Hi,
I have a wire fence to build and am considering tooling up to make it more efficient, could anyone clue me in on staple guns and wire fencing? I’m a landscaper and most of my fences are wooden so I haven’t had call, but with the price of wood I’m anticipating putting in more of them in the future. Partly I’ll admit this is also motivated because I hate putting in staples by hand, hard on the thumbs… Advice on technique? staples? guns? sources?
Also, while I’m asking, anyone have advice for installing wire fencing solo? unrolling the fencing and getting it all lined up can be a pain, is it easier with a pipe? are there techniques for stretching a roll taunt?
much obliged,
-s
Replies
1" crown roofing/lathing stapler will work for what you are doing.
Bill
thanks, looking at crown staplers I see that they come in a bunch of widths, if you have the time, could you tell me what the advantage of 1" over say 1/2"? 1/2" seems like it might be more more aesthetic for attaching wire fencing, but I'm not sure what the trade off is - I'd like to get the most flexible tool I can though. Also, I assume that you can use galvanized staples with all of these?thanks,
-s
Wide crown has several advantages over narrow crown. The wire gauge is heavier, and the aiming is easier. Like Boss says, manual methods work well, too. And they are cordless. Wire fencing is what "won the West" IMO.
I would think the staples in a narrow crown stapler would be a fairly light gauge, and would either break or rust through quickly. But I've never tried it.
If you're having trouble hitting your fingers, try holding the staples with pliers until you get it started.
Nothing beats a fence stretcher for pulling fence tight. If you don't have access to one, a come-a-long will work O.K.
You can hold the staples in a fence plier. There are 2 holes partly just for that purpose, plus they will cut and twist wire, pull staples, act as a crummy hammer.
I dont think any pneumatic gun will do a quality job stapling. But if I were to use one, a 1/2 crown 15 ga stainless staple might work OK. The galvanized staples would rust out early, since they are Electro galvanized.
very helpful advice, thanks all. I'd be using stainless staples since I'll need to attach to PT wood from time to time. I've used needle nose pliers before but since I work alone a lot of the time it's a trick to hold the wire, the staple and then hit it.I think part of the problem here is that the look I prefer is to cut out wire fence panels and frame them inside the posts and rails so stretching the fence the full length and then going along and tacking won't work, hence the need for three hands, plus, mid-rail the wood bounces quite a lot and I find nailing upside down while struggling to hold the wire in place while the staple keeps bouncing out to be frustrating. Or maybe I'm just a whiner. :)The Hitachi 1/2" and 1" staplers ( N5008AC and Hitachi N5024A) both use 16 gauge staples, what does the extra width buy you? Besides the issue of rusting staples, what concerns/experiences do you have about the quality of using a pneumatic gun?
Here's a typical fence stretcher - you pull it with a tractor, come-along, a winch or a 4-wheeler.
View ImageField Fence Stretcher, Tractor Supply Company. They don't have the price on the web, but I'll bet it's about $70.
Greg