First Nailer?

[FMB]

I'm looking for advice on what nailer(s) I should consider for my shop (aka garage). After a DAGS, I came up with

or (if you like the longer version). It is an almost 4 year old discussion about nailers and I would like some more up to date discussion.

Although I am not new to woodworking or carpentry, I don't have a lot of experience in either and would class myself between a beginner and intermediate. I work in my garage. I have a Delta cabinet TS (X5), 13" planer, good router and a good compressor.

My near future building plans include a Router Table, bathroom cabinet, laundry room cabinet, replace all kitchen cabinets (oak) and then off to furniture after all that.

So, I guess I'm looking for brad and pin nailers? What guage would be better/best? I don't have an unlimited budget, but I don't plan on spending just $40 bucks either.

[Andy Dingley]

[Robert Galloway]

I've had a PC BN200 for several years now. I plan to augment it one day with a couple of sizes larger and a size smaller (15 ga finish nails and pins plus a round head nailer). I have no complaints about the 18ga x 2 inch nailer. For my use, it's been the best compromise first nialer. Good for applying molding, tacking things in place while glue dries, slapping together storage boxes and drawers. From your description of your near term projects, I'd think this model or equivalent would serve you well.

bob g.

FMB wrote:

[FMB]

Thanks, Andy, and you are very correct. I do have several of those though, and would like a pneumatic nailer or two. I should have been more specific.

[Mike]

PC, DeWalt, Bostitch are all good....and half a dozen others too :-) ..in fact I think it is like most of the other tools, you can't really go wrong with the big brand (DeWalt, PC, Makita, Paslode, Senco, Bostitch ...) I have the PC BN200....the Bostitch SX150 stappler....I like the Bostich very much...oilfree and jam free design...rear exhaust...If I had to buy a nailer I would buy the Bostitch... my 2 cents...

[Andy Dingley]

But why ? They're expensive, heavy, fussy on what size of nail they use and I still fail to see what benefit they deliver. I use plenty of air tools that do things I can't do by hand, but hammering nails in is easy (if not easier) to do manually. What's this big thing for nailers? -- I'm still not getting it

[cm]

Your sure not going to talk me out of my nailers.

cm

[Edwin Pawlowski]

If you're happy with your hammers I'm happy for you; I'd bet than nothing we do or say will convince you otherwise.

Some of us have automatic transmissions, microwaves, clothes dryers, and electric lights. None of them are needed, but we like having them anyway. We (in the US) even have Daylight Savings Time and it saves neither daylight nor time.

But it is still neat just to pull that trigger and Wham!. nail is set. ;)

[Ba r r y]

I find air nailers to be GREAT for finish carpentry. Never again a half moon on the molding! For that, you'll need a 15 ga. finish nailer, angled tips are best. For quickly assembling jigs, backs on cabinets, etc... An 18 ga. brad nailer is good.

I don't usually use nails in fine furniture, and there isn't a reason to in typical kitchen or bathroom cabinetry.

I have a Senco 15 ga., and Porter Cable 16 and 18 ga. nailers. The 16 is kind of an orphan, it came in a kit with a compressor and the 18 ga. brad nailer.

Barry

[jo4hn]

They are certainly not required for woodworking. Indeed I use very few if any nails even for furniture. Carpentry is another story. There is nothing like a nailer for delivering a fastener to and out of the way place or any time that swinging a hammer is problematic. Just depends upon the use, I guess. mahalo, jo4hn

[Andy Dingley]

Yeah, but you're only holding things while the glue dries

[Nova]

My finish nailer sure came in handy lately when I had to toe-nail some window trim through the top of the trim into the header and there was only

3" (76.2 millimeters) between the top of the trim and the ceiling.

-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

[Bill Wallace]

Go for an 18ga Brad nailer. Make sure you get one that shots from

5/8-2" or 2"+. Some lower cost options only do 3/4" or only go up to 1 1/4".

I've found the 5/8" to be important. You may end up wioth applications such as lapping to pieces of 3/4" stoc with rabbits or dados, etc and only have 3/4 total material to join and the 5/8" is cool.

At the upper end 1 1/4" should be OK because you might be shooting through 3/4and that alows you to shoot into another piece of 3/4" without shooting through. However, I often find I have some lap situation where I have 1/4" ply over 3/4" stocck and want to shoot al the way through both and 1 1/4" won't do it. Also toe nailing or shootoing up through crown molding can require more than 1 1/4" also.

The PC is probably the most common but I've personnaly had some problems with them. Senco is much quieter and "I think" does a better job. Recently one of the wood mags reviewed about 20 different models and Paslode was the one that impressed me the most. I'd buy either Senco or Paslode (if you can find it).

Keep in mind, brad nailers are typically used in conjunction with gluing applications. If you are looking to do nailing only type applications, then I would go up to a 15ga finish nailer.

[mp]

Try putting up a few hundred feet of crown moulding with a nailer and you may change your mind.

[Adam Diehl]

I have yet to hit my thumb with my brad nailer. My hammer, on the other hand...

-AD

[patriarch]

Adam Diehl wrote in news:rbQsd.1727$ [e-mail]:

I DID get my ring finger with a 2" 18ga brad, when doing trim moulding for my wife's den. Bled some, bruised more, pierced the nail from the fingerprint side. Healed in a month. Made for a story at work for a while.

I had my hand in the wrong place, and the brad seemed to have hit a framing nail. If I had been shooting the 1 1/4" brads that were in the other nailer, and were sufficient for the task, I would have not had any problem.

My PC's are fine. The compressor is pretty loud, though. What Bill said about the glue is true, though.

Patriarch

[mac davis]

only ONE???

[mac davis]

I'll step up and admit that I have 2 extremely inexpensive 18 gauge brad drivers from HF... the 1st one worked so well, I went and got another one when they went on sale.. nice to have different size brads ready for things like drawers, where I'm using 1 1/4 brads on the sides but that would be over kill on the bottoms.. so the other gun has 1/2" in it..

[Andy Dingley]

If you did though....

As to the "hundreds of feet of crown moulding" - well, I know a few people round here do this regularly, and they're the ones who have a good use for a pneumatic tool. For the rest of us though ? Last time I did crown moulding it was in tens of feet, not hundreds, and I still preferred the convenience of a hammer.

[Andy Dingley]

Now don't be silly !

I think there's about 50 hammers or mallets in the workshop. Admittedly most of those are for sheetmetalworking, which uses _lots_ of different hammers.