Bruce McCrory
... Pro" specialty gizmo tool that looks like a staple gun.

It is set to standard deck spacing, 3.5 -5.5", and length of screws for thickness of plank. The stubs standardize the gap at about 3/16th inch. They pinch together via the two handles and operator leans into the jig to close an over-large gap; or, jambs them into a pinched space. A ring in the screw guide-spacing stub stops the screw at the wood surface, surprisingly, without stripping much softwood. Western cedar is like tough balsa.

I'm not a fan of stuff that will fade into obscurity but with fiddling (trimming) every board into proper length with a pull saw in the next operation, this tool saved my sanity--or, minimized the insanity. You get the glossy operational picture. I had to learn some tricks but nothing a monkey couldn't do.

I did the project summer of 2019. Last fall I had my shoulder replaced. It will be my last big project.