Anybody using one of these?

[sofadoc]

As Cheryl, and others have said, there is no one stripping tool that is right for every application

Or everybody. I have a similar set of nipper I use making/repairing shoes and I'd go nuts if I ever had to use it to pull staples full time ( Yeah it was at hand a couple of times and   :P I didn't like it ) .

The key word there being SIMILAR. Over the years, I have shown my modified tile nippers to other upholsterers, who immediately went to the nearest hardware store and bought the FIRST pair of tile nippers they saw. Not all nippers are shaped right for the purpose of stripping furniture.
I have employed many helpers to strip furniture. I present them with all of the viable options (air chisel, Berry's, Osborne, dykes). At first, they all gravitate to the air chisel. By the end of the day, they all have settled on the modified tile nippers.

[gene]

Cheryl,

Here's a link to what I call chip strip. They call it chipboard tack strip.

http://www.diyupholsterysupply.com/tacking-strip.html

On this particular sofa, 5 layers of chip strip were stapled on top of each other all around the sofa, 3 inches up from the bottom of the wood frame. The front deck fabric (we just had a long topic on what people call this part of the sofa), was pulled down and stapled under this chip strip. The skirt was attached under the chip strip also. I was able to pull the skirt off with my hands. I then ran my air chissel around the sofa taking off that built up chip strip. 30 seconds is all it took.

FYI: When I started upholstery, I would spend easily 30 to 40 minutes taking off a sofa skirt. I used the staple puller, mallet, and plyers. With my air chisel, I never spend more than 3 minutes on a sofa skirt.

Gene

[hdflame]

Here's a link to a staple puller that I found.  It is not the end-all answer, but it also has it's place.  I really like it.  I bought the first one along with their foam hole cutter, which I also like.  They have them on sale now for half off what I originally paid.  I bought another one for me and two for my upholsterer mentor in town.  I also bought their staple setter but haven't had the need for it yet.

There is a video at this link that explains it's use better than I can.  Good price on them now if anyone is interested.

http://www.upholsterystudio.com/DoubleRockTM/doublerocktm.html

[Stephen]

Here is my favorite stripping tool in it's original packaging (Home Depot-$18)
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Is this the tool you are talking about?
Brutus GT Tile Nipper

To use the tool, I'm assuming that you just grab the fabric in the jaws, then just roll the toll sideways on the jaws, which pulls the fabric up, thereby using leverage instead of "muscling" the fabric off?

Best Wishes,
Stephen

[hdflame]

FYI: When I started upholstery, I would spend easily 30 to 40 minutes taking off a sofa skirt. I used the staple puller, mallet, and plyers. With my air chisel, I never spend more than 3 minutes on a sofa skirt.

Gene

That's a heck of a difference! :o  I have an air chisel that I'm going to try.  I'm recovering my first chair from start to finish by myself.  I'm trying to keep track of total hours I spend on it.  I think I've got about 4 hours in tearing everything down.  Now I was taking my time and taking pictures as I went, but I can see where using an air chisel would be a great time saver for certain things. :)

Did it get most of the staples out or did you have quite a few to go back and pull out by hand?

[gene]

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xr5/R-100647809/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

I have a pair of these that I use a lot, in addition to regular wire nippers. It gives me a different range of motion when I am pulling staples. It also helps to pull welt cord off, especially around the bottom of furniture. I grab the welt cord and roll it forward, pulling up the welt cord along with the staples.

Gene

[gene]

Bobby,

There are many things I used to do that take me a lot less time today. I learned on my own so I did not have the benefit of someone elses' experience.

I remember spending 6 hours on a boxed seat cushion cover, once. Ouch!

I pay a friend to 'prep' my furniture for reupholstery. He strips the fabric off, except for the inside back and inside arms, which he leaves on, loose and all the staples pulled out, so I can more easily reupholster. I remove them off as I go along.

