Nail gun to penetrate oak

[aaronfude]

Hi,

I had purchased an electrical gun with the idea of using it for making frames (while the glue is setting) and for other tasks. But I have found out that it penetrates oak only by about 1/2". Will a neumatic nail gun do a better job? What specs should I look at?

Thanks!

Aaron Fude

[RonB]

Qualified answer - yes.

However, I don't know what kind of gun you have and what size of nails you want to use.

My old Porter Cable 18 ga. Pneumatic has driven literally thousands of 1/2" to 2-1/4" brads. Mostly through Oak. That is what the pneumatic nailers are supposed to do.

RonB

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Any air driven gun will work. The electrics are, as you see, less than what you'd expect. Junk is a good term.

You can buy a small nailer and compressor as a kit. Porter Cable well as other have them.

[Toller]

If that is all you want it for, the little Senco is a sweet compressor; very quiet and light. Sadly, there is a price to that; it takes a while to inflate SUV tires with it.

[Pop`]

Here's a thought: If your'e using the nailer on an extension cord, try using the shortest one you possibly can. I thought something went wrong with mine for a bit, but it turned out it was the 50' of extension cord it didn't like (voltage drop). Moved close to an outlet & used a 3' cord, and it worked as I expected.

That said, there's not much can beat a pneumatic nailer. Most of the decent ones need about 90 psi to work to spec for the type you're looking for. For your purposes, you might want to look at "brad nailers" rather than plain "nailers". 18 Ga brads from about 5/8" to 1 1/2" are pretty readily available. Whatever you get, be sure it doesn't take a special "nail" or "brad" that you can't get elsewhere.

Pop`

[e-mail] wrote:

[Locutus]

I can vouch for this, my Arrow electric nailer works great when plug directly into an outlet, I can nail 1 1/4" brads into oak, even sets it. When using an extension cord it doesnt even sound right and barely drives the nail. I even had the same problem with one particular outlet....

[George Max]

you could buy a better extension cord too. There are cords made with larger gage wire. And they cost more too. Shocking, eh?

[Phisherman]

Yes, a pneumatic nailer will perform much better. A nailer does not require a large compressor--I've even used a portable 5 gallon tank when a few nails are needed.

[aaronfude]

Hi,

Thanks for all the responses!

Could someone describe the difference between a finish and a brad nailer?

Thanks!

Aaron Fude

[Vic Baron]

If you didn't shoot them with the nails you wouldn't have to keep filling them.

;)