Good quality pinner

I've been very happy with my porter cable, have never used the others so I freely admit I may not know what I am missing
 
Greg p635 or Senco.
The Grex has more pin size range and I like it better but both do the job.
Tim
 
I have a Makita 18v pinner that seems to work ok. While it is not as powerful as my senco - can't beat the convenience.
 
Grex p635 for me , using mostly 1-3/8" pins on kitchen cabinet crown, love that pinner .
 
I have used Sencos since 1971 in an industrial custom cabinet co.  I think I have 6 nailers and staplers.  I bought their pinner but found it prone jamming.  I now own Grex pinners and staplers and find them to be outstanding.
 
Hi Sparky. Thanks for the info on the omer....no sense having something like that if it leaves marks and parts are hard to source.....
Upscale, thanks for the tip on the Cadex. I looked at both the Cadex and the Grex 635...I ended up ordering the cadex from the site you mentioned. Real nice folks, and Cadex is located out of Vancouver so pretty close to me..
Purchased the pinner online and it was shipped the next morning with a nice thank you from the owner. Kinda like doing business with some of the FOG folks who make aftermarket items that I have bought from here as well.
Can't wait to get it and give it a try....also they had a special and added quite an assortment of pins to boot!!
Thanks again for all that chimed in on this thread, timing was perfect.
Greg.
 
Thanks everyone for your recommendations and comments. Went out today and picked up the Grex P635. Can't wait to use it on my install this weekend.
Cheers.
 
Congratulations on your new grex pinner ! The one thing I did not know when I bough mine, was that you can easy over oil the gun.  I only put one drop, over oiling can blow out your seals.
 
In fact when I bought mine at a Woodoworking Show the Grex distributor told me to only use a drop of oil occasionally; not every time I use it like I would most likely to with other air tools.
 
Fasco 23 Gauge pinner/brad gun.  Cadex 21 gauge pin/brad.  The Fasco is the same gun as the Cadex with a lower price point.  I had a Cadex stolen and replaced it with the Fasco. The only difference is that it doesn't jamb or misfire. 

21 gauge guns are more versatile for finish carpentry.  They are the sweet spot between the 23 and 18 gauge guns.
 
justinh said:
Fasco 23 Gauge pinner/brad gun.  Cadex 21 gauge pin/brad.  The Fasco is the same gun as the Cadex with a lower price point.  I had a Cadex stolen and replaced it with the Fasco. The only difference is that it doesn't jamb or misfire. 

21 gauge guns are more versatile for finish carpentry.  They are the sweet spot between the 23 and 18 gauge guns.

I didn't even know a 21 gauge pinner existed...if it holds better than a 23 gauge, I'm all in.
 
Tim Raleigh said:
justinh said:
21 gauge guns are more versatile for finish carpentry.  They are the sweet spot between the 23 and 18 gauge guns.

Why?

Probably for the obvious reasons. ~ Better holding power with little chance of splitting the wood.
 
I'm confused regarding holding power. I have never used a pin to "hold" per se; only to temporarily tack in place while the glue dried. I learned that pins really aren't designed to hold in the same way brads are. They are great to use in place of clamps when gluing for trim, sometimes while I'm making a jig for some specific use, and anything that I have a pin which will go in the mating piece far enough to actually keep the piece in contact and stationary till the glue cures. Beyond that I don't think I'd trust a pin to hold something. Maybe I'm misunderstanding the thread. Sorry if I am. It wouldn't be the first time.
 
I use them to "clamp" cabinet crown molding - very often I'll glue, nail and setup entire multi-pc sections at once on the worktable and then hold the entire assembly up to the cabinets and use 23pins to anchor to blocking stapled to the top of the cabinets.  Depending on the finish, most times no need to fill the holes.

