A staple gun or powered stapler is a hand-held

machine A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromol ...

used to drive heavy metal staples into wood, plastic, or

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

. Staple guns are used for many different applications and to affix a variety of materials, including insulation, house wrap, roofing, wiring, carpeting, upholstery, and hobby and craft materials. These devices are also known as ''trigger tackers''.

Types

There are generally three different types of staple guns distinguished by the power source used to operate the gun: manual,

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

(From a cord or battery), and

pneumatic Pneumatics (from Greek 'wind, breath') is the use of gas or pressurized air in mechanical systems. Pneumatic systems used in Industrial sector, industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases. A centrally located a ...

(

Compressed air Compressed air is air kept under a pressure that is greater than atmospheric pressure. Compressed air in vehicle tires and shock absorbers are commonly used for improved traction and reduced vibration. Compressed air is an important medium for t ...

). Power staple guns can set staples at a somewhat quicker rate than hand-powered models, but their main advantage is that they can be used continuously for hours with comparatively little fatigue. Some staple guns have a long nose that allows the staples to be applied into recessed corners. Another special feature may be wire guides for wiring to ensure that the staples will not pierce the wire. The "forward action" staple gun has a handle that points toward the trigger end, in the opposite direction of the traditional staple gun. These tools are easier to squeeze and better place pressure at the front of the tool where the staple is ejected. The first so called "forward action" staple gun was introduced about 1934."Hammer For Staples Is Like Pistol"
''Popular Science'', November 1934, article bottom of page 32 A hammer tacker is a device somewhat similar to a staple gun, except that the mechanical energy from the user's muscles is stored—as with a

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

—as momentum of the gun itself, rather than as compression of an internal spring. This type of stapler is typically used for insulation, roofing and carpeting. For most purposes square end staples are used; but some staplers can take rounded end staples for holding cables against a surface. Typical staple leg lengths are ″, ″, ″, ″, ″, and ″, or 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 millimetres.

Comparison with office stapler

Unlike office staplers, some staple guns lack an anvil, the metal plate with curved slots that office staplers use to bend the legs of the staple inwards or outwards and flatten them against the

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

. Other staple guns have integral anvils. For example, a post stapler can be used to join the bottom flaps of a

corrugated box Corrugated box design is the process of matching design factors for corrugated fiberboard (sometimes called corrugated cardboard) or corrugated plastic boxes with the functional physical, processing and end-use requirements. Packaging engineers w ...

but a blind clincher is used for closing the top of a closed box where post anvils are not possible. Anvils are built into the staple gun and penetrate the

corrugated fiberboard Corrugated fiberboard, corrugated cardboard, or corrugated is a type of packaging material consisting of a fluted corrugated sheet and one or two flat linerboards. It is made on "flute lamination machines" or "corrugators" and is used for maki ...

: The staple hits the anvils and is crimped onto the box. The curved anvils are then removed. Most staple guns, especially the hand-powered models, have a spring-like mechanism for storing mechanical energy and delivering it as a sharp and powerful blow. This mechanism is necessary because of the large force needed to drive the staples through solid wood or masonry, and because the staple must be completely inserted before the workpiece has time to move . In the office stapler, by contrast, the staple can be driven directly by the user's muscle power, at a relatively slow speed, because the paper is firmly supported by the anvil. In other words, the staple gun substitutes the workpiece's

inertia Inertia is the natural tendency of objects in motion to stay in motion and objects at rest to stay at rest, unless a force causes the velocity to change. It is one of the fundamental principles in classical physics, and described by Isaac Newto ...

for the missing anvil.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staple Gun Mechanical hand tools Woodworking hand tools Packaging machinery

Types

Comparison with office stapler

See also

References