Punching your Flights

A little question that came up on Reddit than I ended up spending a little time on making a few pictures and a guide for:

I have failed to understand this concept. Where do you punch the hole, and do you put the spring through the hole?

Of course, first of all, you need to get yourself a Flight Punch, I have a Harrows punch I got from Darts Corner, but other models are available from other vendors, they all do the same basic thing so buy whatever is cheapest. They are designed to accurately punch a standard size flight, but with a steady hand, you can punch any flight you choose.

First, push the flight into the opening of the punch until it is seated nice and evenly. You'll end up with a rectangular hole, just above the bottom of your flight.

Then all you have to do is spread your flight out as usual and push your ring/spring through the newly punched hole.

The last thing is to slide your flight onto the stem as normal, and feel that ring grip tight and keep it secured to the stem.