Author: admin

Metal drill bits are among the most commonly used materials utilized in machining and construction industries. These bits are available in a huge variety of sizes and shapes. Most of these tools are made of steel alloy or pure steel. Every bit is designed for a specific use and therefore it is made of different types of materials. Tungsten carbide material is used to make strong and tensile http://www.listabookmakersstranieri.com/ bits

Both carbide and steel bits are used to cut into different types of soft materials such as plastic and hard materials such as metals.

Drill bits are used for a wide variety of applications. Some of the most significant application includes the following:

Construction Field: It is used largely in the field of construction to drill holes in metals and wood. Various types of bits are utilized in these fields as different types of materials are used in the construction field such as concrete, plastic, metal, wood and so forth.

Glass And Tile Work: There are bits which are tipped with diamonds. These bits are comparatively stronger and it is ideally used on glass, porcelain and ceramic tiles. It is difficult to use regular types of bits on glass and porcelain due to slippery surfaces.

Milling Machines: These bits are used largely in majority of the milling machines. As it is available in a huge variety of sizes and shapes, it can be utilized in milling industries accordingly.

Various Types:

Cobalt Steel Alloy: Bits which are made of cobalt steel alloy are designed to drill into very hard surfaces such as stainless steel materials. These bits are quite expensive compared to the other types of devices. However, it is a bit brittle and therefore it should be used with care.

High Steel Speed: HSS bits are ingrained with a large number of beneficial features. These bits are heat resistant and therefore it can be used for a wide variety of applications. These bits are often coated with various other materials to increase its strength and durability.

Tungsten Carbide: Bits which are made with tungsten carbide are quite strong. It is used on concrete, bricks and other construction materials. It retains its sharpness ever after a considerable period of time. These bits are even used in precision industrial applications and it tends to be highly expensive. However, there are many online stores which sell these bits at affordable price rates. Some of the reputed stores offer customized products to the buyers based on specific requirements.

Carbon Steel: Another common material used in bits include carbon steel. It is basically used to bore holes in wood. There are advanced versions of these bits which can be used to bore holes in steel. It is among the cheapest varieties of tools made available these days. However, it tends to get overheated and seldom retains its sharpness with prolonged use.

As there are a huge assortment of drill bits available through both online and offline stores, it is important to choose these devices based on its specific features and advantages.

As a horse trainer, one of the most frequent questions I get asked is about bits and bitting. It seems there is a lot of confusion about when to use a certain type of bit and when not to.

People also want to know what type of bit they should use during a horse’s particular stage of training.

In this report, I want to clarify some of the misconceptions about bits and how to use them.

Let’s start with snaffle bits.

Most colts should be started in a snaffle bit. And, many older horses that need fixing should also be schooled in a snaffle bit.

To my way of thinking, a horse should be ridden in the mildest bit that he will respond to for the job that he is intended to do.

Here is the reason why:

Most horses will lose some of their sensitivity as they get older. A two year old colt will have a much more sensitive mouth than a ten year old horse. The more pressure or abrasiveness the horse’s mouth is subjected to, the quicker it will toughen and lose its sensitivity.

That is why I want to use as mild a bit on the horse as I can get away with. I want to preserve the sensitivity of the horse’s mouth as much as I can.

Now, don’t confuse a mouth that is merely “sensitive” with a mouth that is “educated”.

A horse’s mouth can be sensitive but if its not also educated on how to respond to pressure, the sensitivity really doesn’t help much.

Ideally, you want both… an educated mouth that responds and is sensitive to light pressure.

With that idea in mind, a green colt will usually be ridden with an o-ring snaffle that has a smooth 7/16″ mouthpiece. And you stay with that mild bit until the colt doesn’t respond to it well enough anymore.

Here is where a lot of folks get confused. They don’t know what bit to go to next. Should they go to a snaffle bit with more “bite” to it or should they go to a curb bit?

Generally, the horse should stay in some form of o-ring snaffle bit until he is well along in his training. Ideally, the horse should be taught to do everything that you want him to while being ridden in the snaffle bit.

