Problem with staple gun

[Rich]

I have an EZ Fasten long nose gun that is misfiring because the driver blade will not fully retract to allow the next staple to move into the firing position. I've tried to find a rebuild kit for it with no success. The manufacturer, Central Fastener Co. Ltd, is in Taiwan and did not respond to my email contact.
Last year, I even sent it out to someone who claimed to be able to rebuild it and it still will not work properly. I'd like to be able to use this gun again, so I'm asking if anyone here knows what causes to driver blade to retract? Is it the O rings that are leaking? I can't see anything that would push the blade back up with enough force to overcome the pressure of the spring loaded staples pushing against it.
Thanks,
Rich

[sofadoc]

Sometimes the bumper has a groove worn in it, allowing the driver to sink too far and get stuck.

[gene]

If someone tried to rebuild it there is no telling what was filed and whittled away, bent and straightened.

I put a drop of oil into the air intake every once in awhile. I think I had been putting oil in too often.

My gun did the same thing last year or so. I mentioned on this forum that I took it apart and cleaned all the built up oil out of it and it worked great. I add oil only occasionally. I think the gunk was keeping the driver from re setting properly.

I finished a major project last weekend that took just over 3 boxes of staples. Yes, that's a lot of staples! The driver began to not re set properly once and I gave it a bit of WD 40 and it was off to the races.

Try a bit of WD40 directly onto the driver and down the driver shaft, and if that helps the problem might be a sticking situation instead of a burr or bent or worn out situation.

gene

[Rich]

Thanks for the suggestions.
I did lubricate the driver at one point and it helped for a few staples, then began hanging up again.
As I remember, the reason I had sent it out to have it repaired was that the driver blade broke. They did replace it with a new one and it worked for a while and then began hanging up.
I'm wondering what is supposed to bring the blade to a return position since there is no spring acting on it. I'm thinking it must be air pressure pushing it back up since it does need some force to overcome the pressure of the spring loaded staple magazine constantly pushing the staples against the driver blade.
Rich

[Darren Henry]

I agree with Gene, that it is probably just a case of a good cleaning and a bit of oil. I'd strip it right down and clean all metal/plastic parts with solvent (I've even used naptha and carb cleaner in a pinch). If the O-rings are looking worn or bypassing air you can give them a light coat of petroleum jelly before you re-assemble. also check teh business end of the driver for any small burrs.

[baileyuph]

Having the same problem with a long nose.  So, cleaning with .........what then give it the oil?

I too was thinking about checking for a rebuilt kit and a driver blade.  The driver blade has small bit of metal broken off but it lasted for years before I did that number on it.

I don't mind the gun, guess most are built in Asia?  Those in the lower price range.

I never tried carb cleaner, clean the O-Rings with it also.  Don't think that has been done.

Doyle

[Rich]

Good news! Encouraged by these posts, I decided to give it another shot (no pun intended) and disassembled the gun to see if there was anything I missed when I cleaned it up last time. Everything was clean, but I tried sliding the driver blade through the bore (piston with O ring at top) and found that it seemed to hang up near the top. I used some oiled steel wool inside the bore, but I think more importantly, I chucked the top of the piston in my drill press and used some fine wet or dry sandpaper to slim down the O ring. Put it all back together and shot about a half stick of staples with no misfires.

Now, I'll try it in actual use and see how long it goes that way. Maybe I fixed it? At any rate, I think I proved the problem is with a too-tight O ring.

Before the holidays, I asked someone I found online if he could get the replacement parts and he said he'd get back to me when he found something. Maybe he'll come through with the proper O ring.
Thanks for the help and Happy New Year to all!
Rich

[65Buick]

Forgive me if this is slightly off-topic.

Why do you guys use long nose? I'm still learning/new(ish) to upholstery but I have yet to find something my regular gun wouldn't do.

I had a chair awhile back in which the groove was 1/4" but still the regular gun was fine.

[MinUph]

65, A long nose is helpful probably 15 - 20 % of the time. It isn't to get into grooves as much as into areas that a normal gun would tend to mark up the fabric while getting to an area to staple. There are time when neither guns will get where you need to go but having a long nose is very helpful at times. I went for 30 years before I had a long nose. I would use tacks when I couldn't get my gun where I needed it to go. Tools are very helpful and Upholstery work doesn't really require many tools. So any excuse to have a tool is a good one LOL.

[65Buick]

I've been thinking about this again. Nowadays, you can get almost any tool you want in battery operated form. Why not upholstery staplers?!?

You can now get narrow crown staplers, battery operated. Honestly, I'm really tired of this air compressor thing. It's a hassle and waste of energy. I guess the companies just don't see profit in building a battery upholstery stapler?

[gene]

There are new gizmos and such for woodworking all the time. That's because there's a lot of woodworkers out there. Not so for upholsterers.

It seems all innovations in the upholstery world are for factory applications - how to make furniture faster and cheaper.

A quick google search and I saw a pneumatic staple gun weighing 1.8 pounds and a Ryobi battery staple gun weighing 5 pounds. That's a really big difference!!! My upper shoulder gets sore occasionally from my pneumatic staple gun. I can only imagine the amount of Advils I'd be taking with a battery powered staple gun.

I wonder if when the pneumatic stapler came out that upholsterers were complaining that tacks and a hammer weighed a lot less and the pneumatic stapler would wear out your arm.

gene

[MinUph]

I wonder if when the pneumatic stapler came out that upholsterers were complaining that tacks and a hammer weighed a lot less and the pneumatic stapler would wear out your arm.
gene

Nope we loved it. Faster easier. My first stapler was electric. That weighed around a lot!.

[sofadoc]

I've been thinking about this again. Nowadays, you can get almost any tool you want in battery operated form. Why not upholstery staplers?!?

You can now get narrow crown staplers, battery operated. Honestly, I'm really tired of this air compressor thing. It's a hassle and waste of energy. I guess the companies just don't see profit in building a battery upholstery stapler?

I had one once. The batteries lasted about a year. When I tried to buy new batteries, they were no longer available. And the stapler was discontinued. I didn't like it anyway. It lacked enough power for hard woods.

The catch-22 with most battery powered tools is......... when it's time to buy new batteries, you can usually buy a whole new rig for $10 more.

You may think that a compressor is a hassle. But to me, anything else is a bigger hassle. Give me the compressor.

65, A long nose is helpful probably 15 - 20 % of the time.

True. I only use my long nose for hard-to-reach places. But I know a lot of upholsterers that use theirs full time. They just like it better.

[65Buick]

Ok, you got me there. I am just a very small one-man shop and compressor issues drive me nuts. I had a little senco, quiet devil, but had problems.
I curremtly have a 6gal porter cable that sounds like a freight train, but hasn't failed yet.
I know these things aren't meant to last forever, and I don't wish to use an oiled unit. But still..

[MinUph]

  The only oil free unit I will ever own again is my portable one. They are just too noisey.

  As for battery tools, I had a brad/finish nailer from Dewalt that was very good. Heavy as a sledge hammer but it worked very well. I had it for about three years and sold it when I go out of the business for around 100 bucks less than I paid for it. Batteries were just starting to go down hill but available for 100 each. Not a bad tool for its purpose. I cant see the use for a small stapler running off anything but air.