I have a set of these slates also. Mine also have the gap around the F**p. I don't see where it matters though. It's only obvious if you 1) draw attention to it or 2) let people REALLY, REALLY inspect it. I just set it up so the writing appears on the Ungimmicked slate and when I display it I do so by turning the gimmicked slate over and p[lacing it underneath the other so the f**p is on the bottom of the whole stack. Nobody really cares about the slate with no writing so there is no problem. If the f**p were to fit much tighter then it would be harder to make it do its "thing" without binding up.

My only real problem came when the F**p got caught under a bit of the frame and bent my corner. I hammered it back into shape as best I could but there is still a little warpage to be seen....and still nobody has noticed. So I think this is Much ado About Nothing.

And now, time for a happy ending !

Out of the clear blue, I got an email a few days ago from Bazar stating that they were sending another set of slates and that they got all the kinks ironed out.
Wow, I'd just about given up on them. Sweet !

This time, they got it right. On all counts.

The new slates are fantastic - the flap is a beautiful fit, but there's still just enough slack to allow it to fall free (no quarter inch gap this time).
The m****t is invisible as well, and it's strength is just right.
The wood has a very nice finish to it, overall, these look like a nicely made but otherwise "ordinary" old set of slates, with a little bit of "play" within the frames, which is perfectly natural I think, and that helps to align/hide the flap even better. They thought it all out.

I can now recommend these slates -without reservation- to anyone looking for a good quality flap based slate, one that won't bankrupt you either. I think these are about $69 give or take $10.. ? That's a perfect niche.
They might not exactly be Dave Powell Spirit Slates, but at only a quarter to a fifth of the cost of the Dave Powells', you won't hear me complaining (anymore).

Not only that, but as an especially gracious gesture, they also threw in their Ultimate card index for me ! How'd they know I've been eyeballing that thing on and off, thinking about getting one ?? Oh yeah, the slates probably told them. Anyway, that was a really nice extra touch. Okay, I'm impressed.

Thanks, Bazar !

I just happened to pick up these slates this week and I agree! There was even a sticker on the box that said "NEW invisible m****t. I'm very happy with them.