Arrow Fastener T50RED Heavy Duty Staple & Brad Nailer, Red

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The stapler is really powerful, it goes through thin wood and easy on your hands if you have to staple a lot. I am very satisfied.

The T50RED was well constructed, and so I bought it instead of a brand that I knew to be reliable. From day one, I had trouble with it, and I should have returned it instead of throwing it up against a concrete wall. The spring system used to PULL the staples toward the ejection mechanism is poorly designed. The spring does not pull with enough force to feed the staples into the ejector properly -- not for long, anyway. The spring wears out very quickly because of the PULLING action. I have gone back to the old style staple gun with a back-loaded spring that PUSHES the staples into the ejection mechanism. Also, it may be true that this gun is fine for use on crafts and light projects, but for use on wood projects like stapling chicken wire to four by fours, its a little weak. I had to go back and hammer in all the staples that I applied with this tool. It looks good, but performs terribly. I wouldn't recommend that anyone buy the T50RED, or any other ARROW model that has the spring design flaw.

I have used this as a stapler for installing insulation and for small light weight wood projects with the 1" brads. I noticed during the insulation project that if there is any drag on the staples when you load them you end up with jams. I was using the Arrow brand of staples and noticed the inconsistencies of the inside clearance of the staples. It is pretty easy to spot once you have fired several sleeves and paid attention to when it jams. It also does not consistently work well if you add more staples when there are some left. I was able to get better performance after spraying the inside with a low residue Teflon lubricant. Most staples set alright but there are times where they do not want to get any penetration. Are the staples not uniformly sharp enough?

I bought one of these staplers and it was horrible to work with. It kept crimping the staples (T60 3/8"). I'm stapling into artist stretcher bars to stretch my canvases. Should be an easy job. But I have to pull out at least twice as many staples as I can leave in place. The stapler also jammed a number of times. I thought it was a stapler defect so I returned it and got a replacement. Have the same problem with the second one. I waste more staples than I can leave in place. I used my old (silver) one for years and years with no problem until it just wore out. The one positive thing is it is very comfortable to use. I just wish it worked.

Gee, I spent extra money on the T150 R.E.D. because the packaging stated it had extra power and could fire more types of staples and nails. However, right off the bat, nothing would come out. Then, after re-loading many times, I got it to fire a few dozen 1/4" staples, Then, it stopped firing again, and no amount of looking for jams and re-loading of staples would get it to fire again. I see my problem is repeated over and over again in the preceding reviews. I too, shall return the product and look at other brands.