bottle lid. Cut the edge off. Then use an Elmer's glue stick, to glue it to the lid on the smooth side. It will be thin and if it comes off when washing the stamp, just re-glue.

I might try that with smaller ones (these are roughly 2” x 2” and are too big for that) but I worry about sharp edges on the plastic.

A few more experiment updates for y’all:

• I tried a third stamp with the acrylic block, and it came out fine, not blotchy at all! Not sure why the first two weren’t cooperating.

• I also took some photos to better show measurements. The one with foam is measured at its absolute widest point. The comparison standard carving block is Speedball Pink Stuff.

It's not just the thickness, it's the rigidity. The prescription caps on my bottles are too stiff as are pieces cut from credit cards. MicroPLBs go around sorting equipment that is like wrapping it around a can of soda at warp speed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4nj7IH_fik

When a PLB returns home from a ring, if the planter wishes, they can start a new Tracker and offer it to others who were not in the ring. The same box with existing AQ# is attached to the new Tracker. The box itself is not relisted, just added to the new Tracker. The Tracker is designated as a Singleton Tracker. The Postal is the Box, the Tracker has the Singleton attribute.

For more information check out the Wiki Help pages on AQ home page.
https://www.atlasquest.com/about/wiki/browse.php?catId=4#q405

Hi, everyone!

Just listed this years AQ Santa. Please join us for holiday fun!

https://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.php?trackerId=11786

(Crossposted)