So, if you want your horse to be a reining horse, you should teach him to stop, spin, change leads etc. in the snaffle bit. Once he knows how to work, then you can step him up to a curb bit. Curb bits are for “refining” the training that you have accomplished with the snaffle.

Same goes for a cutting horse. He should be in a snaffle bit while he learns to stop, turn and rate the cow. I believe the snaffle bit is the best tool for teaching a horse how to position himself and use his body correctly.

Any performance horse needs to learn to give his head to the direct rein, move his shoulders off the indirect rein and position his ribcage and hindquarters from leg pressure.

Here is the sequence of the various types of snaffle bits that I use:

I try to do most of the foundation training with an o-ring snaffle with a 7/16″ diameter mouthpiece. I stay with this until the horse is too heavy in it and I can’t get him to respond as lightly as he should.

To get the horse to lighten up and respond, I’ll try schooling him with a snaffle that has a mouthpiece that is smaller in diameter… usually a 3/8″ mouthpiece.

With some really sensitive horses this is all the snaffle I’ll need. But for the majority of horses it won’t be quite enough.

Most horses are going to need a snaffle with a thinner mouthpiece so I’ll go to my absolute favorite snaffle…

My favorite training snaffle has a thin mouthpiece that is 3/16″ in diameter. I call it a “thin, smooth-wire snaffle”.

I love this bit because it gets the desired results but isn’t harsh or abrasive to the horse’s mouth.

I’ll use this bit to lighten a colt up for a few days and then I’ll switch back to the regular snaffle. After a while though, this is the bit I’ll be using to do MOST of the training.

I’ll stay with the smooth-wire snaffle just as long as I can. The horse will be taught the majority of what he needs to know wearing this bit.

However, sometime during the training process, a horse will need to be lightened up even more. Especially the older horses that are being tuned up or re-trained.

So to get the job done, I’ll go to a twisted-wire snaffle. Either the regular or the thin twisted-wire.

These twisted-wire bits have some “bite” to them and will convince even an older, hard mouthed horse to respond and lighten up.

Even though it works well, be aware that a “twisted” mouthpiece is abrasive and can sore a horse’s mouth if it’s used too many days in a row or too harshly.

I recommend riding the horse with it for one or two days to lighten him up and then switch back to the smooth-wire snaffle.

Side note:One of the questions I constantly get asked is why I don’t use a “running martingale” with a snaffle bit to help position the horse’s head.

The answer is simple: The running martingale DOES NOT work well.

If you adjust it short enough to encourage the horse to flex his poll for vertical flexion, it is too short and interferes with lateral flexion. If you adjust it long enough not to inhibit lateral flexion, it is too long to help with vertical flexion.

For 10 years, I trained with a running martingale simply out of habit. I finally asked myself why am I wasting time and money on a piece of equipment that doesn’t work. That was 15 years ago and I haven’t ridden with one since.

If you want to try a piece of equipment that DOES HELP a horse learn to give to your hands, supple-up and flex at the poll… use a German martingale.

It’s the best training aid there is.

Okay, now let’s get back to the bitting process.

Another bit that I sometimes use to lighten a horse up is a “draw” or “gag” bit. On some horses this bit works great. The reason is because it works on different pressure points than a regular snaffle bit.

A regular snaffle bit works by placing pressure on a combination of points. Mainly the horse’s tongue, lips and bars of the mouth.

The gag bit works by placing pressure mainly in the “corners” of the mouth and the horse’s poll. Many horses work well with this bit and it gives you a lot of control without putting a lot of pressure on the horse’s bars.

Again, as soon as the horse lightens up and is responding well, I’ll switch back to a milder bit.

The practice of using a stronger bit to lighten a horse up and then switching back to a milder bit, works really well to preserve the horse’s mouth while keeping him working right.

Read the above sentence again, its key.

Be aware, there are always exceptions to the rule.

Some horses just won’t lighten up the way they should in a snaffle bit. For those horses, you are going to have to go to the “next stage” of the bitting process sooner than you would the average horse.

After the horse has a good idea of what is expected of him and is pretty far along, I’ll start riding the horse in a “transition bit”.

Transition bits are middle-of-the-road bits used to transition the horse from the snaffle to a regular curb bit. Transition bits are the stepping stones between the green horse and the finished horse.