JT
 
I guess that's the kind of use I meant - temporary to hold till the glue sets, which would mean to me  that all that is necessary there is to keep the parts together till the glue sets. For that, I would think any of the pinners suggested would work as long as the length of pin is sufficient to keep the two pieces together. I used a pinner bought from Harbor Freight for awhile and it woke OK; not great, but good enough for what I was doing. The pins turned out to be too short for some projects and for what I wanted to do in the future, so I upgraded to a Grex. However, the Harbor Freight version might work for someone who just used it only occasionally or who didn't have a need for very long 23 gauge pins.
 
Tim,

With headed 21 gauge brads (slight head pin) the holding power is better than a 23 gauge brad.  In many situations they  can be substituted for an 18 gauge brad.  The nails hold well for the leading edge of casing, larger wood moulding attached to casework like crown or base build ups, heavier panel moulding, base shoe, scotia, etc.  With longer nails I have used it to run base cap after doing a test to see how difficult it was to pull off.  In most of these situations I would have used and 18 gauge for the additional holding power vs. a 23 gauge which would not be enough.  The holes are much easier to touch up than an 18 gauge.  I would not feel comfortable fastening wood through sheet rock with this gun unless the walls were very flat, the moulding was light and thin, and it was backed with adhesive. Even then I might think twice.

I own the Cadex. It fires a pin up to 2".  I stock them but have yet to use them. I most frequently use 1", 1 3/16", and 1 3/8" nails. The gun runs about $350.  Omer makes one and it runs about $250 and fires up to 1 9/16".  Senco is supposed to have one coming out soon and EZ Fasten makes one that Woodcraft used to sell at about $150.  It's not the ideal tool for every situation but I have found the expense of the tool justified based on the types and finishes of the moulding I install.  The added bonus is that the painter likes the smaller holes.

It can also be used to stitch corners without splitting them and most of the other tasks I would usually use a 23 gauge for.  The only time I have ever had anything split is when I was doing a test after I got the gun and it split the outside corner of some box store Ultralite MDF base, but to be fair its the only moulding I have ever seen a 23 gauge split and it will split if you look at it funny or if someone is speaking too loudly while you nail it.

 
justinh said:
Tim,

With headed 21 gauge brads (slight head pin) the holding power is better than a 23 gauge brad.  In many situations they  can be substituted for an 18 gauge brad.  The nails hold well for the leading edge of casing, larger wood moulding attached to casework like crown or base build ups, heavier panel moulding, base shoe, scotia, etc.  With longer nails I have used it to run base cap after doing a test to see how difficult it was to pull off.  In most of these situations I would have used and 18 gauge for the additional holding power vs. a 23 gauge which would not be enough.  The holes are much easier to touch up than an 18 gauge.  I would not feel comfortable fastening wood through sheet rock with this gun unless the walls were very flat, the moulding was light and thin, and it was backed with adhesive. Even then I might think twice.

I own the Cadex. It fires a pin up to 2".  I stock them but have yet to use them. I most frequently use 1", 1 3/16", and 1 3/8" nails. The gun runs about $350.  Omer makes one and it runs about $250 and fires up to 1 9/16".  Senco is supposed to have one coming out soon and EZ Fasten makes one that Woodcraft used to sell at about $150.  It's not the ideal tool for every situation but I have found the expense of the tool justified based on the types and finishes of the moulding I install.  The added bonus is that the painter likes the smaller holes.

It can also be used to stitch corners without splitting them and most of the other tasks I would usually use a 23 gauge for.  The only time I have ever had anything split is when I was doing a test after I got the gun and it split the outside corner of some box store Ultralite MDF base, but to be fair its the only moulding I have ever seen a 23 gauge split and it will split if you look at it funny or if someone is speaking too loudly while you nail it.

Hey guys senco just came out with one. I was presented it a few days ago. I am debating stocking it. I love the concept, however I would have to stock all new sizes of brads for this gun. The new senco gun looks exactly like a 23g pin nailer. I am wondering how much demand there would be for this tool. Hmmmm. I was debating ordering it, but I told the rep to bring one in. I want to see and play with it first.
 
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