Pulling Staples - Can be time consuming

[gene]

65 Buick: I've never even thought about the staple legs left in the wood before, so obviously they have not been a problem. I do find some legs still sticking out of the wood where they were not cut off flush with the wood and I just pull those out with my nippers or tap them in with a hammer.

gene

[65Buick]

Cool. I'm ready to try your approach. I find I can get a refurbed dremel brand for the same price as a HF tool.

[gene]

I took the old fabric off a recliner this morning. I used my Sofa Dream Machine. (I'm sure we all name our tools.) I named my oscillating cutting tool after Sofa Doc, who shared this idea on the forum. My Quickbooks acounting software and my Sofa Dream Machine are the two biggest time savers I have.

By the way, the biggest time waster I have is me getting another drink of coffee or switchel.

90% of the fabric was cut away without removing the staples. I ran the cutter under the fabric and it just pealed off the fabric. No remnants of fabric were left under the staples. I did this with the poly batting that was stapled.

I don't know if the combination of fabric, staples, and hard wood made this so easy, but it was great not to have wood dust, where I pushed too hard, and great not to have a lot of staple pieces to vacuum up. And I did have some because places where multiple staples were used and where the fabric was bunched up and stapled, the cutter needed to go through the staples.

gene

[sofadoc]

I took the old fabric off a recliner this morning. I used my Sofa Dream Machine. (I'm sure we all name our tools.) I named my oscillating cutting tool after Sofa Doc, who shared this idea on the forum.

I'm not sure how I feel about a vibrating appliance that gives you such pleasure being named after me.

[65Buick]

I got my sofa dream machine today. How long do the carbide blades last? They are $20 each.
Btw, my tool was $20 at HF. So it's no biggie if it poops out. But I did notice that they give you a new set of brushes. Maybe that's all it needs?

[sofadoc]

A 3-pack of blades is $23 from Amazon. Shipping is free with Prime.

The blades typically last 1-3 months, depending on usage.

The HF oscillating tool usually burns up within a month or two. It's always the motor that burns up before the brushes wear out.

[65Buick]

Bummer. It definitely is faster. But it does make a mess, including wood dust which I really try to keep out of the workspace. I guess I could turn on a vac nearby.

What brand of osc. Tool is recommended then? Dremel?

[sofadoc]

What brand of osc. Tool is recommended then? Dremel?

I buy these 2 at a time. One of them typically lasts 3-5 months (of heavy use). I tried the Dremel brand. It's more expensive, and doesn't really last any longer than the cheap ones. The motor does fine, but the little "tits" that hold the blade in place wear smooth.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UKGKYK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[gene]

65 Buick, I used my Sofa Dream Machine on two love seats today. No saw dust at all. It's a learning curve. You'll learn to feel and hear and smell the wood when the cutting blade starts to dig into wood. I even had a few staples turn red hot and then black because I was able to hold the cutting blade on the staple and not dig into the wood.

I tried to hold a vacuum at the beginning because of the saw dust, but as I got better I don't use the vacuum until I'm done.

The skirts pulled off with my hands and left a few staples sticking out. I ran over them with my Sofa Dream Machine to remove them with no problem.

gene

[gene]

I used my electric multi function oscillating tool to remove staples from 3 straight back chairs this week. I cut deep gouges into the finished wood for the first time. One of the legs looks like it's been in a knife fight. I turned to blame the damage on someone else but I was the only person in the shop. Ouch. Filler stick and a light clear lacquer finish will hopefully fix my mistake.

Also, I used a new Dremel cutting blade and it broke 5 minutes into using it. I was surprised. Cheap crap from China?

gene

[SteveA]

I think Doc posted the video the first time I saw the tool used for staples.  If I remember it was the underside of a sofa. 
I haven't looked for an easier way to remove staples.   A tack puller and a side cutter isn't quick but it's a time when I can work without thinking - not a bad place to be while working and unwinding at the same time.
Gene I hope this new short cut tool hasn't put you into the retouching business -
SA

[baileyuph]

Now you will become a classic wood repair/refinisher Gene. 

My level of confidence might not be strong enough to risk damage to a nice antique.  The tool looks
very effective on some of the other jobs.

Doyle

[gene]

This is the first time I damaged finished wood with the tool. I was tired and working around the top of the legs down below my eye level and I should have either sat down or raised up the chair.

The only woodwork I do is what I call "refurbishing". I touch up furniture legs to make them look gently cared for. Keith, by-hammer-and-hand, taught me how to use lacquer toners and filler sticks.

gene

[baileyuph]

Seems many use the oscillating tool, I definitely would if furniture was about the only thing I did.  The cutting tool does present its value, especially for the sofa job Sofa Doc demonstrated on.  I believe to
implement the tool in my small shop, I would use it selectively until Sofa's skill level was attained, that way
maybe I wouldn't damage some of the nicer frames that come in.  On those type, I make sure I use a sharp staple puller. 

Another experience has been noted, the newer built furniture (often referred to as China built) is easier to
pull staples out.  The cheaper wood makes the difference. 

Being diversified as my business is, for example - few staples are encountered, sometimes few if any in
the newer autos.  To add, there are fewer hog rings also.  More velcro, glue, and other techniques uses to attach things.   

That is the way it is today - but some customers talk about the mistake they made by getting rid of
their older, better built furniture.  They are not satisfied with the newer built stuff.  Easy for me to
understand as I usually have plenty of that coming in for repairs (with a very new status).  Recliners
built in do present problems - not always the fault of the new recliner to be honest.  Heavy people
will sit in them and the ones that require manual closure (where user is required to close the system by
their feet) - that feature doesn't seem to work because the user will get out of the recliner without
total closure and does that lead to problems - they bend the metal!!  Oh boy, and the dummies
will hardly admit they caused the problem.  Perhaps they don't know? 

Always something to work on for some reason(s).

Hope every one has an enjoyable season!!

Doyle