I pay him for each piece he does. My pay is based on 2 hours for a chair (wing back, club, over stuffed, etc.), and 4 hours for a sofa. He is usually within this time frame. Occasionally we get a bear of a piece of furniture, for example, a hard wood frame with thousands of unnecessary wire staples. I still have him stop at the maximum time and I finish the prep. He benefits from getting a piece finished sooner, but I do not want to punish him for running into a difficult piece that is not his fault.

I always try to keep track of my time so I can know how much per hour I am making.

As for getting all the staples out, it depends on the wood, the type of staples, and the fabric. There are usually a few left that need to be pulled out.

Gene

[hdflame]

Thanks for relaying your experience.  I definitely could not make it by the hour right now, but that's part of learning.  I have definitely benefitted from the info from this site! ;D

I just found this on Lowe's Home Improvement site.  Tile Solutions  Tile Nippers.  Looks like it will work like the Brutus without any grinding modifications.  I also like the fact that even for the price, it has a spring loaded handle which I think will make it easier t o work with and tire your hand as quickly.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_84609-81-49945_0_?productId=3044447&Ntt=tile nipper&Ntk=i_products&pl=1&currentURL=/pl__0__s?newSearch=true$Ntt=tile nipper

[sofadoc]

Stephen> Yes , that is the one I'm talking about (remember the 2 modifications)
You can grab underneath the welt cord, or grab staples and pull them out without cutting them.

hdflame> The Lowes's nippers are too squared on the outer edges, they won't "roll over the wood" as well. The Home Depot nippers also have a spring loaded handle. All tile nippers will have to be filed in order for the nipper blades to meet.

After reading everyone's threads, I think I need to re-visit the air chisel. Maybe I need a better air hammer. With mine, I always left a carnage of jagged staples, and splintered wood behind that had to be dealt with.

[hdflame]

I wonder if one the cutting attachments on this tool wood slip under the material and just cut all of the staples off flush, or close to it.  Then you could take a hammer, and just tap them flush with the wood and leave them there.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=67256

I've seen this advertised on the TV commercials for about $150.  I've been looking for a reason to buy one.  It's supposed to do all kinds of fix-it jobs.  I keep waiting on HF to run it on sale, but I haven't seen it cheaper than this yet!

What do you guys think about trying this?

[sofadoc]

Hard to say without trying it. Fabric, foam and/or cotton might wrap around cutting disc. At the very least, you would probably plow through a lot of replacement discs.

[gene]

Dremel makes one for $99. I was going to ask if anyone has used one to strip fabric on furniture also???

Thanks,

Gene

[Darren Henry]

Maybe I need a better air hammer. With mine, I always left a carnage of jagged staples, and splintered wood behind that had to be dealt with.

I had to experiment a bit with angle of attack and direction to get my best results. Or you may just have too "good" a hammer.

[sofadoc]

I had to experiment a bit with angle of attack and direction to get my best results. Or you may just have too "good" a hammer.

Well, it better be a good one. I paid 12 bucks for it! Seriously though, I think that I need one with adjustable speed, so I can control it better. That's why I was curious about that "Bantam Ripper" (but Stephen did complain that it sometimes wasn't powerful enough).

[Stephen]

Well, it better be a good one. I paid 12 bucks for it! Seriously though, I think that I need one with adjustable speed, so I can control it better. That's why I was curious about that "Bantam Ripper" (but Stephen did complain that it sometimes wasn't powerful enough).

As has been said here before, not every tool will work in every application. The Bantam is a good tool and works good in ripping off the old covers. The Bantam is especially a preferable choice when you desire more control over the tool, such as if you use an air ripper around finished woodwork (be careful!).  However, the air hammers have more power (and are harder to control). In the places where the Bantam isn't powerful enough, I use the air hammer or a hammer and ripping chisel. I would not give up my bantam in place of an air hammer, I think it's good to have them both. I think that the Bantam does a cleaner and neater job than an air hammer. It's just a matter of using the right tool for the right job.

I just have the original bits for the air hammer, and I think it would work better if I got another type of bit, such as the notched bit on this air hammer:

I know that some of you have talked about notching the bits yourselves. However, I don't have any metal cutting equipment, so that's not an option for me.

Best Wishes,
Stephen