Fletcher point driver problem

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Robert Shirk MCPF

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Jul 10, 2007
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Shippensburg Pennsylvania in a 275 year old stone
I own several Fletcher Flexi Point Driver Guns. The green manual ones. They have been giving me problems for some time. They will shoot a couple of points and then jamb. I suspect that it is the points or the glue that holds the stacks of points together. I've ask Fletcher people about this problem at shows and they have not offered any solutions. So I have two questions.

Who else has this problem?

Does anyone have a solution to this problem?
 
You should be able to get a replacement hammer (metal striker bar) from United. The square edge on the striker wears and gets rounded over time allowing it to slip over the top of the point it is driving. There is a screw & nut at the bottom front which when loosened allows the channel that the points drop into to be removed. I take mine apart periodically to clean out any loose junk.
 
I have had this problem once in the last 3 years. I bought some off-brand flexi-points instead of the Fletcher brand. They jammed up the point driver all the time. Sometimes you would only get 2 or 3 points set and it would jam. Irritating. After using up 1 of the 2 boxes we had bought with much aggravation, we threw the second box away and went back to using the Fletcher brand flexi-points. No more issues.
 
I have two green drivers and both have been repaird twice since my purchase. I mail them to Fletcher in Ct. and they return them to me, fixed. But my wallet is also fixed, at about 40 bucks a pop. They told me they do have bad batches of points that can cause jamming and I kind of believe that answer. Some times when they don't really know what cuases a break in the gun I fugure they say something to make me happy! Take a look at the sleeve of points and you can see the clear stuff holding it all together. It should not be torn in any part of it.

Thanks Jeff for the advise on the part from United, would you happen to know the item number?

I also have a pnuematic flexi point driver that I am willing to sell for a lot less than full retail. We just don't use it as much as I thought I would.

Good Luck with whatever you do. We live and die by our two fleximasters and one black point driver and one yellow driver.
 
High Tech Solution

If you hit the gun against your worktable twice, holding it in your right hand, it un-jams automatically ;)
Could not resist.
Regards,
Julia
 
Cleaning the channel with lacquer thinner on a Q-tip also de-gunks the innards. I have kept my old Red Devil point driver running for 40 years this way and it was ancient when I got it!
 
Don't know if this is any use but I find that if I load a stick of triangles with the rubbery strip toward the driver blade if tends to jam. :icon11: The other two ways it works fine.
 
These guns jambed from day one when they where brand new.
Jeff, I'll give the new driver part a try.
Julia, I have had little success with the slamming on the table method. Last night I was so frustrated that I considered throwing them out the front door into the street.
JWB, we have always used Fletcher brand points. Perhaps some of them have been manufactured out of spec.
 
prospero said:
Don't know if this is any use but I find that if I load a stick of triangles with the rubbery strip toward the driver blade if tends to jam. :icon11: The other two ways it works fine.
Click to expand...

The Fletcher Flex Point Driver does not shoot triangles. It shoots points specifically designed for it, that fit only one way.
 
betting these things have, of late, been put together in china????????

you remeber china?....the folks that brought you the good quality wall board, and those wonderfully healthy kids toys, and least we NOT forget---that super baby formula with all its extra 'benefits'???? :mad::mad::mad:
 
Like Peter, I have a green Flectcher (not a Flexi-Point) that take both triangular and diamond shaped points. I get periodic jams, too.

I remove the four screws that hold the housing, lift it off the unit, and clean it out with a Q-tip as suggested, then spritz a little mat cutter, silicone lubrication spray into it and on both sides of the tongue. That seems to help quite a bit.

The jamming is far less frequent than before.
 
Pat Murphey said:
The Fletcher Flex Point Driver does not shoot triangles. It shoots points specifically designed for it, that fit only one way.
Click to expand...

Pat, you have not worked with my wife. She has discovered how to get them in there with the point backwards. Turns out that the way they are laying in the box just works out that way. She didn't realize that the points were sticking out of the moulding instead of into it.
 
