With somebody who has acted this flakey in his e-mails, I definitely wouldn't send out any chips before I received his check. If the check arrived for $58 I would e-mail him asking if he wanted his check back or fewer chips. If he continued to act flakey, I would write VOID in large black letters on his check, keep a xerox of it and mail the check back to him, notifying him by e-mail that I was doing so.

I think you did the best you could with the situation, but most people (including me) wouldn't be so patient.

You are a great ambassador for our hobby, and you make everybody feel welcome by the way you conduct yourself. And, your generosity is contagious. The people you've been generous with have continued the tradition by being generous to chippers who come after them.

However, new chipper or not, flakey is flakey. You deserve a medal for your patience with this one.