When I feel the horse is ready to leave the o-ring snaffle, the first transition bit I try will usually be a short-shanked curb bit with a snaffle mouthpiece. This is basically a snaffle bit with 5″ to 8″ shanks (cheeks).

The horse is already familiar with the snaffle mouthpiece so the only thing he needs to adjust to is the curb action of the shanks. For most horses this is a very easy transition. Others are really bothered by it.

I’ll ride the horse in this bit until he is totally adapted and working well in it. Then, I’ll move on to the next bit in the transition process.

The next bit in the sequence is my favorite transition bit.

It’s a loose shank bit with what is called a “Billy Allen” mouthpiece. (Billy Allen was a top trainer who invented this mouthpiece many years ago. The design has stood the test of time as one of the best bits ever invented).

What I like about this bit is that it gives the horse the “feel” of being ridden with a curb without scaring the horse.

The reason why is because the Billy Allen mouthpiece moves and is flexible similar to a snaffle.

However, the Billy Allen mouthpiece has a “roller” that is molded over the middle joint. This roller “limits” the movement of the mouthpiece.

The horse gets the feel of a mouthpiece that is almost “solid” like a regular curb bit yet still has some “flex” to it.

This semi-solid mouthpiece gives you a lot of control without scaring or worrying the horse. Most horses love this bit and you can usually leave a horse in it for most of his training.

The extra sensitive horses, I’ll ride with the 7″ shanks but most horses I’ll ride with the 8″ shanks.

This is also the primary bit I use to teach a horse to neck rein.

The loose shanks and flexibility of the mouthpiece allows me to use a direct rein to position the horse’s head before I apply the neck rein. It’s very easy and very effective. (You can see how I do this in my “Teach Your Horse to Neck Rein” video).

You can teach a horse a lot in the Billy Allen. And some horses work so well in it that you can keep them in it for years. However, most horses will eventually need to be moved up into a regular, solid-mouthpiece, curb bit.

For those horses, the next bit I’ll use will be a low-port mouthpiece with 8″ loose shanks (cheeks).

I like using the low port as the horse’s first solid mouthpiece because is relatively mild. The bit pressure is more evenly distributed over the tongue and bars of the horse’s mouth.

Important note: Even though I’m advancing the horse in the bitting process, I still want the curb bit to have “loose” shanks. The loose shanks make it much easier to take a horse’s head to the side and get lateral flexion. After the horse gets farther along in his training, then “solid” shanks can be used with good results.

I’ll ride a horse for a while with this low-port curb bit and see how he responds with it.

From this point on, it’s just a matter of experimenting with different bits to see what the horse responds to best.

Some horse’s can stay in the low port for years and years. Others will need to be moved up to a medium or high port bit. With the higher port, there is less tongue pressure and more bar pressure. The majority of horses will respond well to this.

Keep in mind, all through the training and bitting process, if I run into a problem, I’ll sometimes go back to an o-ring snaffle to iron out the trouble and regain the horse’s confidence. Usually, a few rides in the snaffle fixes the horse up and I can go back to the curb bit.

Also, be aware that some horses just can’t stand prosperity. Ride these horses with a mild bit and they just take advantage of you.

I have a horse like this in training right now. Every time I go back to a milder bit to reward the horse for good performance, he cheats me and won’t work right. So I’m forced to ride him in a stronger bit most of the time.

Now, this particular horse behaving this way disappoints me but I don’t hold it against the horse. I don’t get angry with him for it. It’s just part of horse nature to take the easy way out and slack off.

In reality, most horses will slack off from time to time and not work up to their potential. They will test you by being heavy. Either they refuse to lighten up at all or they will get light for a while and then revert back to being heavy.

And you sure as heck don’t want them to slack off just when you are about to take them to a show.

A day BEFORE the show or maybe even DURING the show, you want to ride the horse with your TUNING bit.

A tuning bit is a bit the horse will REALLY listen to. It’s usually a stronger bit than the horse really needs on a day to day basis. But not so strong that it scares the horse. Yes, I want the horse to have a lot of respect for that tuning bit but I don’t want him so afraid of it that it worries him.