Better watch it, Jeff. I don't think the ink is completely dry on your marriage license yet. Wouldn't want her to back out now. ;)

As to the point driver, are you talking about the cast metal driver that shoots diamond points? Those definitely need periodic maintenance- cleaning, light lubrication of the driver blade with mat cutter lube, and sometimes replacement of the bushing and/or screw that the trigger handle pivots on. (Parts available from United.) The point stack are critical on those guns too. If the points have been glued slightly out of alignment, it will be "jam city". Just pitch 'em and get a new stack. Also, be sure that when you load the points the glue strip is facing the left rear of the driver, so that it protrudes into the empty cavity rather than binding on one of the shaft sides.

I've never had a problem with the FrameMaster or MultiPoint drivers. I wish they would make a driver like that for the diamond points, which I still like for many applications.
:cool: Rick
 
Green flexi pt. gun

I have a work table with about 20 flexi points laying on it that I have been pulling out of my green flexi point gun. I have cleaned it, thrown it ,and talked rather disparagingly to it. I formaly call it you piece of ****! Mine only jams when the points are half way gone. Go figure. Am glad to know I am not the only one with this annoying problem. Mona
 
Robert Shirk MCPF said:
These guns jambed from day one when they where brand new...we have always used Fletcher brand points. Perhaps some of them have been manufactured out of spec.
Click to expand...

First, it is not typical to have jamming problems with the Fletcher point drivers. I have two black ones (FrameMaster), a green one (FlexiMaster), and a yellow one (MultiMaster). All of them have functioned perfectly for at least ten years, since long before I became a Fletcher consultant.

The only problem was when I received defective points -- twice in twenty years. When the jamming started the first time, I thought it was a problem with the tool, since it was already several years old. So, I bought a new tool and had the same problem right away. That's when I found out about the defective points. (And that's why I have two black point drivers, but the second one comes in handy now and again.)

As soon as I stopped putting defective points in the tools, everything was good; no more jamming.

Defective points have cropped up a few times, and it could happen again some day. In any case, Fletcher distributors will gladly exchange the defective points, and Fletcher will take care of the distributor.

A word of caution: If a distributor has sent you a box of defective points, then he may have a whole shipment of defective points, and his replacement points might also be defective. So, I suggest buying a box of points from another supplier, which would probably be from a different batch. Doing that may help isolate and identify the problem. As far as I know, defective points are not visually distinguishable -- they all look alike.

Aside from defective points, wear (lack of lubrication) could make the tools jam after a few years of use. If kept clean and lubricated, a Fletcher point driver should provide years of trouble-free service, even if a high-production shop.

If you had problems with the tools when they were new, then maybe the tools were defective. Again, if a distributor had one, maybe he had several defective tools. You might have been able to exchange them for replacements through your distributor. Or, if you received defective points with the new tools, the jamming should have stopped when you opened a new box of points.
 
mona said:
Mine only jams when the points are half way gone. Go figure.
Click to expand...

Ok, I'll make an educated guess that your problem is the feed spring. It is a long spring under the handle, which is compressed by the stack of points you load into the tool.

As the spring loses tension over time (a normal occurrance with springs), it may not apply enough pressure to feed the points into the firing position when the stack of points diminishes to a certain level.

To determine whether that is the problem, clean and lubricate the sides of the magazine that holds the points. With easier-feeding points, perhaps the reduced spring tension would not show up in failure to fire. Of course, that would be only a diagnostic measure, not a fix.

If you determine that the long spring under the handle is your problem, you'll need a new spring. Since you have to take the tool completely apart in order to replace it, I suggest replacing all of the parts that commonly wear. Better still, send it of to a repair center.
 
If the spring is not actually broken, could it not be stretched a bit to give it more tension? This might be a quick solution, since Murphy's Law provides that jams only occur during large rush orders.
:cool: Rick
 
Run a "V" scorp down the middle of the glue track and remove about half of the glue. That a great cleaning and blow out with compressed air . . . . "along with formaly calling it a piece of ****" seems to help for several years...... or until Fletch starts going with the cheapest mfg again.
 
