What to get a brad or finish nailer?

[Rick Gibson]

Will be installing new oak baseboards and molding in the house, never having used either brad or finish nailer before I was wondering which would be the best to use for this purpose. House is all plaster and lathe so will need to use a 2" brad or nail to do the job. I don't want to do it by hand because I know I will wind up with all these hammer dents in the new trim I just made.

Thanks for any feedback

Rick

[Wm Jones]

Do yourself a favor:

"The SENCO® SFN40 Finish Nailer sets the standard for pneumatic finish tools! This nailer enables the craftsman to produce high-quality work through such features as the adjustable depth-of-drive control, oil-free design, angled magazine, and no-mar pad. Built to exceed SENCO's proven standard of quality, it drives a wide range of true brad-head finish nails with virtually jam-free performance. The SFN40's lightweight, well-balanced construction, plus a comfort-grip handle, helps reduce fatigue and increase productivity."

[Leon]

I strongly suggest a Finish Nail gun over a brad gun especially when shooting long nails into Oak. The brad nailer will be nice later on for thinner pieces of wood.

[DJ Delorie]

Finish nails. IMHO brads are not structural! They should only be used for temporarily holding something until glue dries, or when you can't find a finish nail small enough.

[Rich]

Whatever you get just know that nailers don't always shoot the nail straight into your workpiece. There are times when the nail follows grain or whatever and comes out in a direction you don't expect. Moral of story is do your best to keep your free hand fingers just out of reach of the length of the nail if it comes out 45 or even 90 degrees from your intended direction.

Funny thing is I always do this...BUT one time I chanced it because of needing to press pieces together on some crown. It came out the front into my thumb. ouch.

Just FYI since you have not used these things before.

Sincerely, Rich

[Rick Gibson]

Thanks for the responses guys finish nailer it is. Now to hunt one down at a semi reasonable price here in Canada.

Thanks again.

Rick

[EvoDawg]

I just bought Porter Cable's combo package, it comes with an air compressor

130 psi and 2 nailers, one brad and one finish nailer. Both work great. I paid $299. for all three and I'm getting a 50.00 rebate back from PC. Think I did ok, but really didnt care at the time since I needed it.

Rich

[Ronald Murray]

Hello

I've been using a 18 gauge brad nailer for years to do trim & projects around the shop. Also a Porter Cable combo kit. Just with one nail gun. My question is , what is the difference between a brad nailer & finish nailer? Is it just the size of the brads? Thanks. ron

[TB]

Hey Rick...Senco SFN40 is the way to go. If you are close to the border your best bet is to go to the states. I live in Vancouver and I would just go down to Home Depot in Bellingham. Even with the exchange rate (which is a lot less now), gas, lunch, and G.S.T. at the border (Senco is U.S. made so no duty) it came out cheaper than buying it in Canada.

[Max Mahanke]

Your right, the difference between a brad and a finish nailer is the gauge of the brad/nail, 18/16 respectively. They both have square heads and you have to go to a 15 gauge to get a true round head nail. Always exceptions, Senco does an 18 gauge headless brad which is great for molding that your going to glue on - enough holding power for the glue to dry and a smaller hole to fill.

As far as lathe and plaster, I think I'd be more confident with the 16 gauge finish nailer. One caution however, if your shooting shoe molding, the finish nailer has a tendency to split the molding it you get too close to the end.