Tacker Staples - Stanley, Type A (53), 12 mm, Galvanised, 1000 Pieces, 1-TRA208T

Stanley Type A (53) Staples, 12 mm, 1000 Pieces, 1-TRA208T

Stanley 1-TRA208T are hand tacker staples on the Type A system (also known as 53), with a 12 mm leg. The pack holds 1000 pieces and they are galvanised against corrosion.

Type A / 53 - what it means

Type A is Stanley's designation for the narrow-crown, fine-wire staple - the same one the European numbering calls type 53. Both names describe one profile, so staples marked 53 work in a Type A tacker and the other way round. They are not interchangeable with type G (wide crown) or type J (brads).

12 mm - for which material

Leg length decides how far the staple goes in. At 12 mm, about 10 mm remains in the timber once the material is passed - enough for upholstery fabric, vapour membrane, wallpaper, insect mesh, thin ply and card. Thicker materials want 14 mm; thin ones 6 or 8 mm, so the point does not come through the far side.

Light duty

Type A is the light class: fine wire, little resistance, easy to drive with a hand tacker. Which is exactly why it is not for fixing battens, boards or cladding - structural fixing calls for heavy-class staples (type G) or brads.

Galvanising

The staples are galvanised. That matters anywhere damp is involved - on vapour membrane, breather membrane and outdoor work, plain steel leaves rust marks in the material within the first week.

Why a staple does not seat fully

The commonest trouble with a hand tacker is not the staples but the pressure. The tacker has to be pressed firmly against the material at the moment of firing - lift it by a millimetre and the blow is lost, leaving the staple proud. The second factor is the hardness of the substrate: in dry oak or hardwood ply a 12 mm light-class staple often will not seat however well it is driven. The answer there is not more force but a shorter staple or a heavy-class tacker.

The pack

1000 pieces in a rigid plastic box with a sliding lid. The box is a practical reason to prefer it over a bag: the staples stay in sticks rather than scattering, and a stick lifts out whole and goes straight into the tacker's magazine.

Technical specifications

Questions and Answers