It's a gouge that you pull instead of push.... and comes in a few degrees of openness. A gouge will work too..... just harder to steer.
 
getting used to it...

I face this kind of problem with 3 of my Fletcher Drivers...I had 4 with me since the first 2 always gave me problem since I bought them 5 years ago. The later 2 which I bought last year, one is OK but another 1 still give me the same problem. The problem seems comes back quickly although I did all the maintenance as shown in the web site.

The distributor in Malaysia, never help to solve the problem! He asked me to buy a new one!...NO WAY!!

Since I can't do anything.... no choice... I'm already getting used to it
 
One of the biggest things we have found is that it's the Flexi (green) that has all the problems.
My take on it is that the tolerances are better and tighter on the black because it's driving a non-flexible shaft. I get almost no glue residue when I clean the black.... as apposed to the shoveling out of the mechanics of the greenie.

My answer..... only use the green when you absolutely have to.

IMHO.... using the flex for any regular framing is just asking for trouble down the road as a flat jar will flex the points and the package becomes unsecured.
 
I have not had any trouble with jamming, until I read this thread. It jammed on me four times this morning. Was having an occasional point that came out bent in recent months though. Wonder if this was the precursor to the jam. I'm going now to clean out my driver.
 
Pretty much just as you described it Jim. 6-10 black ones for over 10 years maybe two actually broke and one defective new that was quickly exchanged. The other rare occasions they did jam we pulled out a new box of points and things generally worked fine...points to the points
 
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Rick Granick said:
If the spring is not actually broken, could it not be stretched a bit to give it more tension?
Click to expand...

A full stack of points in the magazine would compress that spring fully, then it relaxes as the points are dispensed and the stack gets shorter.

Elongating the spring probably would temporarily provide more push against the points, but not for long. The real problem is that tension of the spring diminishes over time, so the only real fix is to replace the spring.

If you've ever suffered through the disassembly and reassembly of those tools, you probably would agree that replacing the spring would be better than trying to extend its life, then having to take the tool apart again in a few weeks.
 
By a quick count, four in this thread have said a point driver has jammed for an unknown reason. Most of us use these Fletcher tools every day, so mysterious jamming does not seem to be a very common problem.

Mechanical tools have moving parts that wear, so cleaning and lubrication is necessary in order to assure the best service life. If you are having jamming problems, perhaps cleaning and lubricating more often would help.

One framer here suggested throwing it across the room. The tool is intended to be durable, but not indestructible. :shrug:

Moving parts eventually wear out, so occasionally replacing the tool may be a reasonable solution. All four of my Fletcher point drivers are more than ten years old, and each of them has probably fitted at least 5,000 frames.

If you find a defective batch of Fletcher points, get the box replaced. That has happened to me three times in the past, but not lately. Using off-brand points is a bad idea.

If you buy a new tool that does not function properly, find out what's wrong and if it is defective, get it replaced. The warranty is generous and liberally applied.

In case you missed it earlier, I am a consultant to the Fletcher-Terry Company.
 
Jim Miller said:
Using off-brand points is a bad idea.
Click to expand...

Really? Someone makes "Off-brand" points? Do they make an off brand "Driver" that works too?

Personally Jim, I've never had a problem with "Off-brand" points; it's only the FT points that seem to suffer every so often the globbed on glue track that needs reduction. And to be fair, it's only about every 2-4 years...... kind of like a drug testing cycle. :D
 
I used both the black (rigid tabs) and the green (flexible tabs) guns for years.

I had quite regular jamming problems on both - they were quite easily sorted out but the time came, on both, when they had to be replaced - maybe components could have been changed - I don't know or care, the guns are not exactly expensive.

What I DID not like, however, when it came to replacing one of them, was that the new and improved gun, would only take Fletcher-Terry points - the new FT points had a nick in them and the new FT gun had a corresponding channel in the point magazine, and that was that. I did not like being dictated to "Buy this gun and you WILL also buy our points - deal with it" - is how I saw it.

