How Does a Staple Gun Work [Beginners Guide]

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A staple gun is best suited for works where using a basic stapler isn’t enough and using a hammer and nail is too much. This tool has a multitude of uses starting from basic paper decoration to high-end architectural designs.

So, why should you learn how does a staple gun work now? Well, the answer is simple: by deeply understanding this tool’s working mechanism, you can learn it more effectively. Also, if you understand the internals of this tool well, you’ll be able to fix its problems if there happens to be any.

So, How Does It Work?

Staple guns actually come in three variations. They are:

  1. Compressed Air or Pneumatic Staple Gun
  2. Electric Staple Gun
  3. Manual Staple Gun

Fundamentally all of these work on a single mechanism. There’s a trigger you can click. Once that trigger is clicked, it presses onto the staple cartridge to push it out. The mechanism is similar to that of a gun.

The trigger creates an extra force to push the staple out fast so that it can penetrate through the surface of the paper of whatever application material there is.

So, this is the basic principle. But since there are three major variations of a staple gun, the inner workings of each are different as well. For example, the electric staple gun has a motor inside. The motor pushes the staple trigger with high speed, allowing the tool to be used with high-density materials such as cardboard.

Manual staple guns are simple. They have basically a trigger and a staple pushing mechanism without a motor. It gets all its energy from the trigger clicking movement.

The most popular of these staple guns are the pneumatic one. This variation has an electrical connection and compressed air inside. The motor pushes onto the compressed air chamber to increase the air pressure, which, in turn, presses the clicking trigger onto the staple. Afterward, the staple comes out normally.

But this sounds similar to the electric, non-pneumatic staple gun, right? Why is this variant so popular then? The answer is the internal triggering movement. Because air pressure is higher than that of an electric motor, it can generate an insane amount of force for the staple.

The increased force is helpful while working with extra dense materials — for example, thick paperboards, woods, etc. Moreover, since an air-powered staple gun could generate high power output in a short time, it’s helpful for doing quick tasks.

Staple Gun for Crafts

For basic crafts such as paper and artwork crafts, you don’t need a high-powered gun. A basic manual staple gun could easily be enough for you. Don’t go for expensive pneumatic guns at this point. They are overkill for your projects.

Final Words

So, the question: how does a staple gun work? should be less confusing to you now since we talked about the inner workings of this tool in this article. It’s one thing to use this tool and another to use it safely. The latter is harder to learn and maintain.

FAQs

Let’s talk about a few commonly asked questions now

How to use a staple gun?

Using a staple gun is easy. Connect it with an electrical connection. Load the staple cartridge. Hold the gun and click the trigger. Simple, right?

Well, there are a few small details that I didn’t include there, which I will do now.

First of all, wear protective gear. Wear thick gloves and protective eyewear. At the rate a staple flies out from the gun, your eyes will be torn if that thing hits it. Eye safety is most important here.

Also, work in a well-ventilated, clean room. You want the room to be clean so that when your gun fires, it can take in clean air. If the room is dusty, the air will be too. Dirt in the air can get stuck inside the gun’s motor and cause it to malfunction.

And that’s about it. This tool is easy to use. You just have to be very, very careful not to harm yourself or anyone with it.

How to use a staple gun for upholstery?

The process of working with a staple gun for upholstery is similar to working with other paper or canvas-based mediums. But there’s one thing to be very careful about if you want to work with your furniture’s upholstery.

The surface of the furniture under its upholstery is tough and thick. To penetrate it, you have to use a high-powered setting for a staple gun. Also, a staple may slip if it can’t penetrate through the thick surface and deflect back to you. Wear face gear to be safe from this. You’ll have to work at a close distance, so it’s better to be careful.

How to put staples in a staple gun?

Knowing how to load a staple gun can make loading and unloading staple cartridges so much easier. It is very easy. Locate the cartridge pusher rod in your gun and once you do, push it as if it were a button. Afterward, the rod will come off easily, and you can then reload the cartridge.

Once the staples are loaded, push the rod inside, and it’ll close automatically.

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