Brad nailer - 18 ga. big enough?

[Larry Jaques]

Uh, Leon. Josepi is a troll. PDFTFT.

[Larry Jaques]

I happily shop both Wally World and Harbor Fright without disguises, you total _wuss_, you.

[Josepi]

I was thinking the same thing about Sybil here.

PDFTFT

[Leon]

I need some advice about a pneumatic brad nailer. I've never had one, and they look like they would be a real help when the guys on TV use them. Question #1: Is an eighteen gauge nailer what I want? I will be building a bookcase/desk out of ¾? plywood (to be painted) and I'll be using the nailer to attach trim around the top, and to put on the backs of the bookcases (½? plywood). Not sure just yet if I will use it for the shelves, but I'm pretty sure I won't ? they will probably be adjustable.

You reread it, I reposted it above for your convenience.

I think a finish nailer would be a moronic exageration for any of the above.

[Leon]

Yeah, I am starting to realize this, I certainly hope he never has any thing of value to say as I am going to miss it.

[Josepi]

I guess you don't take Doug's orders very well either. tisk..tisk.. Your latest posts have been so valuable. Now remember you didn't see this.

LOL

[Jack Stein]

I recently bought the 18g pin nailer/stapler from HF

rarely had a need for an air nailer in my shop, or a stapler, but have always wanted one for just what you are wanting to do. I read in here all about the HF stuff, some good, some bad. My brother bought the above nailer for some bee hives he was making, and a friend of his recommended the HF. I told him I had read (here) they were ok, but don't get the combo. He said he had no problems with it... so, I bought one.

When I got it home, I tested it out, first shooting some 1 3/16 pin nails... Worked fine. Then, put in stables and it jammed... I though damn, this sucks, but when I cleared the jam, it was a pin and a staple that jammed, and apparently, when I removed the nails, I left one in the firing mechanism, and the staple and pin both fired at once, jamming the gun. Since then, I've only used it a few times, about 500 pins and no jamming.

18g is skinny and won't split much of anything. I first built a bird house and bird feeder ( only thing I could think of other than trim I'd use a nailer for) and I shot pins into the edges of 3/8" lumber and no splits. More of a problem is pins shooting out the sides if it hits something like a knot, or your aim is not straight.

The pins hold fairly well, the bird stuff I used no glue, and they feel solid. Other than that, the pins are way too weak for anything structural. They would be good for nailing backs on cabinets.

As far as pinning until the glue dries... nah, I like clamps. Nails require putty, something I avoid as much as possible. A more appropriate use would be nailing a template, say for a shaper or bandsaw pattern.

If I don't buy any air nailer,

I never glue on a back, always just use nails. Perfect use for a pin nailer.

but a pneumatic nailer would make the job a whole lot easier.

Yes, unless you manage to shoot a nail out the side, or get a jam...

I bought 1 3/16th pins, figuring I could pin 2 3/4" boards together.

Staples are used for lots of stuff. I bought 1/2" and will probably need longer ones. Haven't used the stapler yet, other than to test it out.

I would definitely buy the HF stapler/nailer combo above for intermittent use in a home shop. If you do it for a living, say a trim carpenter, you would not be asking:-)

I liked it so much, I built a $50 case to store it in.

[Jack Stein]

I generally agree with you but there are a lot of exceptions. The HF air nailer is one of them if you are a cabinet maker. Personally, I would rather go to a bar and have a beer than nail the shit out of everything like Norm does on TV. He pins everything after slopping on a bottle of glue. I like to clamp things, using just enough glue. This means I don't really NEED a pin nailer much and will not likely EVER wear out my HF nailer, although it might rust some between uses.

Here is another exception, imo:

is a HF ratchet clamp. Is it junk, yep, but for a few bucks it's a great deal, particularly since I know exactly what about it is junk, (couple of plastic parts in the handle) and that I can quickly and easily refurbish it so it is not junk, and for the cost of one machine screw and some glue I have a clamp that does everything I expect for next to nothing so I could buy 20 of them for the price of one or two top dollar clamps.

Another exception, on the other end, is Festool stuff. Is it good, I reckon it is, but at what a cost? Do I really need to spend $800 on a Festool Router?

Lastly, if you don't own and use a HF nail gun, you probably shouldn't argue with people that do own one.

[tiredofspam]

I paid $1.99 for that same clamp. A couple were no good and had to be exchanged, but for a $1.99 I felt it was worth the risk.

I have both porter cable and HF nailers and staplers. The porter cable are good, but overpriced after using the HF. My HF have performed well.

I am glad I finally took the plunge on them. I kept buying the more expensive nailers and staplers.

[Jack Stein]

Same here, except instead of exchanging the clamp, I took the handle apart to see what broke.

One broke when the cheap ass plastic pin the trigger rotated on broke. I drilled a hole through the handle and the trigger and put in a flat head machine screw. Will not break now and works great.

Next, there is a cheesy plastic rocker that pushes the clamp along the metal bar. This is not supported and will also break. I super glued it back on, and piled up some glue behind the plastic tab to give it additional support. This seems to have worked OK. I keep telling my self to do this to my unbroken clamps to prevent it from breaking to begin with... maybe tomorrow...

Both these issues are designed into the clamp and would have increased the cost of the clamp by about two cents to do it right.