Why are electric nailer underpowered?

[peter]

I'm shopping for an electric brad nail gun and found only a few models available. On many reviews I read, a commom complaint is underpower. These nail guns all have the same design: a large electric magnet that is energized by the trigger and pulls a hammer to drive the nail.

Does it have to be this way? Why not use an electric motor to wind up a large spring to drive the nail, or spin up a flywheel and then use the flywheel to drive the nail? The idea is to build up potential energy and then release it in a hurry. You can make the nailer as powerful as any air tool this way. The down side is the user have to wait a second or two between each nail, but that is still better than having to get a hammer to drive in the rest of the nail.

A compressor and air tool requires more storage space and is more cubersome to setup. A compact solution, even if expensive, is still useful.

[EXT]

Saw a TV program about an electric powered (can't remember the brand) nailer that repeatedly hammered the nails in, much like one would do with a manual hammer. It would hammer quickly taking about a second to complete the job. You had to hold it in position until it was finished. Possibly it never made it to the market.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

The size and weight is going to be much greater that the present crappy nailers. A pro is still going for the air and the speed and power and most amateurs won't pay the price for a serious gun, if at all possible and practical to build. .

OTOH, if you have a viable design, make on up and sell the idea to the big companies and become rich.

[lp13-30]

I have a Passlode Impulse framing nailer that I love, and just bought a finish nailer of the same design. They use a small gas (Mapp gas?) cylinder and drive the nail with with a piston that is powered by an explosion from a spark plug firing a gas charge. Check them out. I know HD has them. I got mine from pawn shops though. Actually,I think HD rents them too. Larry

[SteveB]

I have NEVER yet seen in my life an electric nailer of ANY size or electric stapler that was worth a shit. Air is the only way to go, and the inconvenience far outweigh the poor performance of electrics.

Bought a Porter Cabler 2.5" air nailer at a pawn shop the other day for $40 to do a bunch of baseboard and door casings. What a breeze! And with the variety of lengths of nails, I have many projects to use it on.

Steve

["Blattus Slaf]

Isn't the impact force adjustable? Different woods require different force. It's nuts if they are not adjustable.

[HeyBub]

I've found my Arrow electric stapler works swell for putting up posters on bulletin boards.

[DerbyDad03]

re: I've found my Arrow electric stapler works swell for putting up posters on bulletin boards.

I've found my *thumb* works swell for putting up posters on bulletin boards.

That should tell you something about the impact force of an Arrow electric stapler.

[Chris Lewis]

According to peter :

No, it doesn't have to be that way, but the alternatives are going to be heavier, much more complicated, more prone to failure, and probably cost a lot more. Not a good recipe for the DIYer, and, after watching pros "bounce nail" stuff, I know they aren't going to touch 'em, because recovery time is _much_ too slow.

For small guns (eg: 18ga brad nailers), you don't need much of a compressor. A tankless would be adequate in some cases, a very small tank-type would be fine. Heck, a car tire compressor and an airpig is enough if you can do the fittings right.

Or buy a "cordless nailer", like Paslode, Hitachi, Porter Cable or Dewalt. "Look ma, no hoses OR wires!"

Senco apparently makes a clockwork spring unit which you have to crank.

See

Still best for relatively slow low volume applications.