Pap Strap, R-strap

You're probably right - I know very little about metalworking beyond having picked up a few things (such as hardening objects by heating and then dunking in cold water). Annealing does make things more flexible as I've seen it used to treat brass parts in order to make them easier to roll to shape (detail overlays for a model).

I shouldnt tell you then that my bid 0f £12 was accepted.

Now I am thinking I should have bid less.

mine come today and has the metal rings, it seems ok with both my dslrs on but im still not 100% on the clamps.
shame it didnt come someting like this.
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-black-rapid-connectr-2/p1520238

Well, I just offered £10. Will report back on whether I'm successful!

I do think it'd work well for what I do, as I tend to hit the following problems:

Strap around neck - look like a stereotype tourist, never good!

Strap over shoulder - takes ages to get camera into shooting position, plus tends to slip off

Strap wrapped around wrist - works well, but takes time to get it properly settled and you then have a camera dangling from your wrist