What Is a Brad Nail or Staple?

While brads and staples are used for similar purposes, and can be substituted for each other in some cases; there is a difference between these two fasteners.

Brad Nails

Brads are the smallest form of a finish nail, and are mainly used for fastening small pieces of molding. They have a small head and are measured by gauge and length, like any other finish nail.

Staples

Staples are also used in finish carpentry, but the main difference is that they have two prongs, where a nail or brad only has one. A staple ultimately fastens stronger than a brad but more surface area is needed because of the two prongs.

Brad Uses

Brads are used when a regular finish nail is too large and a staple won’t work due to a lack of width on a piece of material. If you are attaching a piece of molding that’s smaller than an inch wide, it’s probably best to use a brad so the molding doesn’t split from the nail or staple.

Staple Uses

Because a staple has a larger center than a brad or nail, they make a larger mark in the material, which means it will take more time to fill the hole; however, they tend to hold best. Staples are also used on the exterior of houses in roofing, siding and exterior trim.

Confusion

Brads and staples are commonly confused for each other because they are fastened using the same gun. Usually the gun has a setting to switch from brads to staples.

References

• Grainger: Brad Example
• Grainger: Cable Staple