Thinking about getting a pneumatic staple gun

[milanuk]

Hello,

I've got a handful of projects coming up that I'm starting to think might call for a staple gun. Making a bunch of shop drawers (tacking the 1/4" plywood bottoms in place), cabinet backs (again, fastening thin plywood in place), making batches of target frames for the local gun club (tacking corrugated plastic 'cardboard' to 1x frames, fastening plywood gussets for target frames, etc.). In the past I've been getting by using either screws (and having to pre-drill/countersink most of the time to avoid splitting, mounding, etc.), my 16ga brad nailer (doesn't do the best job of holding thin sheet material down), or a plain old meat-powered hand staple gun (not a lot of fun for the bigger staples in quantity).

Having not actually used a pneumatic staple gun... am I looking at the right tool to cover these applications? I'm not looking for anything too fancy (the discussions about HF air tools such as nail/staple guns being fairly cheap & reliable are encouraging) but I would like to get one tool to cover a number of uses, rather than having to get one for this project, another for a different kind of project, etc. if you know what I mean.

Things I should look for? Things to watch out for? Tips/tricks?

TIA,

Monte

[cabinetman]

For occasional use HF has this stapler, which is depth adjustable. It's inexpensive enough. The 1/4" crown will do what you need. Besides the on tool adjustment, depth can be regulated with air pressure, and length of staple, depending on the density of the materials.
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[milanuk]

something I saw touched on elsewhere in my searching thru the archives... are the staples the HF guns use fairly common i.e. available at the local home center or Ace hardware, or some oddball size / form factor?

TIA,

Monte

[LCHIEN]

yes, you are looking at the right applications for a staple gun. Appearance is not a plus, but holding power in small thin materials is very good. Also fabrics.

Wide crown and narrow crown staples (1/2" across and 1/4" across) are more or less standard, at least with the HF model and sears models I have. I have not found a problme finding staples that fit, I use the same ones in my WC HF stapler that fit in the hand-op sears gun i had.

I guess the narrow crown staples are used in deeper set applications- hold 1/4" pegboard, ply, masonite etc., the wide crown are thinner and used for more shallow apps ( and also hold paper and fabric better).

[scmhogg]

Monte,

I have both the 1/4" and the 1/2" crown staplers from HF. I have been happy with both.

I picked up the 1/2" for about $15 at HF and LOML has been using it to re-upholster some kitchen chairs.

The new 1/2" is a lot lighter than the older ones. Quite an advantage when doing long jobs.

Steve