Poit driver broken

[GeoSpectrum]

My black fletcher terry point driver stopped working right in the middle of a job. the springs in the handle and the one that hold the points in place seems ok, it just won’t fire. Nothing jammed in it as far as i can see and its not been dropped as far as I know. I don’t get the compression and fire. I’m assuming the spring in the firing mechanism has broken. Is this replaceable or do I need a new gun?

[IFGL]

I have the same problem in one of our guns, I could not find a spare part but I only called Simons as we had plenty of spare guns, and I could not afford the time, if you get one please post where it came from.

[grahamdown]

with mine it was the white nylon block that had disintegrated - did get a spare from Joe at Simons

[Teresa]

Fletcher guns are not what they used to be, they are now made in China. I bought a new one two years ago when my old one started to lose its ping after eight years, the new one was never as good as the old one was originally, I have never needed pliers to get the points out, I just have to use my thumb. I now use my flexipoint gun for most jobs as points fix better, I used to recommend it to artists, but no any more !

[GeoSpectrum]

I've just taken the gun apart removed everything and hey presto....it still doesn't work. The gun is firing now but the little hammer that is fired to pick up the point and drive it into the frame isn't moving. The hammer was jammed under the firing mechanising which was wedged up against one of the securing pins causing the whole lot to jam. Nothing broken as far as I can see, so I'll give it another go over the weekend.

[Not your average framer]

I've got several different point guns, including a Fletcher flexitab gun which is so old that the magazine does not have a shaped shute which will only take Fletcher own points, instead it will fire any manufacturers universal tabs. It's been going strong all these years, after being knocked off the edge of the bench onto the floor loads of times, with no ill effects.

However, The Fletcher is not my favourite flexitab gun, but the Electrotect Flex-04 which is no longer available. The flex-04 packs a lot more punch than the Fletcher and drives points a long way into even the very hardest oak, when I sometimes find that the Fletcher does not like harder than usual oak mouldings.

I think that it's a bit unfortunate that the Flex-04 is no longer available, but at least I have two Flex-04's just in case. One is loaded with flexitabs and the other with semi rigid tabs. Also the Flex-04 will fire any manufacturers universal tabs, which again means that I don't have to pay the extra to use Fletchers own tabs.

[Roboframer]

Is this replaceable or do I need a new gun?

If it comes to the latter and you already have a compressor (or maybe even if you haven't) it's worth looking at a pneumatic gun (plus a few metres of air line and some T-in joints ...... and a compressor if you don't already have one) - it'll make the manual gun look like a toy.

Especially if you get an Omer

[IFGL]

we have fletcher guns, framers corner and omar pneumatic guns, my personal preference is the black fletcher gun, so long as the main spring is maintained and changed when required they are great.

I find the pneumatic guns fire in the pins at a slight angle and while the initial firing in is quicker going round after and pushing them down takes longer, the pins in the fletcher black gun are far more substantial and will require less to do the same job, again so long as the spring is maintained, they fire in nice and deep on all but the hardest mouldings, this is where the pneumatic guns come into their own.

The pneumatic guns are less stressful on your hands and will handle very hard woods with ease, our omer gun is great, it's light weight and never misses a beat, I saw the framers corner gun at the spring fair and thought I would buy one as as spare because they are so cheap, £40 od including VAT, got a canvas stapler too while I was at it, it's a bit heavier than the Omer and the trigger is very sensitive apart from that so far it has been great and not used as a spare it's in daily use, I have not had it as long as the Omer so I can't say how good these guns will be long term, I think if all our guns suddenly stopped working, despite the Omer being slightly lighter, I would buy the framers corner ones.

I bet my FC gun stops working now I have said that.

[IFGL]

I forgot to mention if you do get a pneumatic gun try to resist the urge to fire it at targets you have set up around the work shop, although this is alot of fun it is quite childish, wastes points and valuable time

[GeoSpectrum]

Well, as I do have a compressor this might be the time to get a pneumatic gun. So all I need is the gun, the length of hose from the compressor and suitable T-joints? Should the air gun be hanging from a tool balancer? And what about the hose getting in the way?

[Roboframer]

Lion tech support will tell you what you need and talk you through how to set it up - I can't remember why I didn't use a push connector on my gun, if you do you can easily switch to a staple gun, air blower etc.

[Not your average framer]

I'm probably going to get a Framers Corner pneumatic tab gun in the next few months. At that sort of price, it would not be a big deal if it failed and I had to buy a new one after a couple of years.

[Roboframer]

I've had the Omer about ten years without one jam or any fault whatsoever. I don't know about the framers corner gun but the Omer fires both flexi and semi rigid tabs.