Stanley Bostitch Ascend Desktop Stapler, Black (EHF1838K)

THIS IS ALSO FOR SOLID HARDWOOD SUCH AS Bruce Natural Selections. It is also for other engineered floor boards. IT IS NOT FOR STANDARD THICK FLOOR BOARDS. It is really hard to figure out what is the right tool with Bostitch. The Bostitch Stapler recommended by Bruce for National Selections 5/16 thick solid hardwood is nearly impossible to get and is more expensive. This stapler take the place of that other one and additionally works for engineered too. I can't find any negatives with this one compared to the one specific one purpose one they mentioned - this one does more. It even comes with 1000 of the 1" staples most use for Natural Selections. This is a precisely made tool, easy to use and setup and used hardly any air to work to boot. It is as right for Bruce Natural Selection as any Bruce recommends in the manual and seem to be the most affordable one. Now there are other brands you can find for $79-108 dollars that people have found suitable for their projects. To me I rather spend a little more to get a better tool that I at least think will give me less trouble. You do get what you pay for. Now it could be the others are just fine, I don't know, and for maybe one project they will be fine. But I like the way this one loads, will stop when staples are getting low so you don't think you shot a staple and you didn't and go on to the next board. It has a trigger lockout, and the air connection swivels. It is also kinda quite which is nice. No super loud staple sound. If you wonder why these staplers are not the kind you bang with a mallet is that flooring such as Natural selections are not banged tight together as they are stapled as they fit together perfectly by design. After I do two rooms I will likely sell it. Still comes out cheaper than renting of having to get and return it, risking getting a beat-up one to use and rushing, even with out selling it.

I’m a home owner and an intermediate level do-it-yourselfer. I’m not a pro flooring installer. I purchased the EHF1838K flooring stapler in order to install an engineered hardwood floor (0.5” x 7.5” x 8’) in my home without the need of a pro installer. The stapler was recommended by the flooring manufacturer and the reviews were such that I felt confident it would work for my application. I installed an initial 600 sqft using the recommended staple spacing. There were no misfires, jams and or loosening/misalignment of the tongue engagement jig during the entire project. The tongue engagement jig adjusted quickly and was instrumental for aligning the staple with the flooring groove. It hit solid and square every time. The magazine was easy to load. The stapler responded quickly and accurately to the initial pressure adjustment that was required to dial into the correct staple penetration. After installing the first few rows of flooring, my skill level and confidence had improved to the point where I was able to significantly speed up the stapling rate without running the risk of making mistakes or stapling my big toe to the floor. In conclusion, it performed better than I had anticipated as a novice. The tool worked WITH me instead of against me. I could not identify any flaws in the design or performance. I am confident it will work with the remainder of the house. Whether cliché or not, this tool did save me a significant sum of capital in that I was able to complete a flooring project in my home, on my own, the first time. Buy it.

700 plus Sq FT of 1/2 inch engineered tongue and groove flooring installed without a flaw. This stapler is light, mobile and fits closer to the wall then any other flooring nailer I've used. Simply adjust the shoe to fit the thickness of your specific flooring, make sure the shoe fits flat to the top of the flooring when resting on the tongue, tighten and you're good to go. The way the trigger works, you really have to try to put a staple in wrong or through the face of the material, the gun won't fire unless it's completing pressed into the tongue of the flooring which is a good feature since 1/2 inch and under tongue and groove flooring really have little edge for the gun to catch on so you have to pay attention. All in all this gun is great and worked flawlessly, don't bother with the big traditional flooring nailers that you have to swing a 3 pound hammer against to use, this one works fine. I also found that with the traditional flooring nailer with the tall handle, it's almost impossible to "catch" the edge of the flooring when nailing, the way this gun operates and the angle of the handle, it gives you a much more precise feel of engagement.

Did my first hardwood floor DIY installation. Tool is absolutely fantastic for the money. No misfires, no jams, every staple go right into the perfect place (see photo) if you set up spacing correctly. Do not know whether it will work the same after some time, but it's more than enough for your DIY flooring project.

