27.10.2014

Another wonderful product from Tacwise. Having been fortunate to review several of their products; I know them best for their range of staple guns and nail guns ranging from more pedestrian hand-held staple guns right through to fully-fledged lock-n-load nail guns.This ‘Hobby’ electric staple gun, which takes staples from 6-14mm in length and small nails of 15mm in length – lies somewhere in the middle of the portfolio of devices. It’s perfect for anything that requires stapling on a pretty large scale like picture framing, upholstery and my favourite, installing more insulating materials in my loft. There is now an excellent range of foil based quilty materials that one can pin to the roof members of one’s loft.These are nearly always available in a large roll and they are pretty unruly in a confined space. I used to dread going in there with my little hammer and a bunch of tacks, nearly as much as I dreaded the heating bills. Courtesy of Tacwise, however, I am now really good at positioning it with one hand and stapling it with the other and the job is done in a tenth of the time and to a much higher standard.The nail function where a strip of nails is slotted in a groove in the magazine was especially useful for wooden beading. I have been stripping off some of my old windows and replacing the glass beading. My nailing skills are so poor that re-attaching the beading is always done on a bit of wing and a prayer. This hobby gun fired the galvanised nails precisely through the beading in no time – though please note if one is in a very tight position the nail and the staple is fired 2mm from the front edge of the gun base plate. The other instance where this gun would be highly desirable is in assembling flat packed wardrobes where the most difficult and most crucial bit comes at the end when one is tired and one has to nail with tiny nails the back board on to the carcase of the wardrobe. My efforts tend to go wide by some margin and I can usually see half of them poking through into the wardrobe space. Not with this amazing gun, however, loaded with the 15mm nails. This job is done quickly precisely and with much greater stability than my efforts with a hammer can manage. The gun is light, easy to position and to use, has a cable which is probably long enough for the job in hand and also has a graphic on the gun of the type of nails and staples which are suitable.I always buy Tacwise staples and nails as I would not want the machine to jam or to be damaged. Most significantly it has turned a pretty poor DIY-er like me into someone with a lot more confidence and I feel with the right tools I have a good chance of completing a given job to a standard that does not attract criticism from her indoors. Use eye protection at all times. A brilliant hobby gun. Many thanks.

19.10.2014

This is an excellent, well-made tool, it feels strong and sturdy. I have previously used manual staplers that are fatiguing to the hand muscles, difficult to align exactly square, and which tend to punch out a certain percentage of staples that are either bent or skewed or crooked, all of which can be exasperating… but this machine works perfectly every time, every staple fired in rapidly and firmly, to the required depth and perfectly straight.The instruction booklet accompanying the machine is less than perfect and doesn’t explain how to load the staples, or the nails, very well. You have to work it out for yourself. They actually slot into a metal groove with the points facing upwards.This slot-groove becomes visible when the spring loading mechanism is pulled out. The diagrams are small and indistinct and relatively inadequate, so you will have to apply a process of trial and error.This electric staple gun is adequately powered, and punches the staples in with a sharp crack. There is more power applied than in a comparative manual stapler, and consequently it does a better job. Because one hand holds the gun while the other is free, the spare hand can be used to apply extra pressure, not much, on top above the firing point, and this ensures the staples fire in flush to their maximum depth. If this extra pressure is not applied, the staples and brads may not be fired in perfectly flush and protrude a millimetre or so, which then require hammering down. This is due to a recoil factor: the gun is powerful and jumps slightly off the surface when fired with only one hand holding it, but this recoil is suppressed when two hands are applied to the gun. The machine is said also to fire ‘nails’ but these are actually ‘brads’, small headless nails, which are used as tacks. The gun can take type 53 staples in sizes ranging from 6 mm, 8 mm, 10 mm, 12 mm, and 14 mm maximum. It also takes just one size only of type 180 brad-nails 15 mm (5/8 inch) deep.The staple gun comes, in the box, with a basic selection of 6,000 free galvanized staples and nails, viz: 2000 x 10 mm deep staples, 2000 x 6 mm deep staples, and 2000 x 15mm brad-nails. There is also a tool for removing staples, which double levers them out fairly easily. There is a small on/off light, and various safety mechanisms to prevent accidental firing of the gun. The gun has a fairly short cable, only 1 metre in length, which is too short for many jobs and therefore an extension lead may be necessary. There is a metal hook for attaching the gun to a tool belt.The gun is great for upholstering, stapling artists canvas over stretcher frames, general plastic sheet tacking duties, repairing splits, and hundreds of other tasks. It is a great tool.

