Customer Reviews

Arrow Fastener 8000 PowerShot Pro Forward Action Staple and Nail Gun

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

This "backwards" stapler is great for precision placement of staples and small brads. The reversed action of the handle is easy to get used to. The index finger grip keeps the tool firmly in place in your hand while pressing the handle. It is easy to maintain enough pressure to get a "flush" staple job every time.

The small brads available for this stapler add greatly to its utility. It is a low budget substitute for an air brad nailer. You can nail small pieces together with the usual precautions to avoid splitting; really small pieces still need to be predrilled and nailed by hand. It works great on cove and 1/4 round trim.

It comes with a "wire adapter" which allows you to use it to staple low voltage wire (telephone, CATV) down without damaging it. All the fasteners drop in or out from the bottom after you pull out the tension slide. That makes it really easy to change fasteners while you are working.

The Cobra's heavy construction should give you many years of use. The bright orange color also makes it easy to spot in the clutter of an overloaded garage!

I purchased the Cobra 8000 about a year ago. The design, which channels pressure directly onto the area being stapled, impressed me very much.

The actual product worked well for the first half-dozen staples, then began to misfire. It required excessive force to release a staple, and even then, a staple came out only about a third of the time.

I put up with this poor performance during a month of intermittent indoor usage, but then I started to use it outside, and some grit got into the mechanism, causing the unit to stop working all together.

Reluctantly, I disassembled the stapler, cleaned and oiled all the parts, and finally reassmbled everything, which was no easy feat, since you have to position the components just-so, including a couple of springs under tension.

The repaired stapler worked like a charm for about a half dozen more staples, but once again, it began to misfire. I noticed that the misfire rate increased as more grit entered the mechanism. (I was stapling chicken wire to wooden fence posts, so it was impossible to isolate the unit from dust).

The next three times the unit stopped working, I took it apart, cleaned everything, and got it working again. Since the inards are quite tricky to align, each repair took a couple of hours minimum.

As of today, I've given up on the Cobra stapler, because it's never worked correctly for more than a half-dozen consecutive staples---not even when it was brand new and used only in the dust-free confines of my office.

Does anyone out there know of a more reliable staple gun, even if it doesn't use Cobra's innovative design, which I prefer? Alternately, does anyone know if Cobra plans to produce a model that's better-sealed and has heftier components capable of standing up to every-day wear-and-tear in the "real world?"

This stapler is great for people, like me, who have wrist problems. It is ergonomically great, they work better than other hand staplers, but under constant, daily use they tend to only last for about 3-6 months, then they break. But if you only use one every once and a while or can afford to replace it twice a year there is nothing better/

I have read all the wonderful ratings and put this on my wish list for a year before I got it. I finally had the opportunity to put it to the test and was terribly disappointed. The thing that made it the most exciting for me was the nail gun. I could use it in doll houses and on picture frames, but when I tried to use it...it worked for 4 nails..and then I had to take out the nails and replace them to get it to work..and then only 4 more nails worked. I couldn't get it to work after that at all. The staples never go all the way in, even though I put my whole 200lb weight over the top. It is after the 30 day refund period so I am stuck with a non-functioning unit..sigh... Must be a Murphy's Law in there somewhere.

I used this staple gun to hang insulation in my garage this weekend. Prior to that, it had probably driven under 10 staples. Initially it was fine, but on the second or third string of staples, it started hesitating occasionally. I'd hit the lever and wait for 5-10 seconds for it to pop and drive the staple. It also started occasionally ejecting the staple tray braking the string of staples and dumping many of them out. The frequency of both problems picked up until the gun was exhibiting at least one of the two problems 1 in 5 times I tried to drive a staple. A bolt from the handle also fell out while I was using it. My project ended when my last string of staples was ejected dumping them behind a bunch of boxes.

The bottom line here is that this product is a piece of junk. For driving one or two staples, it may be fine, but mine didn't make it through a full box. Don't waste your money.

This tool is a great idea. It lacks one key ingredient; the ability to what it is designed to do. I have yet to get it to fire more than one nail without having to open it up again. It's good for "maybe" four nails without having to reload it. Save yourself the time and effort and purchase a real nail gun.

I have owned this for I am guess about 2-3 years now and just finally found a complaint. Wanted to use the brad nailing feature as I was tired of putting finishing nails in by hand all round the house for new baseboard and crown molding... well the 9/16 size is less than desirable.

Came here on amazon to do a little shopping around for a more versatile nail gun and was shocked at the reviews this tool has gotten. Complaints like 'how do I put in the staples?' are not valid complaints... If you didn't get the manual say just that, but don't admit that you are so clueless as to not know how to load the staples. I am sorry but 4 of 4 people found that review helpful!

As for others possibly getting lemons I can understand but for those willing to give the front loader a chance and ignore these Loony-Toons who can't load a staple gun I have used this to reupholster 2 full size couches, 7 dining room chairs, some thin plywood, and many other projects with absolutely no hiccups in the several years I have owned it. My 18yr old sister even borrowed it to do some reupholstering herself, the only person it seemed to bother was my 53yr old mother, didn't agree with her hands...

I know I'm defending a product as I am researching buying another product that can hold larger nails but I am just shocked at the reviews this has gotten.

Arrow Fastener 8000 - Cobra Staple Gun

I've been using one of these staple guns for many years, and have fired countless thousands of staples through it. It's currently being using to staple insulation in a house being renovated. In spite of other reviewers having trouble with their stapler, mine has always worked just fine. It has never jammed (not even once!), it always shoots a staple if the gun's loaded, it has never ejected multiple staples, and the loading chamber has never opened on it's own. However, I only use it as a stapler. E.g., with two pin nailers in the work shop, there's no need to use the nailer function of this tool.

Pros:

- The "Forward Action Design" has your hand directly on top of the staple exit area, making it easy to provide enough force for the staple to sink flush. Staplers with the handle facing the other way do just the opposite, and consequently don't work as well on many tasks.

- Instead of squeezing the handle, you can just press the handle down/forward, so your hand won't get as tired on large jobs. Because it's so easy to position and fire, it's no problem to keep the tool precisely where you want a staple.

- The rubber-coated handle is large and comfortable and it doesn't pinch.

- The stapler's spring is sufficiently strong to drive 1/2" staples home (e.g., in pine or poplar).

Cons:

- Sometimes, with long staples in very hard wood, they don't drive all the way in.

- After 1/2 dozen years, the black plastic mini "handle" on the back of the staple loading slide became loose on my stapler. It still works though. Arrow should make this part out of metal and securely fasten it to the slide. One star off the rating for this issue.

Other:

- Arrow Fastener Company makes a clone of this stapler for Sears. It's called the Craftsman Professional Stapler/Brad Nailer, Heavy-Duty, EasyFire(tm) Forward Action(tm) with Rapid-Fire. Sears item #00968515000 Mfr. model #68515. Click on Customer Images.


I've tried a many other makes/models of staplers over the years. In my opinion, the Arrow 8000 has the best design of any manual stapler. If mine was lost or stolen, it would be replaced with the same model.

This may be a good staple gun, but since no instructions were included and I can't figure out how to open it to load staples, I may never know.
I can't even find an online manual which almost all companies provide these days.

My experience is that it is hard to "aim" the staples and that they don't go in far enough. The situation with the brads is even worse. I would try a different make and model next time around.