Customer Reviews

Senco SKS-L 7/8-Inch to 1-1/2-Inch 18-Gauge Narrow Crown Stapler

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Senco has made perhaps the best pro-quality stapler on the market. I use this tool every day in my residential trim business, and I can say that it is built to last.

I have used this product for over ten years. It works well in every application from entertainment scenery fabrication to cabinet frames. This fastener range is excellent for the home user. It satisfies a wide variety of applications.

This, by far is the best staple gun on the market(you will get what you pay for).. I've shot over 10,000 staples through everything from siding,sheathing to fence boards out of this stapler without one jamb. The oil-free feature makes it and even more "Must Have".. From the General Contractor to the "Weekender"..

I have used this stapler for over 10 years. USA made its bulky it will blow air in your face but it is smoother and leaves a smaller whole in the material than any other stapler I've tried. Bettre than hitachi old and new(japan better/ china newer the frog green). Finish carpenter cabinet builder 26 yrs.

For some tasks, a staple provides a stronger attachment than a small headed nail. A nail depends upon friction between the nail and the wood for its holding power. Sometimes the material being attached just does not provide a good friction grip, although the underlying material does. In these cases, a staple works better because the crown traps some of the upper material between the two legs. The upper material can't come loose unless the staple pulls out or the material breaks. That's why I went in search of a stapler

Before I purchased this stapler, I tried the Senco SLS20 stapler. The SLS20 was just not powerful enough - it would not drive one inch staples into maple through a drawer bottom. This stapler solves that problem. It's powerful enough to handle any wood I choose. I also like the oilless feature, not only because there's no oil to mar the work I'm doing, but also because I always forget to oil nailers that require oil. Although I haven't owned this stapler long enough to comment, other users have commented that the SKS is rugged and reliable over time.

While the SKS is a powerful stapler, there are a number of shortcomings to it.

1. The unit is big and heavy which makes it hard to maneuver.
2. There's no depth adjustment on the gun (the documentation erroneously says there is). To change the depth adjustment you have to buy a different driver and install it, or grind the existing one. You won't change the drive depth very often with this unit.
3. The gun does not detect when it's out of staples but keeps firing (blanks). The operator has to notice that nothing is being driven and re-load the stapler. The driver marks the surface even though no staple is driven so it's not easy to notice that nothing is being driven.
4. The air exhaust is not adjustable so you get blasted in the face under certain conditions.
5. The documentation is miserable - worse manual I've ever seen.
6. The gun is extremely expensive when compared to other narrow crown staplers.

All-in-all, it appears to me that the SKS is an old design that Senco keeps around, perhaps because there's not enough competition in this segment of the market to cause them to bring out a more modern design. I would recommend shopping around before you buy the SKS. There must be better staplers out there but I don't have enough experience yet to recommend one to you.

Update May 4, 2004: After using the SKS-L stapler for a few months, an additional problem appeared. The spring on the magazine is fairly weak. When the magazine gets low, the spring is not strong enough to push the staples into firing position and the gun fires a blank. The problem is intermittent - the gun may miss two or three staples and then begin firing again for a few staples. Because of the marking of the wood by the driver, you can't tell if a staple has been driven except by attempting to lift the wood to see if it is attached. The problem does not happen when the magazine is full.

Senco support has been fairly responsive to my problem and is sending me replacement parts.

Have used this nailer for the past 15 years and finally bought one. There is no other brand that i would buy than senco. Just wish they were still made in the USA.

Every cabinet shop I've ever worked in has at least two of these. I finally found one at a great price and got one for my home hobby use. It holds two full sticks of staples, is super easy to load, the remaining staples are easy to see, and has a jam clearing feature that pops open the front of the nose piece should you ever need it (I haven't so far).

The best thing about these guns is they make a distinct "whoosh" sound when you run out of staples--it's probably not intentional on the part of Senco, but you'll appreciate it the first time you're holding something heavy and need confirmation that a staple was set before you let go.

I bought this Stapler to fasten the lath to wood 2x6's to hold the plastic sheeting on greenhouses. It has worked flawlessly for many years and under variable weather conditions.

Our old way was to use a hammer and lath [sheetrock nails]. There is almost an acre of greenhouses and cold frames. In cold and rain the old hands would cramp up!

We were able to adjust the depth by adjusting the air pressure via valve + pressure guage to the tool.

As with any tool, we found many more uses for it as we had when we bought a Bobcat Skidsteer Loader.

I have had the sks stapler for about 7 years now and it is used dayly in my woodworking shop producing arch. millwork and cabinets. this tool has prformed flawlessly and has seen heavy use (21000 plus fastners) I would recomend this tool to any one wanting a multi purpose gun. Just check out most shops and you will see that they too are useing this gun. hands down the best! woody