30.10.2014

If you're looking for a reasonably priced staple gun for hobby use – rather than something for commercial activities - this should do the trick.The unit is quite light so not tiring to work with - particularly if you are stapling on a vertical surface - a situation in which a mechanical stapler can soon feel heavy and unwieldy. In appearance the outer casing appears somewhat plasticky - however the device feels solid.The instruction booklet is quite clear - though the device is not difficult to operate. Safety is obviously important and a level of common sense is required for safe use. The stapler has both a power switch (with a clearly lit green lamp when set to "on")

29.10.2014

I had never thought of using a staple/nail gun for any hobby (except maybe when making things from wood – like garden furniture) but it I decided to try it out while I was framing an embroidery I had made. I should have practiced first!The thing about framing embroideries is you have to “stretch”, pin and then corset the material across the back – I thought that the staple/nail gun would help me (and I am sure that after practice it probably will be) but at the present it caused more problems than it helped.It does, however, do a great job on fencing, wooden trellis work, planter frames, etc.Using it, even though it is a “pull” trigger, it is very not difficult for me to use and I have degenerative arthritis.

27.10.2014

We got this Tacwise Electric Stapler for putting a few trellises together to go on the top of our fences and I must say that it's managed to do the job perfectly.The stapler is mains powered, so has a (not very long) lead which could be an issue for some who may want to do work in the garden. However, being mains powered means that this is much more powerful than our previous staple gun, which is far better for using nails and staples in wood. There's a light that shows when the unit is on and a guard to stop it being used by the wrong people (useful with kids around) or when it's stuck to your toolbelt with the belt clip (though seems a bit odd with a mains lead hanging off the back,

29.10.2014

This is a great set if you do not have a staple gun already. With the kit you have the electric staple gun, a staple remover, 2000 x 10mm staples, 2000 x 6mm staples and 2000 x 15mm nails. However, the nails are more like tacks than nails - just a point to remember.Loading the gun is straight forward, on the base squeeze the rear of the black staple holder and pull out. drop the staples in the base, or the nails on one side (there is an image of the nails moulded in the black together with a note saying "Load nails here" with arrows so you can't be excused if you put them the wrong side) with the pointed parts facing upwards. Slide the black cover closed and its all loaded ready to go.

22.10.2014

This little piece of kit came in almost immediately handy as we had bought a rustic triangular plant trellis for trailing our christmas lights up, and one or two of the base parts had come undone plus I needed to secure the trellis inside a large plant box we have outside.The stapler made short work of nailing the trellis to the box, while a few of the 10 mm staples did a very fair job of refixing the trellis itself.I completely agree with other reviewers re the appallingly bad instructions! But luckily its easy enough to figure out the loading of the staples/nails,well nails is something of a misnomer as they are actually brads,

24.10.2014

This is a handy little power tool which is excellent for DIY jobs around the home, crafts, picture framing, garden jobs (although I feel it would be better if battery operated for use outside the home), etc. I very often find that I need to put up displays at work and so this smaller version of the TacWise Stapler, Tacker is very helpful for me. It is smaller in size than the heavy duty models, so is easier for me to manage when I am tacking things up on the display boards. I would really have preferred it to be battery operated and found that I had to use extension leads to reach, but you may well disagree. At least you do not have to charge this,

