It seems that there is never a convenient time to run out of staples. And you don't know its going to happen until it happens. Now admittedly there is already a pretty good post on the Bakery by [Ling] which outlines various methods which lets the user know that their stapler is running low. [linked]. The posted idea and subsequent annos are mostly all pretty workable but are visual based and are missing a certain 'pizzaz' in my opinion. Hence the staple banger.

Borrowing from the concept of tracer bullets, all that is really needed is to coat the top of the 5th-from-last staple with a coating of black powder as used in cap-guns. Now there is no need to look for indicators on the stapler or, even worse, hammer decisively down on a stapler only to shoot a blank. Just use it as normal and when you're getting down to the end you are clearly warned that ammo is running low. If you are hard of hearing or perhaps just for the fun of it you can buy reloads with larger and larger powder loads - maybe even a few harmless sparks and sizzles can be thrown in for effect.
-- AusCan531, May 21 2015

Staple empty indicator Staple_20empty_20indicator
Some prior halfbaked art on the topic. [AusCan531, May 21 2015]

AK47_20Stapler load them here................................................u [xenzag, May 21 2015]

Or you could have all the staples coated with black powder, except for the last five staples in the stapler.
-- hippo, May 21 2015


Or you could coat all the staples and use the impulse to drive them into the paper, AHAHAHA, MUHWHAHAHAH ! YOu FOOLS ! WE'LL STAPLE YOU ALL ! ALL !

Ahem.

[+]
-- 8th of 7, May 21 2015


This could be developed further. With enough black powder and some suitable mechanism, the recoil could be harnessed to create a semi-automatic stapler capable of perhaps 20-50 staplings per second.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, May 21 2015


So not merely an echo of Office Deep Throat?
-- theircompetitor, May 21 2015


Suddenly some of the stapler arguments in Office Space become weaponized, although Office Deep Throat could be the wrong title.
-- 4and20, May 21 2015


// it could replace the staple sound with a duck quack.

You would need to use a different stapler when there are ducks nearby.
-- tatterdemalion, May 21 2015


Just don't use them on the ducks please...not good. Otherwise a great idea.
-- blissmiss, May 22 2015


Black powder can't be ignited by impact. Cap gun caps use mercury or silver fulminate, IIRC. Use one of those.

…or Armstrong's Mixture.
-- notexactly, Jun 07 2015


I have noticed that some boxes of tissues have colored tissues at the bottom. I conclude this is a signal that you are running low. But not just the last one - the last 10 or so. Probably a series of the final staples should have a signifier as is proposed.
-- bungston, Jun 07 2015



random, halfbakery