2" Brad Nailer Suggestions

[Mike Goetzke]

My probably 25+ year old P-C 1-1/4" just failed. Good excuse to get the 2" nailer I've been wanting. Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Peter_C]

What gauge do you want? What battery platform are your cordless tools?

If it were me I would buy a Milwaukee Gen 2 in the size I needed. No air hose and no noisy compressor.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

18GA. And I have many Makita batteries.

Thanks

 

[James Carriere]

I'm in love with my 18ga. Omer brad nailer.  Never a misfire and consistent depth.  I went for the version with the metal magazine.  They make a slightly less expensive version with a plastic magazine, but, come on, it's plastic.

 

[Alanbach]

Don’t get me wrong, I love my Milwaukee M18 stuff and I have heard good things about their Gen 2 nailers but I use a Porter Cable BN200C and it is great. I don’t know if Makita has cordless brad nailers or if they are solid. The PC is $50 at Home Depot. If you are already set up for using compressed air for nail guns and you don’t mind that then I don’t think that you can go wrong with the BN 200C, not for $50. I had to replace mine recently and going with the BN200 allowed me to not have to replace all of the nails I already had. For $50 I will probably pick up a spare soon because they don’t make em’ like they used to.

 

[Rob Z]

Hey Alan, the advantage is in TX [big grin]  That PC is ~$70 here.  My mid-90's Bostitch brad nailer is leaking air and I'm sure it's about to croak. It will be interesting to see if I can get parts for it. [scared]

 

[semenza]

The Bostitch  Smart Point replaced my old PC . I like it a lot. The smart point feature is really nice and is not a gimmicky thing. Very narrow nose and the safety mechanism is "reversed" so that you don't have to push down. Rear exhaust too.

Seth

 

[Peter_C]

The Bostitch  Smart Point replaced my old PC . I like it a lot. The smart point feature is really nice and is not a gimmicky thing. Very narrow nose and the safety mechanism is "reversed" so that you don't have to push down. Rear exhaust too.

Seth

I have three Bostitch guns and have purchased 2 triggers for them, and one rebuild kit. In hard woods (Think hickory hard) they won't always sink deep enough. They are okay, but if I had to replace them with pneumatic it would be a Grex. At this point though I plan to switch to battery as mine fail again. Really who wants to listen to a compressor kicking on and off? My home compressor is big and LOUD, and my portable California Air Tools compressor is just one more bulky item to move around.

 

[semenza]

The Bostitch  Smart Point replaced my old PC . I like it a lot. The smart point feature is really nice and is not a gimmicky thing. Very narrow nose and the safety mechanism is "reversed" so that you don't have to push down. Rear exhaust too.

Seth

I have three Bostitch guns and have purchased 2 triggers for them, and one rebuild kit. In hard woods (Think hickory hard) they won't always sink deep enough. They are okay, but if I had to replace them with pneumatic it would be a Grex. At this point though I plan to switch to battery as mine fail again. Really who wants to listen to a compressor kicking on and off? My home compressor is big and LOUD, and my portable California Air Tools compressor is just one more bulky item to move around.

Which gun models?  About how many brads before the triggers went?

I have two of the 18ga Smart Point probably not more than 500 brads each, but no trouble so far.

Seth

 

[Peter_C]

Which gun models?  About how many brads before the triggers went?

I have two of the 18ga Smart Point probably not more than 500 brads each, but no trouble so far.

Seth

Honestly I have no idea how many nails have been shot. Not as many as a production shop, since mine are mostly used for trimming, baseboard, crown, etc. Age is probably the bigger enemy of the o-ring seals.

I do like the Smart Point 18g I have and it does far better sinking nails than my older 15g. Triggers are a common failure on Bostitch guns but fortunately they take about 1 minute to change and cost under $15. Rebuild kits are little more, and it takes a little while to clean and rebuild one. Pretty simple design though. Bostitch was the leader for a long time for good reason, their guns work. My Bostitch floor stapler has never let me down, but I don't do flooring for anyone but myself and family.

Also bought a Ridgid framing nailer with a defective trigger, and post $10 repair it has served me well for years.

