If you're going to frame your own canvases, you're going to need a staple gun. Especially if you're working with box or stretch frames.

When setting aside time to frame, this little piece of kit is going to be your best friend, so it's important you both get along. Staple guns are, by nature, territorial little tykes, and refuse to be tucked neatly into place alongside other - non-lethal - tools.

Stay away from the lighter, yappy ones, they can't be trained and will leave you cursing and sweating from start to finish.

A general rule of thumb is weight. The heavier it is, the more likely that it's a keeper. The first staple gun I ever bought was a B&Q own-brand gun that came with 2000 accompanying staples. It was bright red, plastic, and cost me £5.00. It's packet was heavier than it was.

Whilst it was a low-risk investment, ideal for starting out, it did have several annoying drawbacks:

• It was so loud, my ears hurt. This is very bad, and I dread to think how many eardrum hairs fell out before I finally bothered to buy ear-plugs.
• It was a bit puny. Staple into any knots and the mechanism would wear out quite quickly.
• About 500 staples into your supply and you'd be spending a lot of your framing time pressing in half stapled staples with any flat implement to hand.
• About 1000 staples in and you're spending most of your time picking out what should be staples but are now aborted twists of metal half embedded into your frame or, if you're particularly unlucky, skull.
• By the end of your supply, the gun is not much use for anything other than scaring away old ladies, if that's your thing.

But for £5.00 it was pretty good value, because it did the job, eventually. If, however, you plan on selling a lot of pictures, you might want to invest in a higher-quality model. Meet the Rapesco 853-D – the Porsche of the staple-gun paddock.

I bought this for about £25.00 and I've never looked back! The smooth, brushed-metal finish; the ample weight; the quietness of it's mechanism; but most of all, its power and longevity.

Honestly, I believe it would staple into granite if I asked it to. And after over a year, it still isn't showing any signs of wearing out. Plus, you can buy staples for it (which you couldn't for B&Q own-brand).

Ahh! Stapling is a joy once more. Life is good.