Senco finish nailer problem solved

[Ivan Vegvary]

Sorry about the this new post. Previous post was high jacked by too many a rguments.

Issue: 2" nails not (never) set below surface. Answer: Bought a 2 gallon bucket of finish nails (various lengths) at a ga rage sale ($5) some years back. Said nails got mixed in with my new "Porte r Cable" brand nails. Look almost identical. On closer examination I find the the 'no brand' nails are slightly fatter than the "Porter Cable". Did not 'mike' the diameters, but, comparing clips, 12 "porter cable" nails ta ke up the same amount of space as 9 of the 'no brand' nails. No wonder the gun would not fire about one out of four times. Had to open the gun and m anually push the nails ahead for the next shot. Learned my lesson. Brand name fasteners only from now on.

Ivan Vegvary

[Leon]

FWIW , finish nails come in at least two different gauges, 15 and 16 gauge being the most common. So be aware that you can also buy the wrong size "name brand" and continue to have problems. My particular Senco angle finish nailer uses 15 gauge nails, larger diameter than the 16 gauge.

My Senco gun has never had anything but Senco nails shot through it. I have probably had two misfires since I have owned it. My Bostitch framer has only had generic nails shot through it an I have never had a misfire with it. Same goes for my Craftsman brad nailer, and HF stapler. Grex pinner had an o-ring go bad and would misfiire but that was a simple at home fix. Senco palm nailer, well anything goes. :-;

While most brand name nails work better than no name, buying the incorrect size will cause more problems than using a no name brand..

Good catch!

[dpb]

I think the lesson you're describing you learned isn't the right one, though--the problem is likely not what brand the others were but that they are 15 ga and your nailer needs/is made for 16 ga

IOW, in the right nailer, the others will also work almost certainly as well as will other brands of the proper size/angle in yours.

A ratio of 12/9 seems large, though, altho given that you say you didn't actually measure the shank it's possible the head spacing inflates the actual shank dimension ratio.

Nail use the SWG (Standard Wire Gage) for which a small subset is

Ga dia (in)

15 0.0720 16 0.0625 17 0.0540 18 0.0475

15 ga is equivalent to a 4D standard finish nail, generally, altho I've seen some recent imports that are smaller.

[Leon]

Actually the 16 gauge finish nail guns have been around a relative long time, I had the choice of 15 or 16, 20+ years ago. Almost every brand offers both.

Some manufacturers consider 18 gauge to be finish nail size. Comparing

18 to 16 gauge the 12/9 ratio would be "about" right.

As for head spacing, all of the finish nails and brads that I have used and or seen are glued next to each other, the heads in one dimension are the same width of the nail. Typically only large headed nails, like framing and or roofing nails, are spaced apart from each other.

I would think that he probably had some, more commonly referred to, 18 gauge brad nails mixed in the batch.

[dpb]

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Yes; I'm well aware of that--I was relating back to a standard 4D finish nail for comparison purposes for OP....

I thought about the 18ga brads as well, but that just seemed too big a stretch to have not noticed a priori...I looked but never did see that OP gave what the actual gun he has is for actual lookup.

[steve robinson]

Most brand name nails are made in the same manufacturing plants as the unbranded .

All the major tool manufacturers subcontract out the fixings

[dpb]

On 2/16/2013 10:13 AM, dpb wrote: ...

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Actually, if that is the case and he really does have an 18 ga brad nailer, that would go a long ways to explaining his earlier thread on shooting baseboard...

[Leon]

I would not doubt that for a moment. The only reasonable possible problem with a no name over a name brand in the same brand tool is the no name not having the right specs for that particular gun. This is especially true with nails that are attached to each other at an angle.

[Leon]

AND... ;~) I mentioned that these style nails have heads in one dimension equal to the width of the nail. That is not entirely true.

Take my gun for instance, duh! It has an angled magazine. The nails are stair stepped at an angle and the heads hang over the nail on 3 sides. The 4th side is flush with the side of the nail so that they can all be glued to each other.

[Leon]

Thank goodness we have discussed every aspect of what did not happen. ;~)

[nailshooter41]

LMAOF!!!

I might have complicated my response earlier. I completely take for granted that folks will put the right nails in the right guns.

OTOH, there are a lot of folks in China making nails these days, and the only way you will get nails or brads made with the quality control needed to make the gun shoot consistently and reliably are the brand named nails. The have real quality control and require a better product for their name.

When I go get nails or brads at Texas Tool and Fastener (I think you have those in Houston) one trip I will buy Spotnails brand. Then the next trip, the only brand they have in the store in the fast moving sizes is Senco. Sometimes it is Bostitch. Other times it is Palode. I never know, but I only buy brand names and can shoot several hundred through my guns (roofing guns, maybe a few thousand) without a hitch.

The guns you buy are important too, as some are just more picky than others. Top guns on my list these days are Bostitch and Hitachi in their industrial line. I can shoot any brand (of the correct gauge!) of nail that will fit in the guns.

Robert

[Leon]

Hey! We have had several Texas tool traders in Houston and for many years. AAMOF that is where I bought my nails for the Bostich framer when I lived in the other house, the store was a 5 minute walk away. Who knows what brand but that store moved tons, pallet loads, of nails. I never went into that store and did not see a dolly loaded down with boxed nails going out the door. I truly believe that nails was 90% of their business.

No doubt about the origin although IIRC Senco still claims American built. I was often suspect at to who who was really building the guns when PC and Milwaukee suddenly had a full line of nailers. Compressors are like that.

I can shoot any brand (of the correct gauge!)

Now your lern'n. G, D, & R'n

[dpb]

On 2/16/2013 3:33 PM, Leon wrote: ...

Which is why I figure it is _possible_ it could be a factor in his comparison...

[nailshooter41]

Along with the fact that some angle nailers are different in their "angle". I have an old 15 ga angle nailer that shoots one angle, and my newer Bostitch that shoots nails glued at another. They will fit in the magazine, and since there is only a >>5

[Leon]

But still those nails bodies are glued right next to each other with no gaps. The angled stair step orientation allows for the head to be wider on three sides.

[dpb]

It all depends on how he laid 'em out together...