At 2/27/02 08:46 AM, you wrote:
>Also, what size depends on your hand-eye coordination.  From my perspective, the longer the better -- but most of my students can't drive a long staple straight into the wood, so the ends blow out of the wood.

This usually happens if the gun is not level. If you can put some kind of a block on the gun at the tail end to make it easier to keep it level (i.e., parallel to the top bar) -- wild staples will be greatly reduced. (The gun that I have now has NO place to put one. Bummer. )

I always tell people to keep their hands way from the area where the staples are going because occasionally a staple will go wild due to irregularities in the wood density or grain. And these babys hurt when they get in your finger (especially the big two inch ones used for putting together supers).

By the way, I agree: longer is better. We had some frames put together by an outfit that employs the handicapped. The found out it was easier to use a short staple on the bottom bar and ***they didn't think it made any difference***. Well, you couldn't tell they had done this, until the frames started falling apart.

Picture this: 5 pounds of honey on a sheet of hard plastic foundation. ALL the weight is resting on the bottom bar ! If you set that 85 pound super down with a clunk, it is very easy to break every bottom bar in the super, even if they are nailed correctly. If the staple is only 1/2 inch they pop right out.