5.11.2014

When the TacWise 1038 Hobby 53EL package arrived it felt quite lightweight and I was pleased that this tool was lighter than the heavy duty item I otherwise use. In this case, 'lightweight' does not mean flimsy or cheap, quite the opposite as the tool feels well made and sturdy. It's just easier on my wrists.The fact it uses both staples and nails (not at the same time, obviously) is a real boon, and the included staple remover is a little Godsend (I actually already have one of these removers so can vouch for their sturdiness and effectiveness in getting out difficult staples, even in high density wood).That said,

29.10.2014

This comes in a handy box that is great for storing away on a shelf when not in use. It’s made of rigid plastic, and pretty basic but it useful to be able to keep the gun and spare staples together (I’m forever loosing nails/staples/plugs etc).As well as the gun, you get a selection of staples and small nails as well as a removal tool and a small manual. I couldn’t work out how to load the staples in the gun at first, but a quick look at the manual shows how to do it.In use, it’s very easy to use. You have a safety catch to stop random shots and ensure the staple goes where you actually want it. When you actually fire the staple, it is delivered with more power than I expected and the noise is quite loud but you soon get used to it.

10.11.2014

Sturdy robust well made tacker, accurate and light with minimum pressure needed to operate.I didn't need the manual to load staples or nails, there is, embossed in the plastic foot, a diagram where to load the nails. The staples load in the same way as any other stapler I have ever used. There is a neat label holder should one require to 'name' the tool. It uses 15mm brad nails or 6 to 14mm staples.I liked the action of the stapler which drives staples deep into most surfaces that one would want to drive staples into. The staples seem a little slimmer than most which helps to hide them if one is using this tool for upholstery.

30.10.2014

If you are thinking of investing in this stapler, then it is important to be clear about exactly what you are getting for the money. This is not a device for heavy work and is not intended for the professional builder who is looking to use it on cement, brick or steel-where it comes into its own is on lighter jobs around the house or office like upholstery or picture framing. I tested it on the latter and found it very handy when framing some prints, the staples held well on the back of the pictures and it is easy tool to use. However, I did notice that is advisable to apply extra pressure with your spare hand if you want the staple to be flush to the surface otherwise it remains loose and untidy.

29.11.2014

This electric stapler can take staples up to 14mm long, as well as nails and panel pins of up to 15mm length. I’ve never owned an electric stapler before and I can see how it would be attractive if you have a lot of fixings to do, and I suspect that it’s easier to get those staples and nails to go in in a consistent way when you are not having both to hold the device in place as well as apply pressure to the handle. On the other hand, unlike the other TacWise device I’ve been looking at, the Z3 4 in 1, this one cannot manage round headed staples.The nails (that’s the 180 series of “brad nails”) are not large, and nor are the heads particularly wide – in some respects they are just large panel pins – 15mm long.

17.10.2014

Upon first unboxing, I found this a little fiddly to use; the diagrams in the manual, and the instructions themselves aren't very clear on how to load it. You can figure out how to load the staples without too much trouble, but the "nails" (more on these in a minute) take a bit of figuring out; the photo in the manual is almost invisibly dark and you need to figure out that they stand vertically inside a shallow groove in the loading mechanism.It does indeed do stapling though, albeit not very subtly. Each staple or nail us delivered with a loud, sharp crack, but it requires almost no effort. Some test firing into a piece of wood worked fine, and this would work well for hobbyist upholsterers & decorators.

29.10.2014

I’ve rated the TACWISE brand ever since I first had the TACWISE DUO 50 electric staple/nail gun. This previous experience was useful when I unpacked this TACWISE Hobby 53L staple tacker/nailer because the instruction manual is not as good as the product.The kit is ideal for a whole array of hobbies, I’ve used this for picture framing and for stretching cross-stitch tapestries. The nails are brad nails - they don’t have heads - but they are brilliant for securing canvas/tapestry fabric before the final stapling. The stapler is surprisingly light to use and feels comfortable in the hand. Both nails and staples are sturdy – I repaired a child’s wooden jigsaw frame with a neater finish than when it was new.

Tacwise Hobby 53EL - Reviews

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