Has anyone come up with a tool or a good technique for removing the staples used to tack carpet padding onto oak hardwoods? I ripped out the carpet and the padding in no time, thinking this was going to be one of the quickest, most straightfoward projects I’ve ever done. Then there were the staples… Hundreds of them! The tedius process of removing them with a pliers has me thinking there’s got to be a better way.
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Try a wire cutter, an old one that is not too sharp anymore. Grab the staple in the jaws, with the handles almost parallel to the floor, squeezing just hard enough to grab the staple but not cut it. The lever the staple out. You get more leverage this way than with a pliers up in the air, kind of like how a cats paw jaws work to get leverage.
The best method I have found... you need a small Stanley flat bar, the lightweight one made out of spring steel, not the heavier 'wonder bar' type.... and a pair of Klein electrician's side cutters. Stick the corner of the flat bar under the staple and twist upwards. About half the time it will pull both legs out. The other half it will pull one leg out, and then you use the Kleins to pull the rest. They have a curved head that makes it easy to pull staples with no effort.
I like the old diagonal cutter method myself. And, once you're SURE you have them all pulled out, it's guaranteed that you'll come back the next day and find some more that you missed.
Sometimes, a dull set of tile nippers is just the ticket. They don't quite close al lthe way, which keeps you from biting the crossbar off the staple (a good thing). The head is rounded, too--but a thin bit of lumber or a carpet scrap will help prevent dings on the floor.
You could always build a really powerfull electromagnet and make them fly right out
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Gee.
I WAS gonna suggest a very young teenager and a "piece rate" job of say - 5 cents / staple.
But I kinda like your solution so much better...
;-)
What disease did cured ham actually have? <!----><!----><!---->
ice scraper....
I've tried many things, and have had moderate luck with vice grips, but it gets old real fast having to flip the lever to open them again and they often pinch my fingers. I bought a pair of spring loaded (spring opens them) needle-nosed pliers with the nose bent almost 90 degrees. Haven't used them yet, but I think they'll beat other things I've tried. Bought them at Ace Hardware.
I guess you are talking about the standard t-50 tyoe and not the rounded 1/4 in crown type.
One of the old staplers I had years ago had a remover that came with it. It was a small pry bar ground down to a triangular point that worked rather well. You can get one of the very small prybars and grind it down to do the job.
I may be crazy but how about one of the office type staple removers?
http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=908616&uniqueSearchFlag=true&Ntt=staple+removers&An=text
View Image
I too have tried a myriad of tools, and what I like best is a linoleum knife. Yes, sounds odd, but if you dull it a bit so it doesn't snag on floor, it works great. The point can usually slip under bar, and the fact that it gets wider as it goes in helps to 'wedge' the legs out. You can go quite fast with it. Keep a small bent needlenose with a spring opening in your pocket. Also a flat bladed trowel slid over the floor will 'TING' if it hits metal. Good luck!
Hey Wango let's tango on all the "off normal" uses for a linoleum knife!
E.G.
I kinda made my bro go HMMMMMMMMMmmmm week ago when was using one up in WI to cut a vertical, about an inch in and parallel to the sidewalk....of some VERY dense and stubborn overgrown grass. Of course, run it right next to and along the walkway also and poof - amazing how easily the overgrown excess STRIP of sod, comes up.
Yup people, ya heard it here. They make a heck of a sod cutter ('specially when ya got nothing else around at the time!)
Don't pick on me people! I have NO linoleum in current house and hate to let a tool lay around unused and feeling forgotten...
What disease did cured ham actually have? <!----><!----><!---->
Where in WI are ya? I'm in Fort,work in Madison...
I grew up in the NE corner - right at the border. Mom's still up there. She's 87 y/o now and has been the reason for a lot of my recent... string of trips up there...
If the professor on Gilligan's <!----><!---->Island<!----> can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat? <!----><!----><!----><!---->
By the way (BTW) ya Newbie of 14 posts and all - WELCOME to BT!
and DO fill in your profile a bit sometime ok? Tk; we like getting to know new people!
If the professor on Gilligan's <!----><!---->Island<!----> can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat? <!----><!----><!----><!---->
Profile? I'm new! What and where?
I think I found out how to do it. Any comments?
Edited 7/9/2005 3:13 pm ET by wango1
click on yur name...
welcome newbie and how an intro...
Thanx
Yo Cheesehead! Ya done filled in your profile but good.
We'll all be expecting you to post pics of Paige's first birthday party in 9 months - either down in the woodshed...or in the "photo gallery" folder. Lots of proud parents around here and virtually all - with GOOD reason to be!
If the professor on Gilligan's <!----><!---->Island<!----> can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat? <!----><!----><!----><!---->
Thanx der hey- ya.
so why is that we can't pick on you???
I'd try a common tack lifter. Probably won't remove the entire stable -- assuming these are narrow crown staples affixed with a gun. But will pull them up far enough so you can get hold of them with a Klein, a tile nipper -- or my favorite, a end nipper where the cutting surfaces have been filed down (so they don't cut the nail/staple).
The upholstery people make a tack lifter with two sharp points-- which works great for staples that are driven tight to the surface.
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"I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there."
-- Herb Caen (1916-1997)
If y'all don't mind getting back to the original question ... try an ice pick or awl. Might need a small pliers to pull it all the way out.
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
ice scraper... done it that wat too many times...
works great on the tack strip too...
This is the best tool I've found for staple pulling:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00070FQM0/qid=1120954288/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_ur_1/102-9076644-6200935?v=glance&s=hi&n=507846
These fencing pliers grab almost flush staples well and the curve helps you pull gently w/o marring the floor. The hook is perfect for getting at the flush staples.