I am SO going to hate myself for asking this...

[JaneNYC]

WHICH model Duo Fast?

And can I use it for protection?

j.

[SteveA]

I have the EWC-5018 and very happy with it.  On nail gun depot the current model is $ 275.00 -
You'll need protection from upholsterers only !   The nose is a little stubby but the power I find is unmatched in an electric gun.

SA

[JaneNYC]

Okaaaaay.  What I really need to do -- and very quickly -- is to get to Home Depot and buy that Arrow T-10 staple gun for $20, before I'm tempted to do something really nuts.

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

Don't do it.  Arrow is a piece of doo doo.  If there is any hardness to the wood, staples will not go through with the Arrow.  If you use your weight to force it, you will trash the Arrow. 

You will LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Duo Fast!

Virginia

[JaneNYC]

Okay, allow me to inject a little sanity here:

8 Queen Anne chairs!  Remember: 8 CHAIRS -- that's all I'm in for!

What's the cheapest Duo-Fast?

j.

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

I would be surprised if it stops there.  I can tell you are going to do a fabulous job and then someone will tell someone who will tell someone.  You get my drift.

I bought mine two years ago (actually hubby bought it for me) so I'm not a good price quoter.  I would google Duo Fast and you'll get an idea.  Before you jump, check prices on eBay too.  You can get a bargain if you play just right.

Virginia

[MinUph]

Jane you can always spit tacks. Pretty cheap and effective.

[JaneNYC]

Spitting tacks I could get into.

Anybody have a tutorial?

j.

[baileyuph]

What would it cost in NY to just hire someone to do the stapling - is there sanity in this?

You could strip the structure of old stuff, I guess do any sewing requirement and save the cost and get around the rest that way. 

I get jobs like this after they are started by customers and they swear "never again".  They say I thought it was going to be easy. 

Anyway, spitting tacks is putting one in mouth to hold while tack hammer is used to magnetically hold until the take is driven into where desired.  Takes a lot of practice to develop the smooth art of doing this.  Us old timers will pour a small hand full of them in hand to be fed into the mouth where the tounge is used to move them between the lips where the tack is staged to grab magnetically.  It isn't over at that point, it takes some experience and physical endeavor to drive the tack into positon at the relatively precise position.  All this while the one free hand controls the pull of the fabric.

Ready to hire a stapler? 

Nothing is easy unless you have all the answers.

Doyle

[gene]

Many moons ago I was horse camping in Land Between the Lakes - a beautiful part of Western Kentucky.

I spent 7 days spitting ticks.

One day I came across some folks from a university studying ticks. They had a big tarp laid out on the ground and a block of dry ice in the center of the tarp. Thousands of ticks were crawling toward the dry ice.

Ticks can sense carbon dioxide which is how they get on animals. People are animals too.

We used the horse flys from off the horses to catch catfish for dinner. And we spend each evening before dark pulling ticks off ourselves.

Yee Haw!!!

gene

[MinUph]

Wrote this before but it didn't seem to make it.
  Anyway...
  Spitting tacks isn't all that hard. If you have a tack hammer. Pick Up a box of #2 or #3 oz tacks. You can even get a blister pack at wally world I think. Put some in your mouth and place the magnetic side of the hammer there and it will probably pick one out. Takes a little persuasion to get it aligned but not hard. Then tack it into the fabric/wood where you want it. Be careful your hand is not in the way. Turn the hammer around to use the larger side (non magnetic) and hammer it home. Don't use the magnetic side as it might pull the tack back out and the next blow will possible be into your hand. Just be careful.

[byhammerandhand]

Caveat / background: I don't do upholstery all day long (my business is a mix of repair -- wood finish repair, structural repairs, upholstery cleaning, remove and replace upholstery panels, and opening up upholstery to do repairs inside like frames and springs).  I'm assuming from the tack responses, this is a short-term or one-time need?

I have been using the Porter Cable US58 upholstery stapler with good results.   http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-US58-22-Gauge-C-Crown-Upholstery/dp/B00004SBC3/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428253617&sr=8-1&keywords=porter+cable+us58   Amazon tells me I've been using this for 11 years.  It's about 1/3 the cost of the DuoFasts.  But you do need a compressor.   I looked on eBay for a while for a used DuoFast electric before giving up and going with the P-C.  Most of them seem to be used by the carpet installing people to staple down underlayment (so I predicted high usage, like every day for an hour or more)

Have you looked into a good rental place?   Certainly in NYC you would be more likely to find one that in E. Podunk.

And agree

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

The DuoFast is used for exactly that purpose.  That is how I came by trying one.  That sucker can rock n roll with the best of them.  On high usage days, I probably go several hours straight and not one word of protest from it.  My cheap little Arrow that I keep around fusses if I go more than 5 minutes.

I seriously love my DuoFast.  I had gone through 5 staple guns in as many days before purchasing the DuoFast.  That was 2 years ago and I've had zero issues with it.

Virginia

[chrisberry12]

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

[JaneNYC]

CHRIS!  Is this the Harbor Freight Gun you meant:

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-in-1-stapler-brad-pin-nailer-93749.html

Thanks for this info: $20 I can handle.

j.