# How do they stick staples together?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-stick-staples-together/466212>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 2, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-stick-staples-together/466212 "2008-10-02T18:21:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-stick-staples-together/466212/1 "2008-10-02T18:21:48Z")

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Staples come in long stuck-together stacks. Are the staples glued together or is it one long piece of metal perforated almost all the way through?

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**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-stick-staples-together/466212/2 "2008-10-02T18:29:19Z")

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I broke out my staples. Looks like glue to me.

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**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-stick-staples-together/466212/3 "2008-10-02T18:30:17Z")

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> [@WF\_Tomba](#):
>
> Staples come in long stuck-together stacks. Are the staples glued together or is it one long piece of metal perforated almost all the way through?

My guess is that a flat metal piece is scored almost all the way through, like those easy open cans, and then bent in two places to form the staple shape.

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**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-stick-staples-together/466212/4 "2008-10-02T18:34:53Z")

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Check [this video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnUSUwX_6dQ) out. Skip ahead to about 5:00 for staples.

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**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\
**Post date:** [October 2, 2008, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-stick-staples-together/466212/5 "2008-10-02T18:47:59Z")

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I’ve shot tens of thousands of staples out of pneumatic air guns. They are definitely bound by an adhesive.

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**Author:** ![steadierfooting](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@steadierfooting](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steadierfooting)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-they-stick-staples-together/466212/6 "2008-10-03T19:50:38Z")

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Since the poster above didn’t state what was in the video,

long thin wires are aligned side by side and glued together. then cut and formed.