staple removing

[Bob]

Anyone know the best tool to remove staples from hard wood flooring?

Some of them are really embedded deep and I would like to remove while damaging the floor as less as possible.

So far a screw driver and pliers is what I am using but it would be nice if there was a better solution.

[dpb]

Are they in the tongue or did somebody drive them through the face? :(

I'm wondering if you would really _have_ to remove them or simply break off the points to reuse the material...

I've found no _good_ solution but better luck depending on the actual staple used may be a tack puller or similar instead of the screwdriver (thinner, harder blade) and a pair of side cutters or small end cutters instead of regular pliers...

[RicodJour]

I have a pair of Knipex slip joint pliers that are my favorite for pulling staples.

don't lever the staple out, I just grab the crown squarely and yank straight up. Works. Your back might not like it if you have tons of them.

R

[John McGaw]

Do you mean staples as in staples that used to hold down carpet padding? For removing such I've used a pair of cheap Chinese slip-joint pliers on which I flattened the face by putting it in the vise and filing the nose straight across to remove the subtle round-over that the manufacturer designed it. Before doing this it was easy to remove 90% of the staples and after it probably gets up to 99%. But there will always be those that are snapped off flush to the wood's surface or below and there will aways be some damage done getting those out.

[Pinball4Fun]

Hello Bob - I had this same problem. Don't use a flat screwdriver head, it's too think. I found the best tool to use was a small pry bar. I attached a link to the one I used from sears below. What you do is gently tap the corner of the "flat" end of the pry bar into the center of the staple. For leverage and so you don't damge the wood floor when pressing down, put a small piece of wood (could even be a small piece of molding trim) behind the bar and press down. Gently press down when you feel you caught it and , bingo, it's out. If the screw is too embedded, use a small hammer to tap the "corner" of the flat end of the pry bay under the screw. Regards and hoped this helped. By the way, this Pry Bar is now my favorite tool, I use it for everything.....

[Oren]

I have two favorite pry bars. Yours seems a bit husky for just getting a staple out.

If I can get the wood up/out, I pull the staples from the back side in the salvage (if I can get a grip).

-- Oren

..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..

[dpb]

...

Agree -- what I suggest to get the start is shown at

These are upholsterer's tools, not real commonly seen elsewhere. Sturdy, but very sharp point will get under most anything that has any gap at all...

[Colbyt]

There really isn't an easy way. I use a combination of an industrial stapler puller and pliers.

Here is a link to a picture of the one I use, #124:

With a thin shim or wood block, used the position pictured it will pull both legs out of the floor in most cases. The small slots will allow you to pull a broken led out using a twisting motion. For all others use the pliers.

Colbyt

[Big_Jake]

I like using end nippers. Takes a few tries to get the feel for grabbing the staples without cutting them, but you should be able to keep from damaging the floor by using them. They give you lots of prying leverage without prying against the floor with anything pointy.

JK

[spamTHISbrp]

End nippers or diagonal cutters, and you grind the bevel off the cutting face so you can grab a staple thats even sunk into the floor a touch. Also known as "flush cutters".

Dave