Remember, a horse that is scared or worried won’t work to his full potential. He’ll be tentative and prone to make mistakes due to his nervousness.

You want him attentive and responding well but not afraid.

There are two primary “tuning bits” that I use.

One is for horses that are still in the o-ring snaffle. The other, I use on horses that are in a transition bit or a regular curb bit.

For the horses that are normally being ridden in an o-ring snaffle, I’ll use a curb bit that has a “correction” mouthpiece and very short, curved-back, “Argentine” shanks (loose shanks).

The correction mouthpiece will really get the horse responding well… especially for the stop.

This type of curb bit can easily be used on a snaffle bit horse because the shanks are so short and curved back that there is almost no curb action. The lack of leverage allows you to take the horse’s head laterally without scaring him.

On my horse’s that are normally ridden in a transition bit or curb bit, I’ll use a tuning bit that has a “correction” mouthpiece and 7-inch loose shanks.

This bit has some leverage to it but it’s easy to get lateral flexion because the shanks are loose.

I should also mention, on some of the heavier horses, I’ll use a curb chain with this bit that has more bite to it than the usual one that I use. Usually, a dog-chain curb works well.

I’ll normally ride the horse with a tuning bit for a ride or two (or show him in it) and then go back to whatever bit I normally ride him in.

Well, I hope this information helps you with your horse training. If you would like to see what the different types of bits look like, go to my website or simply click on the Casas De Apuestas extranjeras.

Land casinos have a higher overhead than their online counterpart. As a result, online sportsbooks can offer the gambler better odds (and give you a much better sportsbook bonus) then their land counterparts. All online sportsbooks need to pay for is an Internet connection and a computer server to run their website. They have expenses that are orders of magnitude less than casinos in Vegas. If you’re trying to win real money, find a good sportsbook bonus and start betting on sports. The odd spreads are razor thin. A little free money in the form of a sportsbook bonus is enough to make you start winning Bet Bonus.

The odds are good enough that with a bit of practice, you should be able to make money by betting on sports online. You just need to be better than Joe average sports better. You might start off losing a bit of cash, but in time, you should improve and start winning. And if you really just can’t pick a winner, you can always find a good handicapper and use their picks.

I also wouldn’t totally discount the excitement factor of betting on sports at online sportsbooks. You can win real money, and this prospect is that essence of what makes gambling so exciting anyway. Online sportsbooks also win in the convenience factor. There’s nothing better than spending the afternoon at work placing sports bets (especially you’re using free money from a sportsbook bonus) and the evening celebrating your winnings. Or maybe there is, but President Clinton almost got impeached for it. Maybe you’re best off sticking to gambling at work.

The answer to my original question is this. If you want to make a holiday out of your gambling, go to Vegas. Nothing beats the lights of the city, and watching Elvis marry away strangers who met a few hours ago. If you want to win cash, play online. The online sportsbooks can offer you better odds than their brick and mortar counterparts. That small difference in pay out percentage might be enough for you to move from the “keep losing just a little bit” to “keep making enough to pay for dinner” category. Just find a good sportsbook bonus before you start betting.

Plastic surgery is very famous term in this modern world. This word mainly related to celebrities and we know so many of them undergone this surgery to get more beauty. Plastic surgery can be defined as a medical term which indicates the renovation or the alteration of organs. It is an unnatural process and through this, we can get what we did not get naturally. So, all people have an idea about plastic surgery fat graft Sydney. Now we are going to see about the plastic surgery prices.

The world plastic is derived from the Greek word plastikos which means to shape or to mold. It has no relation ship with the plastic we use in our day to day life. One mistaken belief about the plastic surgery is that patient have to under gone surgery. But it is wrong, no need of surgery in all cases, some non surgical cases are there. Prices of plastic surgery depend upon many features about the treatment; some of them are time period of the treatment, type of surgery, cost of facilities, standard of the surgeon etc.

Nose job surgery or Rhinoplasty is a very common form cosmetic surgery. Charges of nose job surgery change with the risk of the surgery. Although it is common, there are chances to transform it as a tricky business. A decent nose job surgery costs from $4,000 to $6,000; it is only an average price scale.

