Grex P635 Pinner first impressions

[Leon]

Thank you Swingman for tossing the bait and setting the hook.

With that out of the way, I added another nail gun to my collection. I have used Swingman's Omer pinner and was pleasantly surprised as to how quiet and non eventful a pinner works. So I bought one that was a little cheaper. I went with the Grex P635. Several WW magazines had reviewed the unit and gave it high marks. Before purchasing I e-mailed Grex on 2 occasions for information and for locations of local retail stores. I got an e-mail answer both times within 24 hours. I ended up purchasing the pinner from Thefastenercompany.com . They offered the pinner plus 1,000 pins in every one of the 9 sizes that the pinner will shoot + shipping for just under $220. Fortunately the The Fastener Company also offers Grex pins in broken pack quantities of 1,000 for under $2 in case 10,000 pins are a bit too many. With the sample packs supplied I will be able to determine which sizes best suite my needs in a more economic fission.

The pinner is brightly colored so you will not loose it in the shop. Larger then the Omer brand pinner but smaller than the typical brad nailer, the fit and finish is perfect with no plastic that I noticed except on the trigger and rear of the magazine This unit comes with 2 protective tips that prevent the small dents that some guns leave behind and the plastic tips have alignment marks on all 4 sides to help put the pin exactly where you want it. The exhaust is at the rear at the hose nipple and has a muffler for quiet operation. Common tool storage is located at the rear end of the magazine along with storage for an extra plastic tip.

The pinner easily shoots a 1-3/8" pin through oak. The Grex pins appear to have a glue coating that seems to give a bit more grip to the pins. Shooting 3, 1/2" pins to connect 2 pieces of 1/4" x 3/4" x 5" into a "T" configuration with the 3/4" sides flat against each other resulted in a very tight and snug connection. With more than reasonable effort I was unable to change the orientation of the 2 pieces by squeezing the pieces in my hand. Add a little glue to the mix and I suspect the wood would break before the joint.

The gun comes in a very nice small case and the Grex pins come in small plastic boxes that strongly remind me of miniature Festool Systainer boxes. ;~)

[Lee Michaels]

"Leon" wrote

Soon Swingman will have you playing the bass.

Thanks for the Pinner review.

[nailshooter41]

LMAO.... no kiddin' !!!

Sounds like you got winner. I have wanted a pinner, but put it off as I don't always need one. I am sure if I get one I will use it a lot more than I am thinking I would now, but other priorities call.

Good review!

Robert

[Robatoy]

I'll second that.

[Swingman]

I was surprised how many uses I've found for mine, including as bait. ;)

The Omer PR18 I have only shoots to 11/16" pins, and is kind of pricey being handmade/fitted, but I've been real happy with it and have not found a need for longer 23ga pins. Still, it's nice to have more options for a few dollars less with the Grex, which is probably what I would get were I to do it again.

[Lee Michaels]

Careful there Swingman. The stockholders may find out and end a good thing.

You are right though. It does take an extraordinary amount of wisdom and smarts to make high quality products for a reasonable price.

[Swingman]

Apparently the Grex Tool Company has found a way to make top notch products in Taiwan without succumbing to the temptation to cheapen them so management can afford more swimming pool chemicals.

Either there is not an MBA in the house, or one who has more than his/her share of uncommon sense, along with a remarkable lack of greed?

[Leon]

I have needed one 5 times since mid December. I used Swingman's in December and then I could have used it on 3 other jobs and then there is the 1/4" quarter round molding that I need to attach to my wife's kitchen cabinets in about 4 places. I bought it to aid in making small boxes that use 1/4" box joints. I hate clamping small Box Joints and the pinner should do the trick of replacing the clamps TTGD.

[Robatoy]

I recall clearly that Made In Japan meant crap. I guess we all know what happened there. I recall clearly that Made In Taiwan meant crap. I guess we all know what is in the process of happening now.

I took a look at a client's Hundai a while back. Nothing like the pure unadulterated shit it once was. Looked solid, felt solid, sounded solid..it felt somewhat european...No idea on durability. Obviously the Koreans have a mandate. I sell a lot of Staron solid surface, fabulous quality (Samsung)

Just wait till China gets the kinks worked out... you might as well bulldoze all of Detroit and start over (not a bad idea now in some parts)

And as long as the dollar remains meaningful on the world markets......naaaa... different topic.

[Robatoy]

You're right. I was talking about the "Apparently the Grex Tool Company has found a way to make top notch products in Taiwan " I was commenting on the fact that they're perfectly capable of making good stuff in Taiwan. You were commenting on the fact that they indeed can, but that the likes of Delta and ilk don't for greedy reasons. Elu meant something...till it became DeWalt. B&D? Fuhgeddabouddit. Delta? Meh.

There's a famous story around these parts about a pizza joint. They weren't selling much because people around here thought they were cheap with their pepperoni and cheese. In order to try to stay in business, the pizza joint started cutting back on their .....you guessed it....pepperoni and cheese. Porter Cable production routers? For that kinda money? What opened my eyes, was this coincidence of two PC routers STB (shit the bed) within a couple of weeks from each other. Similar issues with bearings. One of the two was 15 years older.

Some companies get ahead by constantly improving their products. Other by playing the 'dummies will buy anything' card. When I look at a Skil or B&D piece, I feel insulted.

[B A R R Y]

You should see some of the higher-end bicycle parts now coming out of China.

[Swingman]

With the rest (the pertinent part) of the sentence not snipped, you can see that you are not talking about the same thing:

"... without succumbing to the temptation to cheapen them so management can afford more swimming pool chemicals"

I'm talking about _deliberately_ cutting back on quality, a la Delta and PC, with "price point" engineering on already established products that were once some the best in the world, but are now crap.

That's going backwards, not forward.

[Upscale]

I guess our only choice is to get enough people to band together and ask Veritas tools to start manufacturing power tools. Considering the business that Lee Valley Tools is in and the reputation that LV has, I've always wondered why they haven't made any forays into the power tools market.

Robin?

[Chris Friesen]

Likely too expensive. Also lots more parts than hand tools so they'd probably have to farm it out.

It'd be sweet though. How about a circular saw with built-in dust collection and an optional factory kit to turn it into a vertical panel saw?

Chris

[Leon]

While my previous nail gun purchase was not really mentioned in this forum, may I say again, thanks for the help and insight that you provided to me concerning the framing nail gun purchase. It met my expectations and was much cheaper than what I expected to pay. It made the last out door job cheaper and more enjoyable.

[Leon]

Naw, Swingman plays bass. ;~)

And you are most welcome.