104 - Wimpy Electric Stapler

Dear Michael: When I tried to repair a corner of fabric on my piano bench, I had a problem with my stapler – the staples won't go into the wood. I've tried a few different things but is the wood too hard or do I need a new stapler? Shannon

Dear Shannon: Don't buy a new stapler yet! It sounds like the staples are coming out of the stapler fine, but are not penetrating the wood. This is common when you are stapling into hard wood or plywood that is layered with glue that makes a tough surface for the staples to penetrate. If you are using a hand stapler, the pressure you will need on the head of the stapler may be too much and it won't ever work properly. Even hammering the staples down won't work because the leg of the staple just collapses. You may need to use an electric or air stapler. If this is an electric stapler, it may be a simple fix for your stapler to work in any wood.

We had a similar problem in the shop while we were filming a video. I was stapling an edge on a headboard, while holding onto the fabric. None of the staples went into the plywood as we filmed the whole sequence. Finally when the director said CUT, I let go of the fabric and it all popped straight up. The cameraman jumped back and was not quite sure how he just 'saw' us staple the fabric down and now it was all loose. We needed to keep filming so we pulled out two other electric staplers and they all worked the same way – poorly. Feeling a little confused, we made a trip to our local hardware store. The manager gave us the answer we were looking for, which will hopefully fix your electric stapler too, and it is all about the electrical cord.

Some electric staplers come with a pigtail cord that is only a few inches long. I'm not sure how you can staple anything with these unless you add an extension cord. Other staplers have a short 10 foot cord, which are still too short for most people to use effectively. Everyone I know adds an extension cord to their electric stapler or electric nail gun. The key is to make that extension cord VERY short and heavy duty. The longer the cord and the lighter the weight, the more power you lose to the head of the stapler. In a hard wood or plywood, this is even worse and the staples barely poke the surface, much less go in all the way.

Think of your electrical cord like a water hose. The bigger the hose, the more water – or in this case, electrical power comes out. With anything electric, it is all about volume and that is what makes it work. So the larger the cord, the more power supplied to the electrical device. We purchased a 15 foot extension cord that is extra heavy duty and our stapler has worked great ever since.

Mike Rocheford can be contacted via the Web site,

http://www.upholsterystudio.com – click on Ask the Upholsterer