Liposuction is another famous cosmetic surgery among male population. Liposuction is a type of plastic surgery which removes excess amount of fat around the stomach and below the hands. Its average price varies from $2500 to $3500. One thing that it may cause $5000, based on the time physician spent on your body.

Another common surgery is gynecomastia or male breast tissue removal. In this surgery, physician removes the excess fat from the chest area of the males, in order to firm up their body. This surgery is very helpful those who have sagging breasts or small sized lumps on the chest area. Charges vary from $2000 to $3000.

Breast enlargement in females is one of the very famous in cosmetic surgery. It mainly meant to increase the size and shape of breasts and some people prefer breast lift. This treatment charge starts from $5500 to $7000.

Fillers have high demand in the market, some of them like Restylane and Collagen are using to inject for the enlargement of organs. Lips like the top movie stars can be attained with these fillers. You can use fillers on cheeks and other facial areas. This treatment costs from $300 to $350 per injection, which is comparatively low rate in cosmetic surgery. But this injection is temporary in result and has to take injection between six to eight months.

Another one is vaginoplasty or vaginal tightening which costs from $6500 to $8500. Botox injection costs $6500 to $8500 and otoplasty or ear surgery costs for $3000. There is an option to enlarge the penis and the charge ranges from $4500 to $8500. So cosmetic surgery is a second chance for those who love to become beautiful. Don’t skimp on the plastic surgery prices, however. Cosmetic surgery is one area of medicine where getting a great deal isn’t always such a great deal.

Fat graft Sydney is not exclusively for women anymore. More and more men are finding their way into the surgeon’s tables and getting cosmetic operations to improve or enhance their looks. Almost all cosmetic procedures performed on women can also be done on men except for a few that involve specialized areas of the body belonging to the male and the female of the species only. Among the top cosmetic procedures that men favor, many are not as invasive as those that women go for, such as Botox, laser hair removal and microdermabrasion. There are also some invasive cosmetic plastic surgery operations that are commonly requested by men.

Rhinoplasty

Boys will be boys and many of them may have had scraps when they were younger which resulted to a broken nose. Some may also not be satisfied with the natural shape of their noses and wish to reshape it. Rhinoplasty, commonly known as a nose lift, is not only capable of making the nose appear longer or higher but is also able to reshape it. Some men may actually need reconstructive surgeries for their noses because of some abnormality of defect that often affect speech, breathing and other functions vital to normal living. Reconstructive operations often prioritize function to appearance but if form can be achieved then they usually go for it. The procedure involves making an incision in the nostril and flipping back the skin to make the corrections. There are two basic techniques to a nose lift, the open and closed method.

Hair Transplant

It is not only women who are vain regarding the hair but also men. Having a hair transplant is another plastic surgery procedure that men often indulge in. Many men develop bald spots or thinning hair early in their lives and they often feel the need to correct this. Hair transplants work well enough to help men with bald spots or thinning hair. It is not as invasive as rhinoplasty, though. The procedure involves placing hair plugs into the actual scalp of the person to achieve a fuller head of hair.

A breast reduction surgery can be preformed on both men and women with excessive breast tissue.

A female breast reduction is ideal for women with large, sagging breasts which are uncomfortable and interfere with one’s life style. Large breasts could be painful, unhealthy, cause upper back, neck and shoulder pain. In addition, large breast tissue could cause hand numbness, reduce nipple sensation and restrict certain activities such as exercise.

Some men have deposits of excess breast tissue and fat in their breasts, giving them a feminine look. Studies show that 30% to 60% of adult men will develop a condition called male gynecomastia, or excessive growth of breast tissue, over the course of their lives. While sometimes related to medicines or a hormonal imbalance, these inciting causes are not often found to be a factor. Most cases are a matter of bad luck! Having excess breast tissue may be embarrassing to men and could also cause pain and discomfort of the chest.

Most breast reduction procedures for men or women maybe covered by medical insurance.

The Straight Facts on Surgery

With all said, here are a few commonly asked questions about breast reduction surgery:

Is breast reduction procedure for me?

