ouch. December 2, 2006 zuzu My hands hurt. I’ve been reupholstering my sofa all day. Only about half-finished, but it looks pretty good. Back, cushions and trim tomorrow. Wielding a staple gun is a LOT more taxing than I’d realized.
Those things are not designed for convenience. I have long believed that the staple gun’s design is to prevent home repair and reupholstery.
I want to learn to reupholster! I am thinking of taking a community college class. Did you? Or did you just figure it out with your BRAINS?
It’s not that hard once you pick up some basics, Kathy. My mother used to do it all the time when I was a kid, and I was able to help out pretty effectively even as a young ‘un. You just need a couple specific tools–a staple gun helps, for instance–and some time to forgive yourself for doing stuff crooked as hell while you’re practicing. A community college class, plus some dinking around in your living room, ought to be more than enough to get you started. It’ll hurt your hands and be a pain in the ass, but it gets to be kinda fun.
So by the end of the week you should be eager to just space out in front of the TV, right? So y’all want a heads-up on the fact that Raccoona Sheldon’s “The Screwfly Solution” is actually going to be on television, to my astonishment. Sam Hamm wrote the script, and agreed to an interview with me, which is here: http://sideshow.me.uk/sdec06.htm#12021906
Kathy, I did some noodling around on the internet and found this. But, yeah, a community college class and the right tools, and you’re way ahead of the game.
Most folks use the standard Arrow guns–I do. However, i’m a big guy. And those are notoriously difficult to use for folks with smaller hands. The problem of course is that they require a large action near your pinky (where your hand is weak and small) instead of near your index finger. If you google ‘ergonomic staple gun’ you will find some stuff which may be helpful. i have used a few and they can be a drastic improvement. Also, search Amazon for “PowerShot 5700WA” to see a good example.
Uncle. I’m done for the weekend. Cushions and trim will have to wait until next weekend, when I can get out my sewing machine and find my glue gun.
I have one of those ergonomic staplers Sailorman mentions. ProShot is the brand name, I think. Anyway it sucks rotten eggs. Damm thing kept getting jammed all weekend putting up insulation. I eventually went back to using a 40 year old arrow I inherited from my grandpa. It’s a hard pull, especially upside down, but it doesn’t jam. Reminds me that we planned to do the dining room chairs this winter. We need to start shopping for fabric.
It is a PowerShot, not ProShot. Should have read the Sailorman’s comment more carefully. The spring-loader to advance the staples is not as good as the old Arrow. Lying on your back in a dirty, rocky, crawl space with insulation falling on your face is not the time for the staple gun to jam.