I got around that by using the magazine from the old gun - it fitted and worked fine in the new gun, which meant I could buy Cassesse (etc) points for a lot less money, and before anyone says - 'using points not designed for the gun would casue a problem' forget it! FT don't mind that their points will fit others' guns.

So, anyway, I tee'd in to my compressor airline and invested in a pneumatic gun - an 'Omer' - I've had it 5 years or so - firing both flexible and semi-rigid tabs, with my little finger if I want, and it has never jammed, or had any problem at all and after that length of time - if problems do start happening - I'll just get a new one straight away. Maybe I'll get the old one fixed as a spare; maybe not.

You got a manual underpinner or a pneumatic one?
 
Over the years I have found that most jamming problems with point drivers or v-nailers are caused by bad points as opposed to actual problems with the tool. As has been said, the tools have to be maintained and parts occasionally replaced. However, think about the fact that the fasteners are supplied as glued-together stacks of very small and thin items which have to be lined up precisely in order to feed smoothly in the tool. The chances for automated machinery accumulating debris etc., creating misaligned stacks before QC notices and corrects the situation, and a certain percentage of these occasionally passing inspection and being shipped, is reasonably high. I always like to have a spare backup box of "known" good fasteners around to hold me over until a later bad batch can be replaced.
:cool: Rick
 
Ladies and Gents,

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I did inquire about the possibility of defective points and was told that there was was no way that could be. I have tried several boxes of points. I have a black driver that works just fine and has for many years. As for cleanining and lubrication every tool in our shop is very well maintained. Bear I'm going to try removing some glue on the point strips. Jim I'm not trying to knock Fletcher. The tool is not inexpensive and it should funtion properly.

Once again thanks to everyone. I'll let you know what fixes the problem.
 
The tool is not inexpensive and it should funtion properly.
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Everyone on earth probably would agree that it should function properly. Why didn't you get it replaced under warranty? Who told you defective points were not possible?

Bob, since the warranty has expired, you could at least get a functioning tool at minimum cost by sending it in for repair. And when you do, be sure to describe your problem in detail, so the repair technician can diagnose the cause most accurately.
 
. . . . or you can get a whole lot of personal satisfaction by taking a 28penny spike and a 28oz framing hammer and nail the offending bugger to a tree. :D

I did that many years ago when the plan (Verison) didn't make it out to my property. I switched to AT&T and if I climbed up on a ladder that was leaning against the big fat tree at the top of my property..... and only held the phone in my right hand..... I got great reception from the cell tower down the valley and across the river and up on the other hillside..... about 8 miles line of sight.

The workers all started joking about my address and the USPS carrier thought it sounded good if I moved the box from my main drive to the leading drive.... it was within 120' of the true address, so they let me have:

Pine Tree #127 on the Left
11 Miles Past
Nine Mile Falls, WA

The old phone I nailed to one of the trees just by the driveway and very visible to the street 12' away...... one day I pulled in, got my mail and looked up at 9 new cell phones nailed up. Last we heard, there were over 50 phones on that tree now.
 
Rick Granick said:
If the spring is not actually broken, could it not be stretched a bit to give it more tension?
Click to expand...

Sadly springs don't stretch evenly, but stretch more where there is a little more give, for whatever reason. This can easily result in a less effective spring and work hardening of the the portion of the spring which has been stretched beyond it's elastic limit to enable it to stretch.

Sorry to disappoint, but a new spring is the smart move as stretching the old one does not prove if it was the problem or not as it will no longer perform to it's original specification.

Hey, a new spring ain't gonna break the bank!
 
It's not a money issue. I just thought that it might render the gun useful again until a replacement spring could be obtained.
:kaffeetrinker_2: Rick
 
I can't recall which gun it was but once I needed a replacement spring after mine broke in half (the spring not the gun) (might have been the F-18). I received the new spring and found after several frustrating hours of struggle that I just did not have the right stuff to replace the spring into the gun so I had to ship the whole shebang back to United and they installed the spring for me at a nominal charge.

