Pulling Staples - Can be time consuming

[baileyuph]

Currently doing a pair of older recliners (over 25 years) and pulling the staples was time consuming.  These chairs have a lot of wood that is extremely hard (hard as persimmon?).

I thought I could tear both down in a day but took a bit more, they are a wing back design and really had the staples. The wings (of course total of 4) had tacking strips, the fabric and cording of course, plus the flex stuff (curve ease)  we normally use to hold the upholstery material in curves.  

I used the Osborn tool, (120 1/2 I believe) and actually found it needed sharpened during the tear down.  I am particular during tear down, don't like covering over a bunch of staples but wonder if there any tricks I probably don't use to reduce the tear down time?  I have heard of using the drill in a twist fashion, but found one should be very careful with this technique (tough one because it doesn't get it close to clean and has frame damage potential).

My technique was just grit it up and do it.  Of course if there is some magic out there, present it please.  I guess some just use labor to support those jobs, that would be nice if it could be available.  Not many young folks want to do what we do.  There isn't a keyboard attached - wink.

Doyle

[MinUph]

I find a rubber mallet and normal staple remover to be about the best all around tool for removing staples. I guess you probably grab the fabric or welt and jerk if off, loosening as many staples as possible or none as the case may be.

[gene]

I seem to always have in the back of my mind ideas about how to take staples out more easily and quickly.

I currently use the mallet, staple puller, and cutters. I often will use the cutters as a mallet on some staple pulling. Wearing work gloves really helps when I'm using the mallet and staple puller.

http://www.harborfreight.com/7-inch-professional-diagonal-pliers-94383.html

I read up on acids once that could dissolve the staples. My thought was I might be able to apply the acid with a Q tip, or maybe a spray bottle. I didn't get any where with this idea.

Here's my next attempt that I will try sometime in the near future. If you try it first, let us know how it works. I have a palm nailer. I am going to buy these "pry bars" and take the wooden handles off them. I will then see if I can use the palm nailer instead of the mallet and the pry bar as my staple puller. I can modify the tip of the pry bar as needed.

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-heavy-duty-pry-bar-set-1654.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/palm-air-nailer-60242.html

[SteveA]

I also use the cutter as a mallet - I also keep a turned wooden mallet close by - since it's round you don't have to aim it.
My side cutters are sharpened to a point so they can dig.  I use a second side cutter that's slightly bent on the business end so I can use a rocking motion to pull a staple as well as a twisting motion.  With hardwood some times I pull and cut the fabric away and bang the staples in unless the area is tight and new staples will hit the old staples.
SA

[kodydog]

My favorite staple puller is a collage student who needs money and has a lot of ambition. They may not be as fast or careful as me but if I can pay them $10/ an hour I come out ahead compared to if I pull them myself. Of course this only works when I have plenty of work. This lets me concentrate on the more technical and detailed stuff.

The way I look at staple pulling is its a mindless operation. Get in there and get it done, anything you can think of to get the fabric removed faster is a bonus to you. I just can't afford to spend too many hours on this part of the job. Pulling staples out of grooves sucks, just no way to do this part fast.

[SteveA]

-   Will they dent up the finished wood work or stab themselves ?  Catch something in the eye ?
We should be able to figure removal time into every job without making it out to be low cost grunt work - 
I hate turns - especially vinyl when the previous tradesman put a staple every mm to take the wrinkles out
SA

[Rich]

I'm surprised no one mentioned this method:
http://www.upholsteryresource.com/node/25

I use the Burch Fabrics chisel (pictured about 3/4 of the way down the page) for most of my stripping, but I generally am not working near finished wood.


While looking around, I came across this:
http://www.google.com/patents/US4245817
I don't know if it ever found it's way into production, I've never seen it anywhere.
Rich

[sofadoc]

The way I look at staple pulling is its a mindless operation.

I agree. It requires no special skill or training. It's basically "See a staple........pull it out".

So why can't I find anyone that can competently perform a task that a trained monkey could do?

