If you need to do some heavy duty stapling, you might have be running into the term “T50 staple” or “T50 compatible stapler” fairly often. But what is a T50 staple?
Staple Basics
A staple is a “U” shaped fastener that is put in with a staple gun (hand-powered, electric, battery-powered, or pneumatic). Staples are great for installing things like fences and carpeting, where it’s more about holding something down than it is simply affixing one thing to another.
A hardware staple like this is meant to be driven into a surface (usually wood), not wrapped around on itself the way a staple is used to hold a few sheets of paper together. This means the staples can be a lot thicker and a lot tougher. It also means much more force is required do drive them in, which is why staplers like the Dewalt Carbon Fiber stapler that I use, has a high-leverage handle and some heavy duty springs inside.
What Are T50 Staples?
A “T50” is a standard in staples. They are actually the best-selling staple type in the world. The T50 staple is compatible with the Arrow T50 staple gun, as well as any number of other staplers sold by companies like Stanley, Craftsman, Dewalt, etc.
A T50 is a heavy-duty staple meant for construction usage, which includes insulation, roofing materials, underlayment (like Stormguard), carpeting, upholstery, and similar applications. This sort of staple is not appropriate for office and household use as it’s too large and tough for paper products. These staples are even tough enough to go through light wood trim, provided the stapler is strong enough.
So T50 staples are the shape and size staple that works with the grandaddy of most construction staplers, the Arrow T50. The Arrow Fasteners T50 is a staplers that has been made since the early 1950s and has been largely unchanged since then. It’s been copied to many times by so many companies that the staples it uses — the T50 — has basically become the standard.
The most popular stapler to use with the T50 is the Arrow T50 staple gun, which is an all-metal, manual stapler which has been made since the 1950s. It sells for about $20.
Other staplers that use T50 staplers include:
- Arrow HT50 Hammer Tacker
- Arrow PT50 Pneumatic Staple Gun
- Dewalt 4-inch Heavy-Duty Compact Staple Gun
- Milwaukee M12 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Crown Stapler
- Stanley Heavy Duty Steel Staple Gun TR110
- Stanley Electric Stapler and Brad Nail Gun
And the list goes on. This is just a small sampling of the T50 staplers out there.
What Size Is A T50 Staple?
A T50 staple is defined by its flat top (the “crown”) which is 10mm wide (3/8″).
The staples then come in a wide variety of lengths including:
- 6mm (1/4″)
- 8mm (5/16″)
- 10mm (3/8″)
- 12mm (1/2”)
- 13mm (17/32″)
- 14mm (9/16″)
T50 staples are generally made of steel, but they don’t have to be.
Alternatives To The T50 Staple
It might seem like it, but the T50 isn’t the only staple sold today. There are a number of alternatives which might be better suited to your job… even if they might not be compatible with your current stapler.
Some others staple standards include:
- JT21 (aka the T27): 7/16 in. crown width
- T25: 3/8 in. crown width but with a rounded crown
- T59: 6mm opening wide
The JT21 is a smaller, lighter alternative to the T50. It’s mostly used with crafting and furniture use as its wire is a bit too thin for construction.
The T25 is like the T50 but has a rounded top. It’s used for stapling down low-voltage wiring.
The T59 is an insulated staple used for sensitive, unshielded wiring designs like ethernet cable. It has a plastic body that products the cable from the metal staple, but its holding power is much less than the T50’s.
There are many other types of staples and a whole wider world of fasteners, but the should cover your T50 questions!
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