> I was wondering if it is OK to staple on a deck and leave them in so I
> don't have big ring nail heads showing? Thanks

> Dave

Compared to the nails even the longest staples are relatively short, and since they are not ringed or barbed they may not hold as well as the nails. This would mean using a lot more of them, which is probably the opposite of what you want to do. I'd pull staple, nails or anything else that protruded above the surface (and staples tend to protrude more than nails) mainly so I could sand that part of the top without ripping all my sandpaper off of the sander everytime I snagged one.

If you want fewer holes to fill in you could probably use screws instead of nails and space them a bit further apart.

Or, you could continue the stitch and glue concept, and drill a hole through the parts. Insert a wire tie. Twist that tight to hold things until the glue sets, then clip the wire and pull out the pieces with a pair of longnose pliers. This would leave you with small holes instead of nail heads, or staple crowns, but I think it would be more problems than just using nails.

Hope this helps.

Paul Jacobson