Arrow Fastener Co 5700 PowerShot Heavy Duty Staple Gun
Review by R. Busch "Toolaholic" : Second One Works Fine

The first PowerShot stapler that I purchased did not work at all. I have to assume that it was manufactured improperly. In that stapler, the hammer that came down to hit the staples was too far forward towards the nose of the gun. It would miss every staple. I never got it to shoot ONE staple. As you look at the stapler from the bottom, there is a black metal "tray" that holds the staples. The hammer is supposed to come down inside this tray and hit the first staple. In my gun, the hammer would come down on the outside of this tray toward the nose of the gun. You would have thought that the hammer might just hit the tray itself by accident, but it did not. It seems that there was enough space between the staple tray and the external staple gun housing that the hammer could go all the way down and never hit a staple. I returned it and got another one. The second one has worked perfectly. I don't think that it has jammed once.

So, now that I have a staple gun that works properly, how do I like it? It is just OK. I don't shoot thousands of staples. On paper, it looks like such a cool design, but in usage, it is about the same as my Sears staple gun. I often use my staple gun for attaching bell wire to walls such as for electric garage door openers. The PowerShot staples are narrower than the traditional staples. I am more apt to hit the wire or the wire insulation with the PowerShot stapler because they are narrower. If I have to staple 4 bell wires at once with the PowerShot stapler, it becomes a chore. My handiwork in that case, looks like I was drunk. There are times when I have to reach up to staple wires as they run up a wall to meet the garage ceiling. I really have to be able to get my hand all the way up into that corner with the PowerShot since I have to apply force to the handle at the nose of that gun. With the traditional stapler, I don't have to reach as far into the corner, since the force is being applied to the handle, more from the rear of the gun. If I can avoid stretching and reaching less when I am on a ladder, I am all for it. If I can avoid sticking my head further into the cobwebs on the garage ceiling, the better. If I had to shoot thousands of staples in a repetitive motion at waist level, I might choose the PowerShot, but I am not even sure about then. You do have to wonder, if the PowerShot stapler was such a cool design, why hasn't it cornered the stapler market? It has been around awhile.

Arrow Fastener Co 5700 PowerShot Heavy Duty Staple Gun
Review by DA "Dennis" : New ones not as good as the old?

This is really odd. I got mine as a Christmas present about 2 years ago. Admittedly, I haven't used it heavily, but I have had no problems like the ones mentioned in the other reviews. It does what it is supposed to do. I even used it to staple through 0.050" plastic into wood. That surprised me. It's not as good as a pneumatic stapler, of course, but it is much better than the other hand staplers that I have had in the past. I didn't give it 5 stars because it is kind of bulky.

I just noticed that mine is made by PowerShot Tool Company, Wytheville, VA. not Arrow. Maybe something happened to quality control when Arrow took over.