Summary
Product- Aarow Tacker & Staples
Test - Used to tack down tar paper.
Cost- $40.00
Conclusion - Tacker lays down staples quick, but when it jams do not look directly at firing end. Jammed staples could fire out when trying to un-jam the tacker. Also Aarow staples that are left unused in a tool box can lose their abilitly to stay together. Using partial staple magazines leads to more jams in of the taker during use.
Buying in bulk is sometimes a good thing. You usually get more product for your money. However, what if the items are perishable? Well believe it or not some home improvement items have have shelf lives too. One product that seems not to hold up overtime are staples. You may ask, "Unless you have allowed them to rust how can they deteriorate?" The staple itself may not deteriorate but the substance which makes them stick together can.
In my tool box I usually carry a hammer tacker like the one in the picture. Arrow is the manufacture of this product. This tool is great for quick and fast securing of roofing tar paper and other materials like plastics, insulation, etc. Usually I will buy a box or two of their staples that I will need for a project. The remaining staples I will place back in my tool box for the next project.
However, it seems that when I need to use the staples again they don't hold together. The bond that holds the staples together breaks down and then the staples break apart from each other. I have tried using broken apart staples just to get use out of them, but this just jams up the stapler. When the hammer taker first jams you usually do not notice the first jamb because you are swinging it and not really watching every staple that goes into the material. However, you do notice it when you feel the abnormal "THUD" and you notice that the re-tracking head is jammed with staples. With this tacker it is not easy to remove the staples. This can also be dangerous as I have found out personally. Trying to remove staples from a jammed tacker can cause the remaining jammed staples to shoot with great force.
The bonding agent that the manufacture is using doesn't hold up over time. I haven't been able to figure out exactly how long it takes for this breakdown to take place. I think that if left in a cool dry place there may not be a problem. In the case of my tool box the items in the box are left out in the heat of the summer and cold in the winter. The box never is left out in the rain but the weather will takes its tole on these staples.
The manufacture of these staples have been arrow staples. I have just recently bought a new package of staples from Stanley to see if their staples will hold up over time.
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