manual brad nail gun?

[peter]

I have about 20 feet of wall trims I need to attach to the wall. Buying an air compressor and an air nailer seems overkill. At first I consider an electric brad nailer. They receive so-so reviews; the best one requires the operator to firmly hold down the nailer so the nailing momentum is not lost to recoil.

Then there are cordless nailer which seems to have more power than the corded one (e.g. Dewalt DC608K). They can shoot 2 inch nails. That is very strange since normally a corded tool should have more power than a cordless one. Anyway, it cost near $300 so it is also overkill. Besides, I hate to stock yet another kind of rechargeable battery at home.

Now I'm wondering if there are hand operated brad nailer that would shoot 1

1/4 brad nail into hard wood? I know there are stapler that shoots both staples and brad nails; those usually do not have enough power.

What I'm thinking is something that requires a separate cocking/windup and a trigger pull to shoot the nail just like an air gun. A manual-powered air gun can pack a lot of power, so there is no reason why a powerful brad nailer cannot be made this way. But I can't seem to find such thing. Any ideas?

[Ken]

How about a hammer? Pound the nail with the hammer, set the nails below the surface with a nail set. Fill the holes. I do it all the time.

Ken

[Jim Yanik]

"peter" wrote in news:kCHRj.1132$Bd1.1122@trndny09:

why not RENT a nailer? although I've seen Porter-Cable compressor/nailer packages for ~$200,and then you would have a portable compressor for other jobs around the home;inflating tires,spray painting.....

[willshak]

on 4/29/2008 12:00 PM peter said the following:

I think you would need something that shot nails longer than 1-1/4 inch. You have to go through the molding (1/2"?) plus the sheetrock (1/2"?) which leaves 1/4 inch to go into the stud or base plate. I have never seen a pump action nail gun. Even if such an animal, it would suspect that it would take longer to pump the gun up than to use a regular hammer and nailset. If you don't need a construction grade heavy duty tool, you can probably pick up both a finish nailer and compressor for less than the cost of either item alone from a big box store. Harbor Freight nailers and compressors.

?keyword=compressor&Submit=Go

[dpb]

For no more than that if you don't want a compressor and finish nailer (and I agree the investment is way overkill for the size of job if you don't intend to do anything else), you can easily drill pilot holes if the moulding is hard enough or tends to split badly enough you can't hand nail it easily. After all, there were houses built entirely long before _any_ power tools...

--

[HeyBub]

Or get the nailer ($20.00) and an air tank ($23.00). Refill the tank at the gas station.

Don't know how many trips to the station, but it should work.

[Red Green]

Jim Yanik wrote in news:Xns9A8F866C5F97Ajyanikkuanet@64.209.0.86:

spray painting?

Those PC pancake size/types don't have near enough volume for spray painting I hear pretty much across the board.

But yea, even a PC pancake compressor is something you'll never regret you got...that is until you want a bigger compressor :-)

[Red Green]

"peter" wrote in news:kCHRj.1132$Bd1.1122@trndny09:

As mentioned by others, ughhhh hammer and a nail set? You're only talking

20 ft! WTF?

[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

That's a great idea. I'm betting one trip with a 10 gallon will shoot several hundred nails. [I might just try it today for giggles.]

I bought my compressor first- but ended up with a tank, too, so the money spent on the tank is not money wasted.

OP- also pick up a $8 'air accessory kit'. You'll be back for a compressor in a short time.

Jim

[Jim Yanik]

Jim Elbrecht wrote in news: [e-mail]:

many gas stations no longer have a high pressure air compressor,just one suitable for inflating auto tires,and many charge for air. you need 50-60 PSI at least for a nailer,I believe.

~$200 would get you a Porter-Cable portable compressor and brad nailer combo kit,with hose. then you can use it for other jobs.

Or RENT one.