I gave up on that model after several of them bit the dust in short order, unable to keep up with the demands of our canvas-stretching department (me) at Vashon Island Imaging (www.vashonislandimaging.com).
I went back to my old Arrow® Model 405 (shown above) which had served me well for 30 years. That model is much less comfortable to use because the way you squeeze the trigger is counter-ergonomic. Anyway I don't have to worry about that because it gave up the ghost too.
Maybe the Arrow Stapler Company read my blog because on the shelf in the stapler department at the hardware store was the new Arrow® PowerShot Pro ...at the same price as an original model.
Uh huh. I figured that if the nice folks at Arrow were kind enough to fix the problems with the PowerShot, they deserved another try... so I bought one, but not before taking a close look at everything in the range and noticing an electric model, the Arrow® ETF50BN .
Well, I couldn't resist that... no more squeezing, or so I thought.
What tipped the scales in the electric model's favor was the ongoing battle with Jack Richeson stretcher bars, the subject of another recent blog. Staples, even nails, just bounce right off some of their bars because the wood is so hard. Great quality, but use it for frames not stretchers.
Possibly, I thought, the electric model would be an effective weapon able to shoot staples with sufficient power to penetrate the occasional 'hard as nails' stretcher bars you run into that bend staples out of shape (as shown below). However, I would be wrong.
Not only do electrically propelled staples bounce right off Jack Richeson stretchers, the bounce creates quite a recoil 'kick' in the gun, like a rifle kick. The first time the electric staple gun recoiled it nearly 'jumped' off the edge of the stretcher onto the live canvas where it could have done some damage. Boy was I surprised... and then dismayed... ...and then surprised again when the PowerShop Pro did the job quite handily. The new Pro model powers those staples right in (slightly mangled). So my hat is off to Arrow but I am holding the nod for now. The new model packs a bigger punch than its electrified cousin but time will tell if the PowerShot Pro has a longer life span than its predecessor.
Actually, the electric ETF50BN stapler has some kick normally, probably because with the manual model you are really pushing down hard to get a good squeeze. With the electric model the tendency is to simply rest the tip on the canvas and shoot... then you get maximum recoil. If you press the tip down hard enough (not that hard) you kill the recoil.
The electric Arrow® ETF50BN has become my favorite but can only be used with stretchers made of soft enough wood. With good wood you can just motor along and it is amazing how much time is saved by not having to squeeze. However, the convenience is tempered by two annoyances.
The first annoyance is the trigger safety mechanism that is under that white tape (above). It is a 'safety' switch that you simply push in to activate. The problem is that the way it is placed you inadvertently block the trigger over and over... until you tape it off.
Then there's the short little 6-inch plug pigtail that manages to hang-up on everything, especially the edges of the worktable and even the canvas stretcher bars. The hang-ups unplug the stapler frequently enough to make you grit your teeth. Arrow, could you afford another foot of electrical cord?
Maybe I am making a mountain of a molehill. The truth is that if these two annoyances are the only problems I run into with the ETF50BN then I will be a happy canvas stretcher indeed.
Without the beneficial regular exercise that manual staplers offer, at no extra cost, the grip of my handshake may not be as tight in the future... unless I get a handle on the situation. However, you could say we've gotten a grip on the stapler situation.
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