During a consultation with a Plastics Surgeon at Beverly Hills Physicians [http://www.beverlyhillsphysicians.com/plastic/plastic-and-cosmetic-surgeons.php], you have the chance to discuss the goals and expectations of the surgery. The surgeon will assess your breast and body contour and will discuss the outcome of your procedure.

What is the breast reduction surgery like?

The procedure is performed at an outpatient surgical facility. The procedure typically takes just over two hours for male breast reduction and about four hours for female breast reduction to perform. Most patients recover within 1 to 2 hours after surgery and are discharged home.

What is the recovery from breast fat graft Sydney surgery like?

No matter how certain females scoff at breasts enlargement surgery, it’s increasingly becoming the most popular plastic surgery performed in the United States today. Last year it was the most popular among all the cosmetic surgery procedures out there. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) statistics, 329,000 breast enlargement surgical procedures were performed in 2006. And as you guessed, the number has steadily increased each year since then.

Why do more women continue to get their breasts enlarged, you’d ask. Well, the answer is obvious – they want to look as good as the women they see in the covers of magazines, in movies, etc. I won’t say I blame such women because the men have shown that they prefer women with big, full and firmer looking breasts than women with flat breasts. It’s even evident that women with bigger, fuller and firmer breasts look better in clothes than women with flat breasts.

If you want to join the team of the bold women that have had breast enlargement surgery, you should ask and sufficiently answer the following questions:

The first question you should ask yourself is whether you can actually afford it right now or not. Yes, it can be pretty expensive, but many women don’t consider the cost because they end up getting the results they desired. To such women, the “end justifies the means”. You should take a good look at your finances to be sure you can afford the surgery without putting undue stress on yourself. There’s no use in spending all your life’s savings on it only to be filled with “buyers remorse” afterwards.

The second question to ask and answer is which is the best surgeon and best clinic to ensure a safe surgery. Even though it will be pretty expensive, it’s best to ensure you get the right surgeon and the right clinic for the procedure. While it has become relatively safe to have breast enlargement surgery done nowadays, there are still quacks out there who do a bad job, so you should ensure you stay clear of such quacks by only insisting on having the best surgeons attend to you.

The above questions are very important to ask and answer before contemplating a breast enlargement surgery. And of course you should learn as much as you can about the procedure. Also, come up with other questions that you want answers to and ask the surgeon before the female plastic surgeon.

Plastic surgeon Sydney Sites Struggle Despite Significant Benefits

By DAN MORSE

Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Compared with selling, say, sofas over the Internet, flogging plastic surgery online makes perfect sense.

After all, privacy is one of the few proven ways to make money on the Web. Just consider the options facing someone thinking about a face-lift:

One: Schlep down to the nearest surgeon, and ask a complete stranger to illustrate how you would look with upgraded parts.

Two: Stay home (or stay at the office). Log onto the Internet and download “morphing” software. Then, scan in a picture of yourself and point-and-click your way to a new you. The Web site will then direct you to a local physician.

The latter option renders shopping for plastic surgery less embarrassing. Only if you are pleased with what you would look like do you go talk to strangers — no doubt in a more confident state.

So why are so many plastic-surgery Web sites gasping for life?

There are lots of reasons. Some are specific to the companies’ bad decisions, and others are general to the malaise of all things dot-com. In the end, one or two major players will likely remain standing. So they are racing to amass online directories of as many of the nation’s 6,000 certified plastic surgeons as they can enroll. The sites typically charge doctors for the listings or charge consumers for the financing plans they manage.

Perhaps the most aggressive site is thatlook.com, based in Stroudsburg, Pa. Web site viewers are hit with this offer: “Cosmetic surgery for no money down and payments as low as $38 a week.” On either side of that pitch are two perfect models, male and female, whose images suggest recent visits to some rather skilled surgeons.

