framing nailer

[joiner1970]

Can anyone recommend a good air powered framing gun . One that is available in the uk too.

I spotted the dewalt ones cheap on eBay but are they rubbish ?

 

[Mettes]

I have the Dewalt full round head for ± 8years and I'm very happy with it.  If it jams, and I say if, its very easy to free the nail.  Has happend only a couple of times over those years, has a very practical rafter hook and easy depth adjustment.  Nose has agressive teeth so doesn't slip.  One big drawback: if you want to switch between bump- and single shot you have to change the trigger.  I also have a couple of Bostitch nailers but those are coil nailers.

 

[kieran62]

Hi Joiner.

I've got the DeWalt, had it for about 6 years and it's been great. Done lots of fencing, few roofing jobs and a lot of framing with decks.
The two problems  I've had are
the tooth that pushes the nails along the magazine is starting to wear, and the nails don't move forward amd you get a missfire, easily fixed by pulling the tooth back and re aligning the nails
and getting good quality nails for it,
Beats a framing Paslode everytime [big grin].

HTH
Kieran

 

[joiner1970]

I'm looking for one that takes the standard Paslode nails too as they are easy to get. I see one of the Dewalts takes the newer full head nail rather than clipped.

I normally use the big Paslodes I dont own one but a guy I sub-contract for has two so I always have one to hand for his jobs. For my own I would prefer to use my compressor and an air powered one.

 

[nickao]

By Paslode you mean a Paslode that uses a compressor right? Not one of compressor less ones. I have had no issues with the Paslode compressor guns I had in the past. The older no compressor units were not all that great, the newer no compressor framing units are a lot better(VF325 is better than the newer IMCT also) than the older ones. Heck, I had them when they were still black not orange,  those left a little to be desired!

As many probably concur a no compressor gun like a Paslode and the DeWalts are a great addition to the tool arsenal, but for me not a replacement for a compressor gun at all. I was just confused at to which you were talking about. When someone says Paslode around here 99% of the time they are talking about the no compressor guns, that's why I ask.

We can't use clipped nail heads here anymore for framing, isn't that an issue for you?

 

[Deansocial]

we can use clipped head nails here but i am finding more and more inspectors not liking them for roofing work. I just tag them in with the cordless gun then fire some 5" nails in with 1 of them hammer things

 

[spikfot]

I've Never owned a "yellow" gun. Caveat emptor- you get what you pay for.
I've owned Hitachi, Senco and Paslode. Hitachi remains my first choice for framing and finish nailers. Senco, at least those available in Europe, are made in Taiwan since '06 or so. A few years back I Bought A Senco gun on sale, sold it a month later.... Obvious drop in quality.
Note- if you buy generic nail strips, don't blame your gun for clogs.

 

[spikfot]

Should have noted- I've ZERO experience with compressor-less guns, thats how old I am.

 

[joiner1970]

By Paslode you mean a Paslode that uses a compressor right? Not one of compressor less ones. I have had no issues with the Paslode compressor guns I had in the past. The older no compressor units were not all that great, the newer no compressor framing units are a lot better(VF325 is better than the newer IMCT also) than the older ones. Heck, I had them when they were still black not orange,  those left a little to be desired!

As many probably concur a no compressor gun like a Paslode and the DeWalts are a great addition to the tool arsenal, but for me not a replacement for a compressor gun at all. I was just confused at to which you were talking about. When someone says Paslode around here 99% of the time they are talking about the no compressor guns, that's why I ask.

We can't use clipped nail heads here anymore for framing, isn't that an issue for you?

No the IM350 gas powered guns we use.

Have they banned clipped head nails there now then ?

 

[Ken Nagrod]

By Paslode you mean a Paslode that uses a compressor right? Not one of compressor less ones. I have had no issues with the Paslode compressor guns I had in the past. The older no compressor units were not all that great, the newer no compressor framing units are a lot better(VF325 is better than the newer IMCT also) than the older ones. Heck, I had them when they were still black not orange,  those left a little to be desired!

As many probably concur a no compressor gun like a Paslode and the DeWalts are a great addition to the tool arsenal, but for me not a replacement for a compressor gun at all. I was just confused at to which you were talking about. When someone says Paslode around here 99% of the time they are talking about the no compressor guns, that's why I ask.

We can't use clipped nail heads here anymore for framing, isn't that an issue for you?

