Nail Gun advice - Please Advise

[ap]

hello all...

going to try do finish out my basement, and wanted to get a Framing Nail Gun. i know they're a bit expensive for a newbie like me, but i have a bulging disc in my back which means swinging a hammer in a non-straightforward way (like hammering at an angle, bent over) can cause my back to flare up and leave me unable to work on it at days at a time. so i need something easier to do the job and a nailer seemed like the logical choice. i thought about renting one, but it could take me months to do my basement and given the unpredictability of my back issue, i could end up paying more to rent it than to just buy one. plus, i figure the investment in the tools is worthwhile as well as being cheaper than paying someone to do the job,

so... enough of my health history...

what model(s) do you all recommend? it seems a i could get a Paslode Cordless Nailer for around $400 which seems like the easiest to use versus about $450 for a standard nail gun AND a compressor to provide the air.

ANY and ALL advice is welcome. i'm such a newbie at this, i want to get the right thing.

thanks!

ap

[Bob S.]

ap,

Save yourself a bunch of money and just use deck screws. A 3/8" good corded drill with some #2 bits and you're good to go. I've built 3 garden sheds from the ground up and the only nails were used on the siding. All the framing was done using screws. Easily reversible too, should you make a mistake.

Bob S.

[Stephen M]

"cordless" pasloads have their place.... Contractors who want to come in, do a small job (touch up something) and not have to drag around the compressor. I think you would be better served inveting in the compressor, which could be used to drive different sizes of guns (brads, finish).

I had a Porter Cable framing nailer, with a dual tank prter Cable compressor. I used it to build a 1600sf addition. Then I gave it to my brother-in-law (because he helped me ALOT, and he lost his engineering job and was playing contractor for the last year, and I didn't see myself using a framing gun any time in the foreseeable future). That compressor could have run two guns, so I overbought a bit there.

It was a good tool, maybe not up to the riggors of daily use for years. But I was very pleased with it for my use. I am satisfied that I got more than my +/- $400 worth out of it for that one big project.

I'm not sure that framing in some basement walls justifies the investment, but I, for one, will not stand in the way of tool purchase justifications. That said, the deck screw idea is not without merit if the scope of the project is faily modest.

-Steve

[Kevin DeVulder]

[DJ Delorie]

I built my kid's treehouse and parts of my shed with pocket screws. Get the big #10 "pocket max" screws which are designed for 2x construction. It takes a little longer, but it's a lot easier (effort-wise) and in some cases more precise (toenailing).

[Tom Kendrick]

There are decent framing nailers for around $200-$250 or less. No need to spend $450.

Small pancake compressors (though noisy) are available at reasonable prices as well. There may be a combo compressor+nailer available at a discount.

By selecting 1/4" air hose rather than 3/8" or 1/2", the weight of the hose is reduced quite a bit, sacrificing the ability to shoot nails quite as fast as you might like.

Once you have the compressor and hose, other nailers and staplers can use the same air source, should that be in your future.

Consider the following combo kit: Hitachi 725297 Framing Nailer with 2 HP Compressor Combo Kit

I have this nailer and compressor, though I did not buy them together. They work very well.

[Wes Stewart]

On 7 Jan 2004 05:53:08 -0800, [e-mail] (ap) asked for advice

I can't give you any advice but I would like to thank you for knowing the difference between "advice" and "advise."

[ap]

I'm not sure that framing in some basement walls justifies the investment,

good advice as is the screw driver idea. what size/brand compressor should i look at. considerations:

1) will it do the job 2) price 3) noise (have a newborn in the house)

[Jay Chan]

I agree with the other newsgroup member suggestion of using metal studs and screws. This is much easier to screw the metal frame together than trying to sort of "toe-nail" the screw in an angle to secure a wooden frame. And you don't need to worry about if a wood stud is not straight or insects damage.

I have a limited experience with using metal studs when I was working for a part time job. And I found them to be easy to work with. Later on when I finished my basement, I used wood studs, and I didn't like that.

Jay Chan

[Brian Sack]

I am about 80% done with a 2000 SF basement finishing project, and decided to use wood studs because they are much easier to frame around obstacles, support beams, windows, and so forth. I suggest a good quality pneumatic framing nailer (Porter Cable, for example) with at least a 3 HP compressor. I put the compressor in the garage and ran

1/2" copper tubing for air into the basement (could have used hose for a more temporary arrangement). I think you'll find the investment worthwhile. The framing nailer needs to be close to commercial quality because it will get a lot of abuse. The compressor will have lots of uses. For trim and lighter work, I've purchased foreign-made brad and trim nailers from Harbor Freight, and they've worked just fine.

For what it's worth..... BPS of Wad>hello all...

[Stephen M]

Driving nails is the LEAST demanding job for a compressor.... Bottom end will do you just fine. a $100 pancake jobbie will do what you need.

Above.

Well, that's a problem. I'm no guru, but my understanding is that you have to get into the 220V 2-stage monsters before they get quiet (that's just whole different class of machine).

Even if you could put the compressor outside and run the air line in a window, The guns are kind of loud.

You can mitigate the noise problem, but not eliminate it.

[Larry C]

If you want to go the nail route, I'd recommend an air compressor over the Paslode. Sounds like you're a DIYer and have a whole basement to finish plus who knows what other projects are in store for you. With the compressor you can buy lots of other air tools down the road like a finish nailer to install the trim.

With that said, framing nailers are big and not very light. Simulate using one before buying. Get down low to simulate some toenailing at the floor then do the same over your head for the ceiling. I think you'll find it's not that easy on your back.

Bob's suggestion to use screws sounds like a pretty good idea to me. You can buy a nice screw gun for $100-150. I find a screw gun is surprisingly nicer to use than a drill/driver for driving screws. I didn't expect there to be that much difference, but I bought one anyway because I had to screw down a plywood floor. I figured for the number of screws I had to use if there was any improvement in the gun over my drill/driver it would be worth it. Well, I really like the screw gun!

[Greg G.]

If you are into woodworking, I would go for a compressor type. You may then use the air for brad nailers, blow guns, finish sprayers, filling your bicycle and car tires, etc. The cordless/airless nailers are heavier than the air powered types.

I have a Senco FramePro, it works fine. It's a little on the unwieldy side if you have to hold it above your head and fire nails all day, but overall I like it. I got it to speed the replacement of a termite infested portion of the walls and roof of our house. I got a free FinishPro15 brad nailer with mine, and it's a nice piece as well. It toe-nails fine, a heck of a lot faster than hand nailing, just remove the pad from the tip so that the teeth can dig into the wood for proper placement of the nail. You may have to hand finish driving a nail or two, but overall, it saved a bunch of time. It shows no signs of quitting, and should have a nice long life expectancy if taken care of properly.

Never fire it towards yourself, and always have a controlled grip on these things. Unless you replace the trigger mech with a sequential fire trigger, you can fire a nail through your head if you're not careful. They tend to bounce when firing, and if your don't have a good, controlled grip on them, they can bounce and fire another nail, so be careful if you are not familiar with their use.

There are 1001 uses for the air from a compressor for a woodworker.

FWIW,

Greg G.