Heller Tacker chrome finish with areas of corrosion
detail of H.S. Heller patent 2,688,290 front cover means for stapling machinesSince moving to New York, I've been really interested by the concentration of stapler manufacturers on the east coast. It was this interest that led me to acquire the Heller Tacker. The Tacker is the first example of a tacker/staple-gun type stapler I've featured in the Stapler of the Week and I feel it warrants attention, seeing as it bears the name of the town I now call home, Brooklyn, N.Y.. My first realization that the five boroughs of New York held a wealth of stapler history came my first week of work. Each day on our way into Manhattan, we pass by an assortment of warehouses. At the intersection of Van Dam and Skillman Ave, one warehouse had the shadow of the words Swingline staplers left on the brick wall by a sign now ten years missing. It was that moment the initials, L.I.C., suddenly changed from what I had always assumed to be a business abbreviations like LTD to a bricks and mortar building in Long Island City.
Harold S. Heller's connection to Brooklyn is still a mystery to me, although I haven't done that much digging. All of Heller's patents I've found were filed in Cleveland, OH. I suspect there's a possibly a warehouse somewhere in Brooklyn that bears the shadow of the Heller name, I only have to find it. When I do find it, you'll be sure to hear about it.
Excerpt from the Stapler of the Week, April 21, 2008.
Harold S. Heller's connection to Brooklyn is still a mystery to me, although I haven't done that much digging. All of Heller's patents I've found were filed in Cleveland, OH. I suspect there's a possibly a warehouse somewhere in Brooklyn that bears the shadow of the Heller name, I only have to find it. When I do find it, you'll be sure to hear about it.
Excerpt from the Stapler of the Week, April 21, 2008.
Many years ago, I traded a repair on a garage door opener for a Heller stapler that a retired telephone employee had in his garage along with staples. I used it continuously in my alarm company & very hard. Years later when I needed more staples I located them at a company that was located in Brooklyn, N.Y. Along the way I acquired another Heller stapler for an employee who unfortunately did not provide the same care.
ReplyDeleteHi Jerry,
ReplyDeleteI happen to have one of these and am looking for staples to fill it. Can you give me any leads?
Gary
I picked up a Heller 90% like the one you show the only difference is the staple loading i think a part is missing its got a # 16900. I found you when i was looking for staples for the gun if you are intrested i only paid a few dollars fot it
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the posts and thank you for this blog. :-)
I finally understood how my tacker works.
I didn't figured it out why it have one more screw but looking on this "blueprint" I got it.
Keep up doing this work! :-)
Cristian from Romania
For what its worth I purchased my Heller out of NYC back in the '60's and confidently recall the vendor: Fitzgerald ElectroMechanical Co. Somewhere in this ratpack house I still have the reciept...Perhaps you can find an old telephone listing and track the address. Good Luck Gary
ReplyDeleteLong ago I acquired a Heller tacker that had belonged to the Bell System. It had a few staples in it, which I used, and it worked well until I ran out. Some time later, I lucked into a box of Heller staples, and was surprised to find that they did not fit through the gun. I finally determined that the Bell system version must have been modified for slightly thinner or narrower staples, by using a slightly narrower guide plate (I don't know its proper name) at the firing end. I filed it out, and all is well, but it was definitely too narrow to accept the conventional Heller staples.
ReplyDeleteI just thought that might be useful information if anyone comes across a Bell version.
curious how you guys "filled mecanisim to exsept standard staples on the bell model please show detail of area nedded to be filled
ReplyDeleteJerry, I thought I was the only person in the world who would be interested in persisting on coveting a Heller Tacker which I found when I was a little girl and fell in love with the precision of its mechanics. It is nice to know there are more like me, but I'd still love to get me hands on staples that would work in it. Like Bruto from Fairmont, mine has the Bell System imprint imbedded on it, and I cannot find any staples that will work. I have been searching for years! If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear about it. "A company in Brooklyn" doesn't quite cover it, and there's always the problem about it having the Bell System parameters. Advice welcome.
ReplyDeleteI have a Heller Tacker stapler from bell systems #83074 it functions but i have no and can't get any staples. Before I got it someone used a label maker to put "use E staples only" on one side and "for SK wire" on the other.
ReplyDeleteanyone interesting in purchasing it or who has a lead on getting staples please contact me samATbulkpeppercorns.com
Thank you!
Worked for Ill Bell Tel Co back in the 1950's Used the Hellers extensively without failure, to run interior phone lines (we did that and climbed thousands of poles, including 'Black Diamonds', while wearing our 'Hooks'... 'back in the day'). Found one a few years back, and still watching for staples.
ReplyDeleteBell system models, use ARROW T-18 stapes. Have been using these reliably for years.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right. The ARROW T-18 will work OK. I spent 40 years in the Bell System and we used the T-18's.
ReplyDeletejimtelman
The staple gun is good for heavy duty task, because it works easily and you don;t need to put more force during use of this stapler.
ReplyDeleteTech tool supply has T-18 staples.
ReplyDelete