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I have a narrow crown staple gun that shots fine wire staples made by Rainco

Makita makes a great hotdog compresser and the one I use now is a GMC Cyclone, it is fantastic, cheap and quiet. It is not made by the auto company. You can search it, great little piece of equipment

Say what

Use a steamer to soften and stretch the vinyl.

There is a beautiful Used Juki for sale on Craigslist, Cape Cod under tools. Just type in industrial sewing machine in the search. They are asking 1500

I use linoleum, just go get piece at home store for $40 and staple to the sides, works great, easy to keep clean, can stick pins in and does not get dusty like the Masonite does, I used to do that too till I was introduced to the linoleum idea by a good friend. When I iron skirts I lay duck down and iron on that

Chris B

I just use spring twine and loop over zigger spring and pull spring wire into clip hammer down and add 14oz. Tacks. If the wood is split, glue and clamp over night and use  zigger spring repair clips. I also tie the springs side to side for more support. Then apply the burlap and so forth

If you want light weight, the duo-fast is a great gun but you have to buy duo-fast staples. A lot of upholsterers like the BEA but I think it's to heavy and clunky. I prefer the Raincoat and have the long and short nose guns. I also have a BEA for hired help when needed. All my guns are #7 or 71 series staple. I bet you can call one of your Dads suppliers and order from them and still keep it quiet, just put on your card, explain it to them. My supplier sells the Raincoat short nose for 170, long nose for 245 and the BEA short nose for 211 and the long nose for 334. These are the best guns out there. If you want old school guns, guns your dad probably grew up using check out Bostitch and Senco both excellent guns. I have a pair of old Sencos and a case of staples I keep for back up. If you want electric Duo-Fast hands down. Are you learning the trade? You might be able to get better pricing on Amazon. I use several different guns/staples depending on the job. Good luck and let us know what you end up with.

Chris

Visit a local upholsterer, they will sell you supplies and work something out with the fabric, most of us are friendly and even give you some advice

Darren,

I love the Rainco, I have had mine since 1998 and still using it today. It feels like the old Duo-Fast guns. You can get one at Albany Foam and Supply for $170 if you are a business. They do not sell the blade and o rings but if you send your gun in, they will rebuild for $70. I just don't like that they replace the old metal magazine with plastic, totally changes the feel and balance of the gun. I have gone to the hardware store and picked up o rings and re welded the blade and the gun is on the third year with my rebuild. Lol

Chris

Why so many band aides? If you are stripping use gloves. When I tie springs or a lot of buttons I take leather scrap and sew so it fits snug on my pinky finger. If a rip a finger in a staple I forgot to hammer down I wrap with masking tape and tissue, much cheaper then using a bunch of band aides that keep falling off. As you learn your tools you will use less band aides, I had a good friend tear his hands all up stripping, just hammer down all the staples that break as you move along the piece.

Chris b

Tack the back, pull taunt to the front middle then pull staples in back center pull taunt and re staple. Now pull back to front, middle to one side on front and staple, then back to front to the other front corner, do the same on the back. Now just fill in center to front corners, no more lumps. The sides just snug up and staple. Do not cut the Dacron pull it apart so it is feathered to the edge, do not allow to go under. If you do seats in muslin first, you will learn without messing up the good fabric. All good upholsterers pull staples to get the look and feel for a great job. All us old timers too a good 5 years to master the basics of the trade and we are still learning, not one piece is the same. I wish you all the best

Chris

Try sewing the fabric upside down, cushion top on top of welt and just lay them together, no stretch at all, . If you stretch either fabric it will react like elastic, and take your time.

Chris

If your just doing a couple things a year go to Harbor Frieght and get their gun, on sale it is $19 and they work great, very powerful. I used in the office chair business and they were replaced once a year with heavy use

Chris

I had carpet in one of my shops so I laid Masonite down and duct taped the seams, worked great. Much easier to keep clean. I also now cover my cutting table with light colored floor vinyl. Easy to stick pins in, nice to iron on and when it gets dirty easy to clean