Kinda like replacing my watch battery last week - had to use a hammer and screwdriver with my watch in my vise to flip the back off. Then I had to use padded pliers to replace the back.
 
Sometimes it's just more than worth it to avoid frustration and just pay someone to do these things they are already set up to do.
:cool: Rick
 
I'm pretty sure the Cassese arrow head points fit the flexi master. Theirs have a nick on both sides, so their points fit the Fletcher but Fletchers points don't fit the Cassese. It's like the Cold war all over again.
 
Petengeth said:
I'm pretty sure the Cassese arrow head points fit the flexi master. Theirs have a nick on both sides, so their points fit the Fletcher but Fletchers points don't fit the Cassese. It's like the Cold war all over again.
Click to expand...

You are correct, I use them all the time in my Fletcher Flexi-master, because they are a better price, but there are advantages and disadvantages. I have never had a problem with using them in the Fletcher driver. I have had a very small number of jams with the Fletcher points, but those time were too few to matter at all.

The Cassese flexi-points are slightly thinner than the Fletcher flexi-points and as a result the same amount of force will drive the Cassese points into harder mouldings that much better.

The disadvantage can be that if you leave a bigger than normal gap between the backing board and the frame moulding while using a harder wood moulding, then the flexi-point may deform a little where there is no backing board to stop it from doing so. I have not noticed this when using the genuine Fletcher points.

In the UK the Cassese points are lower in price, but price is not always everything.
 
Dito Robert. Green one - brand new - jams at least once every 40 points. I bought it brand new becuase I drove my old one into the floor as hard as I could after jaming ever 40 or so points. It's clearly a defect in the design of the flex point driver.
 
Jay H said:
It's clearly a defect in the design of the flex point driver.
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You might think that, but it'll be a batch problem with the flexi-points. Fletcher are a long established company with an engineering led product range. If you come from an engineering background (like I do), you can spot the better engineered products quite easily.

The problem is that the points have to be stamped out from a thinner and more flexible steel than the designer would really like, but he has no choice, otherwise they would not be flexi-points.

The stamping tools have a limited life and are affected by any variations in the supply of the raw material. Sorry, but in the real world there are small variations in material batches and the stamping preformance can be affected by this.

It's a nasty production problem to try and control this. Batches would no doubt be checked for quality at the factory. Unfortunately, this problem will affect some users more than others, without any obvious reason why you are the unlucky one!

Try talking to Fletcher, they may agree to replace your driver to see if this helps.
 
If it's a batch problem with the points, how come my Omer pneumatic gun has never ever jammed ..... using points not made by Omer that always jammed on my green FT gun?


There's no 'shock' with a pneumatic gun - the gun has no 'kick back' and the moulding, unless really skinny, does not need to be braced in any way - it's all over before it gets time to think about it.

Too many stress points on the manual - if the problems bug you - just buy a pneumatic gun - a join in your v nailer air line, plus a regulator (my gun works on 4 bar and my v nailer 8 bar) is not difficult to install - after that just forget about it - mine seems to thrive on neglect - I don't even know where the screws are that I'd have to undo if it came to it.

If it has a push on connector it's also easy to swap the gun for a blower, or a rigid tab gun, (although my gun also fires semi-rigid tabs - again never ever jams) - whatever.

At one time I had a manual v nailer - I had to push the moulding legs together by hand and then press a foot pedal. Now I've a Pneumatic one with a horizonatl clamp that will hold the largest profiles leaving both hands free, but all they have to do is press a button anyway.

I could totally strip and assemble the manual v nailer, because I had to, regularly - I wouldn't know where to start on the pneumatic one, because I've never had to.

Manual point guns are not serious pro tools IMHO - I can drive that point home (OH Yeah!) with this comparison - make a ready-made with flexi points from a manual gun - then, either insert and remove a backing board, or the glass, over and over - the points will probably work loose quite quickly. Or, just try and remove a point by hand - you'll be able to, easily.

You can insert and remove boards, glass, etc over and over with pneumatically fired points and they'll stay put - and you MAY be able to pull the points out by hand, but it won't be easy at all.
 
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