No the IM350 gas powered guns we use.

Have they banned clipped head nails there now then ?

No, they haven't.  Inspectors can be a PIA to deal with over this issue and I've mentioned on here before how this came about.  People overdriving the clipped head nails, resulting in less holding power compared to a full round head that's not impossible, but more difficult to overdrive resulting in that same reduced holding power.

Paslode came out with a solution for those of us that own clipped head framing nailers.  They have special full round head clips that fit the 30-33 degree nailers.  Not sure what the availability is in the UK, but here I can easily get them.

 

[joiner1970]

Yeah we do have the full round head nailers here.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Yeah we do have the full round head nailers here.

Chris,

I meant those new full round head nail strips that fit into the clipped head guns.  Do you have them yet?  Obviously there are less nails per strip compared with the regular clipped head strips to accomplish that, but they are made to the proper magazine angle of the clipped head nailers.

 

[nickao]

McHenry  county has different codes than Chicago, Chicago is their own brand of stupidity. Chicago makes the codes so that it is really tough for homeowners to do anything, though they can.  We just stopped using clipped heads to eliminate the inspector hassle as they are firm here, no clipped heads. Though we could never find anything in the literature that excluded them. Funny thing is I built 500 decks over the years and 450 of them all used clipped heads and no one ever called us on it.

Still, nothing holds like a spike.  I learned to frame by hand, one swing and you drive a 16d nail by hand standing on or near the 2X4 on edge as you build the walls on the ground. For sheathing the guns are great, for framing there are still some old timers that can frame a wall on the ground darn near as fast as me using and fiddling with the gun. It has been proved to me many times that the 16d spikes hold a heck of a lot better than most nails used in power equipment, especially the non compressor guns. At least 10 years ago, I know the framing guns have come a ling way since then.

 

[tjbier]

I have the Paslode FS 350, it's a great fun, we have been using them for 13+ years. As Dovetail said, we here must use full round head nails but most manufacturers here have a round head full available that fits either gun.
I will be buying the  Paslode PF PowerFramer, and can't wait to try their new gun.

 

[joiner1970]

Not sure if we have the full rounds here that fit the clipped guns I will look into it.

As an apprentice I learnt my trade on timber frame houses back in the late eighties . I would have the job of nailing up all the walls , sole plates , heads etc the day after the houses were erected with a crane. Anyway I would have to put in thousands of four inch wire nails by hand you soon learn a good technique lol.

I have always thought a real hammered in nail holds better than a nailgun nail.

 

[fdengel]

I've read somewhere that a pneumatic nail should, in theory, hold better than an equivalent manually-driven nail (same size of nail and otherwise identical situation) because of the adhesive that holds the nails together reforming next to the nail after it is driven, or some such.

I think the issue of clipped vs. full-head nails, at least in the US, depends on local statutes -- much like whether you should do some parts of the construction with screws vs. nails (some say one, some the other, and some give you the choice)...

 

[joiner1970]

What are these like guys ? Porter cable FC350A

I can get these for £149 re conditioned in the Uk 

 

[nickao]

Not bad at all. I never had it break and sold it for 70% of what I paid. That was years ago, if they still make them the same it will be fine, for clipped head nails:

Decent reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-FC350A-Clipped-2-Inch-Framing/dp/B0000B3ARA

179.00 USD new here

I do remember nails getting jammed now and again, not sure if that was crew abuse or the gun though. The guys never took care of the tools the did not pay for.

 

[jmbfestool]

For better fixing than nails  Better than paslode nails

These are what I try and use for roofing loads better they pull the rafters up lovely also if you made a mistake you can simply unscrew and move your timber and no banging your wall plate. I hardly use my paslode I use to use it all the time for studding and everything but now I screw everything.

With all these High performance screws out now it's quick and easy to screw.  Nails just look ugly screws look tidy.

Jmb

 

[joiner1970]

I know what you mean JMB thats why Ive never really bothered buying a Paslode as most of my own jobs ie if I were doing studwork I would just screw it all with my impact, but when Im working for a subby I tend to use their Paslodes.

Now Ive got a bit of an air tool set up I just think it might be worth having a framing nailer too

Just spotted your sig on the bottom of your post JMB  [laughing] Ive not been part of a crew since the eighties when I was into breakdancing  [laughing] cheers mate.