Reporting back on my experience with the Harbor Freight Flooring Stapler. I put down 200 square feet of Brazilian Cherry with this stapler. I had the pressure at 80 psi for the whole job. There were a few cracked tongues which is normal for the type of wood. I only had to pull 2 boards due to an excessive split tongue. They were both 12" boards.

I had one jamb when I tried to use the supplied staples. I then switched to the Bostich 2" staples and it worked flawlessly.

I have to say that this stapler is not a bad DIY stapler.

I also used the Campbell Hausfeld 2 gallon wall mountable compressor (135psi). I was extremely impressed at how quiet this unit is. It also has a fast recovery. I got it at Costco for $69.00 bucks and it hangs on my garage wall when not in use.

Both of these items are a great DIY set up and for a total investment of under $200.00.

Good to hear. In the end, whatever drives the staple or nail properly is all that counts. Good thing about low-tech is that you can see right then and there whether it's working correctly.

Also, I think it was a good move to use the well known staples as opposed to the generics. I'd have more faith in the former's ability to hold the floor better.

Portamatic 472 Hammerhead S stapler or Bostitch MIIIFS

Which one is better? and why?

thanks.

I'd like to add my 2 cents...I'll try to make it short, since this discusion started a year or so ago. STAPLES will go in with more force and hold better...But herein lies the problem...some say that with all the force, it's like driving a chisel into the tounge (breaking it in some cases) I think that is the only issue here....SO IT IS IMPORTANT to set the gun properly, as to not blow the tounges off, or set the staple to deep into the tounge. If this is done correctly, the staples should be the best hold, not to mention the fastest and easiest way to install

Harbor Freight Stapler with Grip-Rite 2" 15 gauge floor staples. Near 100% reliability, no jams.
By actual comparison, having to pull up a few boards, the staples hold MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better than 8d finish nails or 2-1/2" 15 Gauge finish nails.

I like using the pneumatic Bostich Stapler, but for top-nailing I like the way the cleats blend in to the finished floor. You can barely see them when they're filled in properly compared to the unsightly "dots" you get from a regular finish nailer.

what is better - nails or screws to use for a squeaky old parquet hard wood floor?

if so which type of nail or screw since they seem to grab and squeez when installed by hand much stronger than staples with a gun

we appreciate any help that you can give, thanks in advance

I'm sure most of you know that 15g wire(stalpes) are simply a roofing staple designed for roofing products, not an expensive finished hardwood floor.Thats why you get excessive tounge splitting. Bostitch has always produced a 15.5g staple. A true flooring staple.

I bought a H7826 pnumatic flooring nailer from Grizzley Industrial and it never worked right. Initially it would fire, but at least half the cleats weren't set deeply enough, so I'd have to go behind it with a nailset, which took a lot of time. I opened it up to check the seals, which looked ok, but after reassembling it, it had a severe internal air leak and would no longer shoot the nails.

As I was just getting start with my project, I didn't want to wait the time it would have taken to exchange it with Grizzley. I initially looked into renting, but the local rental place wanted $140 to rent a nailer for a week. Then I noticed that Harbor Freight had their combo stapler/nailer on sale for $139, so I went and bought one thinking that I'd be money ahead if it lasted more then a week. It functioned perfectly for the rest of my job (about 1000 sqft of 3/4 oak). I've been very pleased with it.

My only minor gripe is that it has a safety "trigger" on the handle, so you have to hold it one particular way and pull the trigger before you can tap it with your mallet. This is occasionally inconvenient, like when trying to pry a warped board into place while nailing it...you need 3 hands, one for the trigger, one for the mallet, one for the chisel or prybar. Trying to balance that stuff with a foot doesn't always work well. Or when I was up against a right hand wall (I'm right handed) and I'd have to strike with my off hand or cross my arms 'cause I had to have a hand on that handle to pull the little trigger which sends air to the hammer mechanism.

Turned out that Grizzley was back ordered on their nailer (for several months, they told me), so they offered to either give me credit toward another tool, or give me a refund. That worked out fine since I already had the HF nailer, however in retrospect, if I had bought the HF nailer to start with, it would have saved me money, time, and hassle.

Greg

My Powernailer Model 200 also has this feature. I taped it in the "on" position with some electrical tape so I do not need to pull the trigger or press a button for the nailer to fire.

Hello everyone,
I am preparing for my DIY project for putting down hardwood in 3 rooms. I have purchased 2 1/4" X 3/4" Red Oak. I also purchased a Harbor Freight hardwood nailer/stapler and a Harbor Freight 15 gauge nailer. Based on reading opinions on this site it looks like I am going to do the following when it comes to staples/nails. Please give feedback and opinions.

1. I am planning to use Bostitch brand staples that are 15 Gauge 1/2" crowned with 2" length. I'm assuming these can be purchased at any Home Depot or Lowes.

2. Not sure what to use with the 15 Gauge nailer for the top/side nailing. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks!...

Ooooppss! Should have mentioned that I live in the Great State of Alabama where humidity creates mosquitos that can drag you back to the local water hole!....

Thanks!

The Harbor Freight 15g nailer I have (#94440) shoots Senco brand nails just fine.

I used the Bostitch brand cleats in the combo stapler/nailer and it worked very well.

I got all my fasteners at the local Home Depot.

Greg

1. I've been using Bostitch brand 2" cleats in my HF nailer/stapler #95658.

2. With the HF 15 guage nailer #94440, I've used both Bostitch 2" nails and Hitachi branded 2" nails w/o problems. Lowes sell Hitachi branded 2" nails, which was cheaper than Senco and Bostitch.

Wow. For some reason this whole time I thought that nails were the best way to go; but now it looks like the masses say that the way to do this is with staples.

Time to find a nailer/stapler. I'm still on the fence on pneumatic vs. manual. I have about 500 sqft to install.