Stapler for finish and upholstery work?
ButchersWood
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
I am considering getting a stapler to do both finish work (like holding plywood backs on cabinets, something I do with 18ga finish nailer now) as well as the odd bit of upholstery. The current job on the list is wrapping a desktop in leather, but there are a few other fabric type jobs I would use it for. Mostly building cabinets but some upholstery. Will an 18ga narrow crown work well for both uses? For upholstery in general I would think 23ga would be better but I wouldn’t expect it to hold a cabinet back.
Appreciate any and all advice!
Roger
I’d rather be making cabinets and friends….
Replies
What you'll have to worry about using a narrow crown stapler is punching through the material. It takes less pressure to do the job well without the crown cutting through. I'm not an upholsterer, but I use two different models of 18 ga staplers and always have to run some tests before doing the job. I think a different configuration stapler would be required for upholstery. Try a Google search under upholstery if someone here doesn't have the answer.
I would definitely run a test first, assume I could set the depth and pressure so it wouldn't punch through.I've been meaning to get a finish stapler for cabinet work anyway, the upholstery thing came up yesterday when we ran a test on the leather piece with a hand stapler and couldn't sink the staples enough....I do realize that doing it with fabric would be a whole 'nother deal.RogerI'd rather be making cabinets and friends....
OK. Well, I have the two Porter Cable 18 ga narrow crown staplers which I use for everything from screen doors screens to wine cellar strips (3/4 X 3/4 butt joints). I have used them for upholstery -- some church furniture and the like with heavy fabric. I would recommend them.
Here's a kneeler I made for a church.
You really can't use one for the other - an upholstery stapler on wood, or a narrow crown stapler on fabric. Not with good results, that is.
My girlfriend has an upholstery business and she uses a FASCO F1B 7C-16 Automatic. It's a very nice gun.
Air guns for upholstery range in price from an $80 Porter Cable to the $200 Fasco.
Plenty of deals to be had on-line.
Regards.
B-W -
For the occasional upholstery project, why not invest in a magnetic tack hammer and a box of cut, blued upholstery tacks?
Good question since I already have both! But its my wife who does the upholstery, and she wants to use a staple gun...LOL!!!RogerI'd rather be making cabinets and friends....
Yes, thank you, hand nailing little tacks is lotsa fun. Even my petite DW has gotten good at it and enjoys it.
So easy and theraputic, compared to spending hours driving 12" landscaping spikes, or them 16d nails on my old house remodel.
breaktime reader in case you're wondering :-)
I have the PC Narrow Crown Stapler, and would recommend it.It's a very good gun, and has a lot more holding power than a Brad Nailer, when that's what's needed . But I didn't find it worked very well for upolstery, so I bought the Paslode upolstery stapler from HD, and it works great. I'm very glad I bought it. I paid $69.00 can. for it, but it should be cheaper in the US.
Cheers. Shawn
ButchersWood ,
Most air powered staple guns designed for doing upholstery type work have crown widths of 3/8"- 1/2" . The length of the staples can vary we use 1/2" , 3/8" and some 1/4" lengths for various applications on a few products we fabricate involving fabrics . Blowing thru the fabrics as has been stated is the biggest problem . You can try using thin pieces of stiff cardboard strips , staple thru them and into the fabric , experiment with the the thickness and cardboards , don't use corrugated cardboards.
good luck dusty
No cord, no hose, a bit heavy, but it has done all my stapling for many years:
http://www.makita.com/menu.php?pg=product_det&tag=T220D
Repair leather, finish and upholstery work from reputed service provider. You can get many companies providing this type of work, but always prefer professional one.
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