At a tool event I did get to play with the Makita Pinner and was impressed by it.

 

[JimD]

I've put over 10,000 `18 gauge 2 inch long brads through my Ryobi 18V so far.  Works great.  I've redone all the molding in my current house with it plus work in a previous house.  (I use a 23 gauge for returns and a 15 gauge for window stools too).  I've used a DeWalt a little and it seems to work fine. 

 

[Banana]

Very pricey but I absolutely love my Grex GC1850 cordless.  The design is going on 5 years old (or more) but I still vastly prefer it over any newer cordless brad gun.  If it matters they also make a branded systainer.

 

[CeeJay]

I built a shed and a garage extension using my AEG 18V 16ga nailer. It’s been excellent. Very robust and reliable over the last 2 years.

Combined with the Makita 23ga pinner I have all the nailers I need.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[yetihunter]

Omer for pneumatic.
But it’s the future so get a cordless Hitachi (or Hikoki/Metabo HPT).  I have a lot of Makita batteries and I avoided the Makita brad nailer.

I built a shed and a garage extension using my AEG 18V 16ga nailer. It’s been excellent. Very robust and reliable over the last 2 years.

Combined with the Makita 23ga pinner I have all the nailers I need.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

OP is in the USA so allow me to translate:

CeeJay built a garage and extension using his Home Depot Exclusive Ridgid 18-Volt Cordless Brushless HYPERDRIVE 16-Gauge 2-1/2 in. Straight Finish Nailer. 

The Ridgid, Milwaukee and Ryobi are blood kin and they’re birds of the Hitachi’s feather.
Dewalt/Bostich/Craftsman/Porter Cable are the less satisfying flywheel.

 

[Holzhacker]

My question would be is this for nice finish work or job site work?
Finish work I'd get another Grex
Job site work I'd probably just buy whatever combo pack HD has on special right now.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

The Bostitch  Smart Point replaced my old PC . I like it a lot. The smart point feature is really nice and is not a gimmicky thing. Very narrow nose and the safety mechanism is "reversed" so that you don't have to push down. Rear exhaust too.

Seth

Thanks for all the replies - I ended up purchasing this Bostitch Smart Point was about $70 locally.

 

[Banana]

I remember clicking an ad a while back for these Bostitch guns and noting they were oil free.  I really liked that about my old Senco XP’s (pre-red paint) and they held up great.  That light push tip seems like it would be hard to go back to using anything else once you’ve used it for a while.  You should follow up with your impressions.

 

[semenza]

I remember clicking an ad a while back for these Bostitch guns and noting they were oil free.  I really liked that about my old Senco XP’s (pre-red paint) and they held up great.  That light push tip seems like it would be hard to go back to using anything else once you’ve used it for a while.  You should follow up with your impressions.

It's really not even a light push. You just need to hold it against the work. That prevents the sliding safety piece from sliding out. If you pull the trigger without the nose held against something, then sliding piece is allowed to come out and the gun won't fire.

In addition to not needing to push down in general, it is really nice when trying to nail in an awkward position to not also have to try to press it down.

Seth

 

[Mike Goetzke]

I remember clicking an ad a while back for these Bostitch guns and noting they were oil free.  I really liked that about my old Senco XP’s (pre-red paint) and they held up great.  That light push tip seems like it would be hard to go back to using anything else once you’ve used it for a while.  You should follow up with your impressions.

It's really not even a light push. You just need to hold it against the work. That prevents the sliding safety piece from sliding out. If you pull the trigger without the nose held against something, then sliding piece is allowed to come out and the gun won't fire.

In addition to not needing to push down in general, it is really nice when trying to nail in an awkward position to not also have to try to press it down.

Seth

I really like that touch feature plus I forgot it comes with a built-in pencil sharpener "to boot."

 

[JonathanJung]

For future purchases, look at Hitachi / Metabo reconditioned. They can be had, with warranty and like new, for $26-30. The only place in NA to recondition them are bigskytool.com. Almost all my nail guns and compressor are Hitachi and purchased this way. Saved hundreds.