powered nailers

[Dave]

I will be making some fencing using 25 by 100 for verticals and 38 by

100, or even 38 by 75 treated wood for rails. All sizes in mm.

As the ground falls from the house to the bottom of the garden, I can't pre make the fence and nail it to the posts, as the verticals might not end up vertical.

Is a Pasload 350 nailer up to the job, or do I need to hire a bigger one?

One last question, the posts are 3 3/4" square and have been in the ground since 1978. There is no noise from them when I push and pull them, so I am assuming that they are sound. The fence will be no higher that 4 foot. Any comments please?

Dave

[The Medway Handyman]

I were thinking of buying a similar Paslode nailer, but talking to 'my mate wot owns a hire shop' put me off somewhat. They won't hire them out or sell them, but they do repair them. He reckons they are really unreliable.

They hire out a nail gun & compressor package.

[Andrew Mawson]

I have a Paslode IM350 that I bought to construct a roof several years ago (90mm nails). Since then it's built two more roofs, several fences (50mm nails), a wooden chicken shed 40 foot long, clad the weather boarding on a large barn and the only problem I've had is bad contacts on the battery. It'll gobble up your job and not notice it. An excellent tool. There is a place in Bexhill that sells far cheaper nail packs than the Paslode ones but their gas packs don't last as long as originals.

AWEM

[andrew]

I've just had two young Kiwis construct a timber roof frame to cover a 15m by 15m shed and was amazed at the speed the paslode fired 90mm nails to fix the structure, 3000 nails and 3 gas cartridges with no problems as far as I can recollect. Less than a week from start to weatherproof but verges and gutters to do.

AJH

[Dave]

Noted

Dave

[Dave]

That's looking promising :-)

Noted as well

Dave

[Dave]

Noted again :-)

Dave

[Dave]

Coming back to your post, did 'my mate' expand on why they were unreliable?

Dave

[The Medway Handyman]

He wasn't specific, but he swore a lot :-)

[dennis]

They must have had a lot of breaks if it took them nearly a week.

[RubberBiker]

I've put about 10-12000 nails through my paslode IM350 at a guess - more than half being 3.2 * 90 mm for studwork, the rest 2.8 * 63 for flooring. Apart from the bulk and weight, it's a great tool - powerful and productive - very rarely fails to drive a 90mm nail through two studs and bury the head.

However, this is my 2nd paslode im350 - I got the first one exchanged under warranty at Screwfix (without a fuss).

The first one developed an intermittent ignition that got steadily worse in its first few thousand nails (and annoyingly the fault mimics a gas cannister running out).

So I would buy from a reputable supplier.

There's now also a Hitachi clone of the IM350 that looks good (and takes the same ammo), but not tried it myself.

Obvious caveat - I'm sure you've thought about - beware of wild shots passing straight through fence paneling.

[Anna Kettle]

There is a technique to using my Paslode [1] and when I first got it I didnt have the technique so the Paslode jammed at the drop of a hat. If it is being hired out then there is no guarantee that the user has the technique and like me they may well curse and take it back to the shop

... Where they showed me the technique and the nailer has worked fine ever since. Technique is something better demonstrated than described but briefly the firing of each nail produces a sequence of three ?musical?! notes each of similar length

-Push against surface to start it up

-Squeeze to fire

-Release to recharge

I have never used any other nailers but Paslode are one of the most expensive nailers on the market [2] and are the nailer of preference on building sites so I suspect user error rather than nailer error

[1] Mine is the finishing nailer. The 250 perhaps (I cant be bothered to go and check) [2] and the only one for which stainless steel nails are available

[Dave]

I am only going to hire one for e the day.

Yes, that is my big concern, as the two of us putting the fence together will at either sides of it. I'll work out a safety routine once I speak to the hirer.

Dave