If your Swingline Model 545 stapler doesn’t rebound anymore when you staple, you don’t need to throw it away–I figured out how to fix it…

How to Fix a Swingline Model 545 Stapler With a Broken Rebound Spring

Hardware:

• Swingline Model 545 Stapler

My trusty desk stapler stopped rebounding after I would staple, causing me to have to lift up the stapler manually to open it up to insert pages–not good.  After a closer inspection I was able to determine that the plastic tab that serves as the rebound spring was broken:

The plastic tab that serves as the rebound spring was broken–a cheap stapler design flaw

Step 1: Locate a piece of packing foam.

Any squishy material will probably work.  This is the piece of foam I’m currently using (it’s deformed from being installed in the stapler–originally it was rectangular):

A piece of packing foam to use as the replacement spring

Step 2: Cut the foam to fit the width opening of the stapler and guess at the thickness.

I had to play around with it to get it to work.  If it is too thick then the stapler will not close correctly and will require too much force to staple.  If you don’t have enough then it won’t rebound correctly.

Step 3: Insert the foam into the stapler where the broken spring is located:

Packing foam as a replacement spring

Step 4: Close the stapler and test it out.

Here you can see the foam in place

When you staple it will smash the foam and then open back up when you are done:

The foam being compressed

Now you’ve repaired and recycled your broken Swingline Model 545 stapler and saved some money.  You may need to replace the foam after a few hundred staples as the cells in the foam will eventually be crushed and will not be springy anymore.  If you find that yours is beyond repair you can buy another at amazon.com here.