Stretching canvas comprises about 80% of my art preparation for retail sales since I became an employee of an art gallery dealing in original art only. I have not had to wet a canvas to get it stretched by hand or by machine and I have done a few hundred since my move back to Florida.
Jana is probably referring to the pair of pliers with the 2 rail looking thingys on the bottom jaw, I haven't a clue how those work. The little shoe that Buddy is talking about serves 2 purposes, it provides leverage when pulling the canvas taut and it can be used as a hammer to tap in any staples that may not seat themselves completely.
To give an idea of how many I have to stretch at a time, I have 65 to do on Monday that range from 8x10's to 36x48's and I will assemble all the strainers and stretch the canvases in a day. With the pneumatic stretcher it is a breeze to stretch them.
FGII