Yep... worked great on my CaliBamboo engineered flooring. We did our entire first floor (about 1100 sq foot) in our spare time over 5 weeks. Owning the stapler was a must for us because we did the entire project ourselves and both work full time. Renting it 5 or 6 times would have been way more expensive and time consuming going back and forth to pickup and drop back off. The only issue we had was getting the foot in the right position. After consulting the internet, we found a lot of people built it up with duct tape. We did this as well, and after we got the right adjustments, it worked great. We had a few misfires here and there but we believe it was user error not equipment malfunction. Also, because its small, we were able to get it much closer to the walls and avoid face nailing. The CaliBamboo was really difficult to face nail because of the carbonized finish and face nailing was sketchy at best and if there was misfire it end up causing a mess, so we were glad we were able to get this little guy against the wall and only had to face nail one row against the wall!

I had a Bostitch Stapler for approx. 9 years and installed over 6000 sq feet with it over the years. Well I was doing the last room that had carpet left in our 116 year old house laying 5/16 engineered hardwood and was half way done when the Bostitch stopped working. With only about 150 sq feet left I decided to purchase a Freeman because it was $89, I was almost done with no flooring projects coming up in the future and a new Bostitch was $179. BIG MISTAKE! The Freeman arrived, I shot staples on the top of the flooring, under it, everywhere but where it needed to be and I kinda of know what I'm doing. Well finally got them in right spot ( very difficult) then after 3 rows it totally stopped working!!! Boxed back up had to find a UPS drop off location which cost me 3 days before my new Bostitch arrived which is working like a CHAMP! Very easy to use and adjust. This newer model is even easier to use then my old one. Moral of the story just spend the money on the Bostitch!!!

Just works. If you are on the fence and not sure what to yet you are looking at it.

This really serves as the companion to my review of a "cheaper version" of this tool, which was almost okay at 1/3 the price, but turned out to not be worth it. Most of my air tools are BOSTITCH, and really they are the best. Had the need to do some engineered flooring (not my typical job) and for less than 500 sq.ft. you can simply use a brad nailer held at an angle at the top of the tongue. My "slam nailer" was damaging the fragile top edge, so we needed this type of tool for the job. The Wen 61741 seemed perfect at the price, but was not happy with the tool once it arrived (from Amazon of course)! The pneumatic sections were fine and well built, but the attached 45degree "shoe" was very poorly designed, hard to adjust, and likely to break before the job was completed. Could have removed the shoe, but then, why bother buying this specialty tool? Returned and upgraded to the Bostitch EHF1838K, and of course the tool is perfect. When the job is done, might sell online for 50%, so that the tool was almost the same in price. You get...what you pay for. Duh. Final note...this tool is oil-free so you don't need to be concerned about oil spraying onto your new wood floors.

Works great

I bought this for a project of installing engineered laminate flooring. I also bought the box of 3,000 flooring staples and the connector that are commonly purchased at the same time. You don't need the connector. 3,000 staples sounds like a lot but I just used 1,500 of them in a 9 x 12 foot bedroom Using prime the arrival was guaranteed by 8pm Friday, well it arrived Thursday before I got home from work. This is the same price it retails for in home depot, so its one of those rare Amazon items that you won't save money on. Prior to using it make sure that you read the instructions including the safety ones, and have the proper safety equipment. This nailer is really straight forward to use. Its my first air tool. Having a manual T50 nailer, loading it is simple. There is a bit of kickback on using the tool. Depending on the width of your flooring this gun wouldn't fit for the first row, and last two rows of flooring, but if you prepare you should know that already. I cannot comment on clearing jams, as the gun as yet to Jam on me. I should come back with a longer term use review after I finish the other two bedrooms, and the living areas.

I was looking around for something like this for 1/2" eng hardwood as the standard flooring nailers and staplers can be too powerfull depending on the species. I found this gun in the rental dept of home depot and it worked effortlessly. Next project I decided it would be cheaper to buy than rent but for whatever reason home depot and alike did not sell this item but luck would have it amazon did... 2000 sq feet later and no complaints. Its light, easy to set up and drives the staples just as quickly as a traditional hammer activated gun. The case and tapping block are a bonus. Great product for what it's designed for.

Great product. Works great with my 6mm staples. Only challenge is that you need to be precise with the placement of the foot. My first staple went into the top of the board. Wish it had a swivel air line connector.

I own a regular pneumatic stapler but because I had about 1000 ft2 to install decided to purchase the Bostitch stapler. No regrets. Gone through a few thousand staples by now without a single misfire. Used both off brand and bostitch staples. Using this with a small portable compressor without issues. Sinks the staples accurately and the force does tend to ensure a tight joint. Would highly recommend this tool.