Staple Gun

[Mojo]

It probably should be pointed out that the guys who only do light duty stapling HAVE been pleased with the cheapo staplers, such as the one from Harbor Freight. For stapling vinyl to plywood, I'm sure they are satisfactory.
But, being a hard core furniture guy, I have wasted entirely too much time and money fooling around with those inexpensive guns.
I'd rather pay $125 for a BEA, or comparable brand. I can keep my air pressure at 90 psi (the same as my air wrenches), I seldom oil it, and I can accidentally hit steel springs without damaging the driver. And the gun will last 10 years or more.
So, when deciding how much to spend on an air stapler, you should consider the type of work you will be doing.
I only occasionally use a brad nail gun. So for me, the cheapo brad nailer works just fine. A professional carpenter, for example, wouldn't fool with one.
[/quote]

I agree. If I was stapling into hardwoods all day like you I would spring for a more expensive and rugged model. But a few stapling jobs a year into plywood is hard to justify the expense of a high dollar BEA gun.

My woodshop has a mixture of tools and machines. You can tell by each machine which one gets used the most just by the name tag. If it is a machine I use alot, I make the investment and buy a name brand rugged model. If it is something I use now and then and doesn't require dead on accuracy then I buy off brand.

My contractor table saw is a Jet but my 7 " rabbit joiner machine is a Harbor Freight special. My floor drill press is a Clark but my hand drills are Dewalt. Most of my hand power tools are Porter Cable.

The more I use them the more I am willing to spend for a good heavy duty model.

Chris

[hdflame]

I bought a used BEA off of eBay since money is tight just getting started.  I wanted a name brand and read that the BEA was indestructible, just like sofadoc said.

I paid $19.99 and the shipping was either FREE or reasonable.  It was dirty and beat up looking when I got it, so I cleaned it up and oiled it.  The pin that held the trigger was missing an E ring, so until I replaced the E ring, I just used it without it.

It has performed without a single jam.  If I could find a long nose for a similar price, I'd buy it too! ;D  One thing about it, parts are easy to get for BEA and I've been told that it's a piece of cake to rebuild if it needs it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BeA-TOOLS-AIR-1-2-UPHOLSTERY-STAPLER-TACKER-95-16-405-/380281483855?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588a8af24f
$19.95

I think this is the same seller I bought mine from.  If you watch this seller, you can get one that nobody is bidding on.  Don't get into a bidding war and run the price up.  I use Bid-nip.  It places my bid 4 seconds before the auction ends...the only way to buy on eBay...IMHO. ;D

Do a search on eBay for BEA stapler.  You'll get a bunch of hits.  Later, after I make my first million in upholstery, I'll spring for a new one!

[sofadoc]

  I use Bid-nip.  It places my bid 4 seconds before the auction ends...the only way to buy on eBay...IMHO. ;D

Ok, I just signed up on Bid-nip. There's an item that I'm currently bidding on. But I'm curious. What if the other guy is also using Bid-nip?

[BigJohn]

Sofadoc;

     Most of those bid sniping programs have an option to shorten up the time before the end of the auction and when it bids, I use Quick Snipe (quicksnipe.com) and it works that way. The idea is to screw the time down lower than the other guy maybe 7 seconds or so, no guaranties!

                                                 Big John

[Darren Henry]

but I'm trying out something different..... a Makita battery powered stapler.  So far I like it..

I like the sounds of that, especially as I am going to be "Captain Kilometer" again now that we took on the contract for Furniture Medic  ( they arrange the warranty repairs for sears/certa/staples etc..)  and will be doing a lot of in-home calls.

I googled it and the one they showed me had a fairly low number of shots/charge and used those big ugly T-50 staples ( if I read it correctly). Would you please hook me up with some specs, Bob ?

Thanks.

[BigJohn]

Darren;

     This is a link to all of the staplers that seller has on Ebay:

http://stores.ebay.com/1TO4-TOOLS-and-MORE/_i.html?_fsub=113847&_sc=1&_sop=1

                                               Big John

[rick-l]

I got excellent customer service from http://www.floydtool.com/ when my Fasco started leaking from the body.

They were also the cheapest I could find.

[JuneC]

That's where I bought my Fasco long-nose.  Now, can one of you guys who disabled and removed the safety tell me how?  I'll hold you "harmless".  I can't see how to get it off without wrecking the gun.  It can't be disabled by taping open either.  You have to release and re-trigger the safety for every staple, else the next staple doesn't load.

June

[scottymc]

Use a hacksaw blade to saw the nib off that is stopping the trigger from being pressed down, I can't see why you could not tape to hold the safety open. If you wrapped the tape right around the front and around again it would never come undone.

[JuneC]

Maybe mine is a newer model???  I don't know.  The safety requires full depress/release between staples.  I've tried just holding it with one finger while I pull the trigger repeatedly with the other - I get one staple - the first, then no more.  I have to release the safety and re-engage to get a 2nd staple. 

June

[Peppy]

Sounds like you need a new gun June!  That'd drive me nuts! Or drive me to spit tacks anyway!

[scottymc]

I just looked at the FASCO website it's the exact same one, same part number for the safety. You could just knock the pin out and the safety switch will just fall out. It's made so that it can be done, otherwise seriouse tradesmen would not buy them, you can go one further and take the firing pin out so it shoots like a machine gun