I pay $15 hr. They don't return after the first day. Which is just as well. Because I spend more time getting the staples they missed than it would've taken me to just do it myself in the first place.

I was pulling staples and tacks for my grandparents when I was 10 years old. I'm sure that I wasn't very fast, but I promise you that I was faster than any of the adults that I've hired since then.

I've had a regular part-time helper for the last several years. His stripping ability is mediocre at best. I normally just use him for PU/Delivery and general "grunt work" around the shop. Seems like that anyone who could master threading a Weed-eater could grasp the concept of removing staples, but I guess not.

I'm sure that most of the problem is lack of motivation. While $15 is a nice salary for unskilled labor, I can't offer anyone 40 hours. Probably couldn't even offer 20 hours.

[SteveA]

If there isn't an app for it -

SA

[sofadoc]

While looking around, I came across this:
http://www.google.com/patents/US4245817
I don't know if it ever found it's way into production, I've never seen it anywhere.

It was featured in Upholstery Journal magazine back in '08 as CS Osborne PN200 pneumatic staple remover.

But as far as I can tell, it never hit the market. Because of the sheer size of the tool, I'm sure it's uses would've been limited.

[Rich]

Sofa, thanks for the photo and description on that staple removal tool. It seems like it never went very far. Too bad, because an efficient and quick method for removing staples is what every one of us needs.

As far as getting help, after about a dozen years of having that problem in my shop in NYC (70's and 80's), I decided when I relocated to Maryland, I'd go about for awhile just by myself to see if I could do without employees. For a very short time and separately, I hired two women P/T, but the great majority of the past 27 years it's been me alone doing the productive work. Once in a great while, I mention to my wife (she takes care of the billing. ordering etc) that maybe I should hire a helper. She sets me straight though.
Rich

[baileyuph]

Unfortunately, haven't found the easy way to pull staples.  Just finished 5 major chair jobs and to get them done just "gritted" it up and got it done.  Let my hands rest when they were all stripped.  This is hard work.  Then, patterned and installed to get the 5 chairs out and after working hard only had about $2000 labor (slightly less than 2 wks). 

So, with respect to the market, it is much more wonderful doing repairs on the cheap stuff that is broke when customer get it because less gritting/etc. and can make that much money in half the time.

Markets change, is how this relates to the work at hand.

Doyle

[James]

DB, you mentioned that people used drills--we use a drill attachment called the "Strip Bit". It cost about $70 Canadian.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hxR19VSHwro

It is not perfect but it does work very well in a limited number of situations. The fabric or vinyl can't be brittle, because the torque would just bust the fabric, etc.

I was stripping chairs that took about 20 minutes per seat and 30 minutes per back. We bought the tool out of curiosity, and what took 15 minutes with traditional tools to remove welting took 1 minute with the bit, plus a couple minutes to pluck out the staples that the process unrooted.

You can get the same effect sometimes by ripping at a stapled area with your entire bodily force, but this is a bit easier. It is also akin to grabbing on to stapled welting with pliers and rotating the pliers.

A couple notes, we had only a low torque drill, which didn't have enough power to pull the tougher staples out  We upgraded to a hammer drill which had plenty of power but almost twisted my arm off. It is best to use the drag and switch to hammer mode only in tough areas, and when doing so, brace the tool against your body and drill in small spurts to avoid having your hand detatched.

Use with caution :)

[bobslost]

There is a air chisel on the market that has been modified to pull staples .
You do have to be carful or it will gouge the wood. Its good for flat surfaces.
I believe I bought it from Burch many years ago

[gene]

My attempt at using a palm nailer to remove staples did not work. I liked the idea but I could not get enough control to easily take out staples. I can do a much faster job, even though it ain't fast, taking out staples the old fashioned way with a mallet, staple puller, and nippers.

I too tough it out. I like to listen to lectures or books on audio when pulling staples. It's the only time I don't need to think about what I'm doing.

gene