If only more people would see the site, laments Gerard Powell, chief executive of the company. “People don’t know about it,” says Mr. Powell, who candidly admits he has made some mistakes along the way. His company sponsored two Nascar races this year: the thatlook.com 300, a stock-car race, and the thatlook.com 200, a pickup-truck race. There weren’t many female viewers. And even if they were watching, the TV announcers didn’t spend much time explaining what thatlook.com actually does. For the company, the cost of the sponsorships was valued at $252,000, representing 2 1/2 months of the company’s advertising budget, yet the races only generated three new patients, Mr. Powell says. Mr. Powell’s Web site offers free software that consumers can download. That is what Melanie Solomon, a Missouri mother of two, did earlier this year. “I knew I wanted larger [breasts]. But I wasn’t exactly sure” what size, she says. So, sitting in her home with husband Christopher, she scanned in a topless picture of herself. Then she morphed her way to D-cup from B-cup. Ms. Solomon was able to keep the images securely on her own computer.

She got her surgery done at the Plastic Surgery Aesthetic Center outside Kansas City. There, patient counselor Carla Casey-Smith says the Internet-available morphing can help people get over the hump. “The worst part of the whole thing is coming in and talking to a doctor,” she says. She cautions that the software should explain to users that it is only a guide, and there are limitations to what can be done. That said, she asserts, if the sites were more widely used, plastic-surgery operations could “go through the ceiling.”

For now, though, thatlook.com needs financing — $2 million to $5 million for advertising in order to turn a profit, Mr. Powell says. He charges plastic surgeons $2,500 to $10,000 a month to have thatlook.com manage all their marketing efforts.

Point, Click, Nip, Tuck

A sampling of plastic-surgery Web sites and how they are doing.

Company/Status

thatlook.com/Shares trading at 25 cents

iEnhance.com/Expected loss this year: $2 million

eBody.com/Staff slashed, up for sale

Idealme.com/Shares of parent firm, Plastic Surgery Co.,

trading at $2.31

PersonalSurgeon.com/Just launched in October

Source: The companies

Others in the industry say Mr. Powell is charging plastic surgeons too much. “Physicians are cheap,” says Elliott Jenkins, iEnhance.com’s chief financial officer, of Salt Lake City. His company has linked with McGhan Medical Corp., a unit of Inamed Corp., which makes saline breast implants. If a doctor’s office pays $950 annually to iEnhance.com (www.ienhance.com) (which gets them a posting on the Internet), the doctor essentially gets reimbursed by McGhan Medical, according to both iEnhance and McGhan.

IEnhance.com expects to post a $2 million loss this year on revenue of $1.1 million to $1.3 million, Mr. Jenkins says. The company received $4 million in venture funding, of which $1.5 million remains, he adds. Mr. Jenkins says their “low-cost provider” concept will work, and he expects to turn a profit next year. IEnhance boasts 1,400 doctors on its site, which is far more than its competitors, he says.

Meantime, eBody.com, in Minneapolis, raised about $5 million in financing, but has fallen on tough times — shelving plans for an initial public offering and slashing staff. Dr. Scott Ross, the company’s founder, says with all the competition, “We’re all banging heads against each other.” Last week, Dr. Ross, who is still with eBody, stated that his company is forming “strategic partnerships” and added: “If the price is right, everything is for sale, and eBody is no exception.”

In addition to these sites, many doctor’s offices have posted their own Internet sites, albeit usually less snazzy. A Google.com search for “plastic surgery and financing” yielded 8,760 hits. And one more big player: The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, based in Arlington Heights, Ill., which runs an Internet-referral service . This site is relatively subdued and doesn’t offer any of the financing hooks.

By comparison, some of the private sites make some doctors squeamish — a factor working against the sites. There is even one in California, bidforsurgery.com, which follows an eBay model. In general, critics say that aggressive, online medical sites promote the cheapest doctors, not the most qualified. And this is surgery, after all.

Some of the Web sites have further hurt their reputation by steering consumers to certain doctors, says Brian Mullaney, who launched PersonalSurgeon.com two months ago in New York. At his own site, he says, “We don’t push any [certain] doctors.”

To attract doctors, he offers free online postings, but plans to start charging next year. To attract consumers, PersonalSurgeon.com has placed full-page ads in The New York Times. PersonalSurgeon.com offers consumers before-and-after morphing. Consumers send in a picture (either traditional pictures or electronic ones). The company produces a rendering of how the patient might look. Mr. Mullaney shrugs off the slowdown in the tech sector, saying it presents an opportunity to hire Web site designers and computer-savvy people: “It’s a buyer’s market for talent.”