Here is an impromptu first look at the Arrow PT50 pneumatic stapler -- an air stapler that shoots T50 size staples. This is not sponsored. It is also NOT a detailed review; It is just a "first impressions" article.

So here is the context. We already own three different staplers. I've got a Bostich T15 style staplers that I bought long ago in my woodworking career. I also own an Arrow T50 style stapler that I inherited from my father. Finally, We also have a Stanley T50 style that we bought for my wife to use in her craft room.

So why do I need another stapler?

At the time of writing I was working on a project that required me to shoot a LOT of staples into hard maple. As in, a few hundred staples. So of course I first shot some test staples, and they just would not penetrate. In this sample photo there is a staple from EACH of those three previously mentioned staplers.

I might add that I was also under a time crunch.

Now, if the staple is almost all the way into the board, you can come by later and tap it in the rest of the way with a hammer. But as you can see in this photo, only if the staple is almost all the way in will it work. The other two staples are just smashed flat. That doesn't really add any extra holding power!

I needed to solve this right away, so I jumped on the web and checked the website of my closest big box store. I found this arrow stapler online and I picked it for exactly two reasons: It was the cheapest at just under $50 (Canadian Funds!). Others were priced from $80 to well past $100 in cost. The second reason was that the reviews were mostly positive and one person claimed that this had no trouble with Maple or Oak or other hardwoods.

So I hopped into the car and promptly bought one. Another bonus was that it was in stock at the store just 3km down the road, and it shot T50 staples. So I guess there were actually four reasons that I bought it.

(There are other kinds of pneumatic staplers on the market, including crown staplers and upholstery staplers. Those were also considerably more expensive. This used the same staples as two of our staplers, so I thought that was a bonus, and I was reasonably sure that I'd use these again in more projects.)

Inside the box you find the stapler itself, an instruction manual, and a small bottle of oil and some Allen keys for tool adjustments. That's it. There is no tool case or anything else.

The tool is fairly compact but has a pretty hefty and solid feeling all-metal construction. You can adjust the exhaust cover to push the exhaust air in different directions. It supports bump fire. There is a safety mechanism so it will not fire unless the tip is pressed against something.

One thing I discovered later on is that there IS NO DEPTH CONTROL. The only way I could find to adjust how deep it pushed the staples was by adjusting the air pressure at the compressor. (In contrast my 18-gauge porter-cable brad nailer has a depth control right beside the trigger.)

Here's a look at the stapler.

I made a several test shots into maple and it worked great. So I immediately put it to work on the project that I was building. I shot over two hundred (estimated) staples into this project and they all worked great.

There were no tool jams. There were NO partially-sunk staples. All staples where firmly seated completely flush into the hard maple.

I was SO GLAD that I bought this stapler. If I had tried to just use the manual staples, there would have been dozens, if not 100%, partially exposed staples that would need to be hammered down manually, and even then many would likely not have worked. (recal the above example of mashed-flat staples after hammering.)

So my first impressions were extremely positive. This was the cheapest ail nailer in my local store, and it worked great. It appears to be solidly built.

THIS IS NOT A REVIEW. At the time of writing I've used the tool for maybe a total of 1-2 hours. This is merely a very positive first impression.