Is there an easy way to hammer in fence staples?

[HelfieJ]

Is there an easy way to hammer in fence staples? They are so hard to hold without hammering my finger! I feel like there is a much easier way to do it seeing as I have little hands and man hands are usually much bigger.

 

[JackE]

Don't try to hold the staple like you would a nail. Hold the staple in between the middle and index fingers, with the bottom of the fingers facing you. That way you have more of the staple exposed to hit instead of your fingers.
Jack

 

[SunnySkies]

Needle nose pliers are the way to go. I grew up out west fencing with barbed wire for cattle, and that was the only way I did it without hurting myself. Hundreds of miles before I sorted that out, lol

 

[MySuburbanLife]

Fence staples are a pain in the behind! After finishing one panel of hardware cloth with them, I gave up and went a different direction: screws backed by a 1" washer. Much faster, much less dangerous for my precious thumbs, and looks to be more secure of a fastening.

If you still want to do fence staples, maybe try holding it in place with needlenose pliers while you hammer?

 

[J-Sanders]

Washers and screws are easiest but a bit more expensive..... Staples are built to spread and twist as they go in. One leg going one direction the other leg going the other direction.... The idea is to make them very very hard to pull out. I use staples when I need staples.

Staples have one leg longer than the other. Get the long leg started with a tap and a second tap should bring the other leg into contact with the wood. once both legs are touching you can drive them in. Tapping them closed a little helps too. But I dont usually have time to mess with all the staples much.

deb

Very good! I see you have learned well.

Let me repeat what you have said, First look at staple. See longer leg, grab that close to the sharp end and hold it. Now look at wood or post, see the grain and where the wire makes a cross. Put the sharp end of the long leg in the top left corner if you are right handed with a hammer or the top right hand corner if you are handicapped . Tap lightly to start the staple and not hammer your fingers. Once the staple is set then hold the fence in position and finish driving home the staple. No fuss no muss no busted fingers.

What gets most people is they don't think about securing the fencing temporarily so the try to do too many things with one hand and get themselves a mashed digit for their troubles. Fence stretchers are a must for a no aggravation day. They can be made or bought. For field fence, two metal T posts and some bolts and nuts work very well with a come along or a lever and hook. For barb wire a lever and hook is all you need.

Stretched tight and secured right make for many a restful night.

Jim

 

[Howard E]

That tool is called fence pliers. Useful for a lot of things when building fence.

There are two different types of fence staples (we called them steeples) you may encounter. One type is only 3/4" or smaller and may say "poultry netting staples" on the box. Those are kinda tough to do, but Jack E described it right. You hold them between your index and middle finger, fingerprints facing out towards the hammer. Tap it to start it, then get your fingers out of the way. If you have fat chubby fingers, then one of the needle nosed tools will help save em.

Second kind is the heavier fencing staples, used to nail barbed wire, brace wire, etc, to a wooden fence post. Treat those like regular nails. If you can drive those all the way down into seasoned black locust or hedge posts (aka, ozark orange, bodark, etc) without bending them, then you are the real deal.

 

[BoltonChicken]

Screws with washer or TEK screws are the ONLY way to go. Immensely strong and easily removable if needed. Worth the cost of a rechargeable drill many times over. I have built two coops in the last year and would NEVER use staples for fastening.

 

[PEI chicken]

I used needle nosed pliers to hold small staples just this week. Used them to attach a chicken wire skirting at the bottom of the moveable chicken tractor. I need to lift the skirting each time the pen is moved, so the staples worked as hinges when attached to the bottom of the pen. I don't think I could have accomplished this without the needle nosed pliers to hold the staples while hammering.

 

[JackE]

I've driven a lot of staples using my method, learned a looong time ago, and my fingers would tell you that's the way to go. Needle nose pliers? If I was ever seen using them to help drive in fence staples, I'd never hear the end of it around here.
Jack

 

[Time-Out]

I give a light tap while holding it, then let go. It holds up by itself afterwards. I then concentrate on holding the fencing, so that it doesn't knock it off and have me crawling around the chicken poo, trying to find an invisible splinter that the chickens might swallow.