The Ultimate Guide To Staple Guns

There are a lot of fun DIY projects that require using a staple gun – a couple of examples are my How To Re-Upholster A Chair Seat and How To Recover A Chair Seat projects.  When I posted these DIY projects I didn’t really talk about the staple gun that I was using, so today we’re going to talk staple guns!

Some other DIY projects -besides recovering a chair- that you might need to do some stapling for are attaching a valance to a board, making a bench or ottoman, or any kind of upholstery project.

Staple Guns

Which is the best type of stapler to use for your DIY project?  It may depend on your project, whether it’s small enough that you don’t mind using a regular hand stapler, and also on how much money you would like to spend.

I do a lot of stapling for my drapery business, so I need a stapler that will be easy to use, and not wear my hand out from stapling all day.  I like a staple gun that shoots the staple into the wood all the way.  Nothing is more aggrivating than to have to go back and hammer in staples that did not go all the way into the wood.

I’ve done a short video that shows three of the four types of staple guns that I know of.  Please excuse the sound quality of the video,  the sharp retort of the staple guns when I was stapling messed up the sound quality of my video camera.

 4 Types Of Staple Guns

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1. Regular Staple Gun –  By regular staple gun, I mean a staple gun that is not electric or powered by an air compressor, and you’re pressing down in the back to staple.  These work fine if you’re working on a small project, and you’re not going to be stapling all day.  They can jump a little bit, and you need to really press down on the front of the stapler while stapling.
2. Forward Action Staple Gun –  If I’m doing a small, quick project, then this is my go-to stapler.  What’s great about this type of stapler, is that all of the action is in the front of the staple gun.  So, when you’re pressing down to staple, the staple is going right where you want it to be, instead of the pressing down action being in the rear of the stapler like in a regular staple gun.  I bought mine 15 years ago, and it works great.  I think for a while these staplers weren’t working very well, but seem to have improved lately.
3. Electric Staple Gun –  I bought an electric staple gun when I first started my business 15 years ago.  I was hoping to find a staple gun that would allow me to staple quickly, and not wear my hand out.  The one that I bought I took back to the store.  It jumped while I was trying to staple, and so the staples did not go all the way into the wood.  This one that I have linked to has pretty good reviews.  They may have really improved electric staple guns in the last 15 years, or the one that I bought may not have been a good one to buy.
4. Air Powered or Pneumatic Staple Gun –  An air powered or pneumatic stapler works with an air compressor to shoot out the staples.  This is the kind staple gun that I love.  But, it is more expensive than the other kinds, so you need to weigh the cost to the convenience.  If you already have an air compressor, then it may be worth taking a look at.  For me, because I do a lot of stapling, it’s a great gun to have.  You can staple easily and quickly all day long.

Staple guns are a wonderful tool to have for those DIY projects that require stapling.  I hope this guide to the different types of staple guns was helpful.

Do you have a staple gun that you love to use?  If so, please share with us what kind it is and why you love it!