Buy Hitachi N3804AB 18 Gauge 1/4-Inch Crown Finish StaplerHitachi N3804AB 18 Gauge 1/4-Inch Crown Finish Stapler Product Description:
- Exhaust muffler reduces noise
- Compact design for tight space applications
- Open magazine design to quickly check staple quantity
- Easy to clean
- Drives staplers into hardwoods, knots, MDF, and cement board with OSB backing
Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
Extremely solid & compact stapler
By Christopher Kennel
Several months ago I reviewed the Porter Cable NS150A finish stapler and mentioned the Hitachi N3804AB in that review. At that time, Amazon.com didn't stock the Hitachi stapler, but it does now so here's a review of it.
As you'll notice, the Hitachi N3804AB is expensive, but it's extremely well made in Germany. The ENTIRE stapler is metal, which gives it a very solid feel that translates into less recoil when firing it. It's also super tough. It's a small finish stapler, narrower and shorter than many other brands, and this comes in handy when working in the tight spaces we often encounter on remodeling jobs. Because it has a simple design, it can be disassembled with ease, but more importantly, the safety is completely accessible. Sometimes I need to fire the stapler in a confined space and have to tilt the nose in such a way that the safety can't be fully depressed. I can use my pointer finger to slide the safety mechanism back at a point near the trigger and fire it with my index finger. Some of the other staplers and nailers that I've used have concealed safety mechanisms to prevent people from bypassing them (good from a liability standpoint, but sometimes frustrating for the user).
Another great use for a finish stapler with a safety that can be overridden is to make mini rebar. When I need a durable, non-contracting patch to fill decent sized irregular holes I often use bondo. By holding the stapler a little away from the hole or crack, overriding the safety, and firing, it leaves a bit of the staple's crown exposed. This makes a nice wire armature that helps hold the bondo in place. I suppose the mini rebar could be used with other putties and plasters.
My coworkers and I have been using the N3803AB for several months now and it's been totally reliable. It hasn't misfired even once; although, I did jam it when I fired it directly into a steel joist hanger to see how hard it could drive a staple. The staple formed a pretzel in the firing slot, but I cleared the jam easily with no damage to the stapler. I've used the stapler on a wide range of construction materials, firing 1.5 inch staples into hardwoods, knots, MDF, and cement board with OSB backing, and it has performed perfectly although it likes to run above 90 psi for the denser materials (100-115 psi usually does it).
One day air started to slowly leak out of the exhaust port, so I removed the rear plate and found that a small metal filing had become embedded in an O-ring. Removing the filing fixed the leak. The stapler worked fine despite the leak, and I suspect the filing entered the air intake port during a demolition project. Now I try to store our pneumatic tools in less-dusty areas.
The Hitachi N3804AB worked so well that I decided not to buy a Senco SKS (which are workhorses but bulky) because I haven't encountered a situation where I've needed any more power. The Hitachi N3804AB is a professional grade stapler that's a good investment if you plan to use it often. For occasional or DIY use, a cheaper stapler may make more sense, unless you can find the Hitachi for a really good price.
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