Please school/educate me on air/pneumatic nailers.

[six-point socket II]

Hi!

In 2016 I helped a friend from time to time who remodeled his workshop. He switched to a fixed installation for his air needs and I ended up with one of his older mobile air compressors as a gift. It has a 50l tank and is somewhere in the ballpark of 1.5 kw - 109l/min at 6 bar. Now since my health took another ride downhill in the end of 2016, I didn't look any further into it. Simply put it in the workshop. My friend does automotive stuff - so I can't ask him about nailers - he has no experience with them.

Now it's going uphill again for some time and I'd like to get a nailer (or two)

I have close to no experience except that I rented a combo (nailer and compressor) when I had to fix a lot of skirting way back.

If possible I'd like one nailer to do it all - but I guess that won't happen.

So I want one nailer for finish work and to fix rear walls to cupboards (and stuff like that) and I want a nailer to do skirting (and stuff like that) meaning a (very) powerful nailer that can get nails through the skirting right into the wall.

I do not need a nailer for framing type work right now, I guess?!

So what do I buy if I strictly want the Festool/Snap-On/Hazet/Fluke of the nailer world?

Thanks everyone!

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[bertv]

I have been researching this too & think that there is not a one-brand-fits-all solution. Maybe with the exception of the higher end brands like Grex, but these are not easily available in Europe (and really expensive).

I am ordering (or already have) three nailers to start with, that are not too expensive and will handle medium intensive usage:

1. A pin nailer (23 gauge, headless pins, sizes 1/2 to 2 inch, but more commonly starting at 5/8 and ending at 1 3/8) -- I chose the Hitachi NP35A, a model that has been discontinued but there are still some on the market. It has had good reviews and is from a reputable company.

2. A brad nailer (18 gauge, brads have a small head, most brad nailers can handle 5/8 to 2 inch) -- I chose the Makita AF505N and have used it for some test shots. which worked perfectly. Makita have launched a lot of airless nailers lately and those do very well in the market. As purchasing a compressor was already on my list, I went with the air model.

3. A finish nailer (15 or 16 gauge, range of sizes 1 to 2.5 inch), which I expect to be the upper limit of what I may need (I don't expect to do construction like framing and such). I have not quite decided which model and make I will buy; I am leaning towards a Hitachi (NT65MA4), other models with good reviews are more expensive (eg a Senco FinishPro which is around 900 Euro, compared to around 245 for the Hitachi).

In the future I might also look for a stapler, to do upholstery and such, but have not researched this yet.

I hope this helps & to other FOG'ers: feel free to update this, I am a newby to this area of woodworking.

 

[cpw]

In the future I might also look for a stapler, to do upholstery and such, but have not researched this yet.

The stapler would be good for attaching cabinet backs as well.

 

[Gordon Bombay]

I am also interested in this discussion. Was curious about experiences with airless nailers. Looking for a 16 or 18 gauge airless nailer. I tried the Milwaukee but had inconsistent results getting the nails to fully set with it.

 

[semenza]

"If possible I'd like one nailer to do it all - but I guess that won't happen."

  Oh come on, who wants to have only one? That's no fun.  [big grin]

  You need three ...... 23ga, 18ga, 15ga.  Buy them in what ever order you need them for the jobs you are doing.

  If only two then go 18ga, 15ga. 

  You might be able to go 16ga if you really only want one. It's a little big for some 18ga tasks and a little small for some 15ga tasks. Power is right in the middle. If driving into really hard stuff the 15ga will be better. But you seem to be a guy who likes the right tool for the job, so I see multiple nailers in your future.

    1/4" narrow crown stapler is a nice supplement but I wouldn't put it on the list if you are trying to limit quantity.

Seth

 

[RKA]

I am also interested in this discussion. Was curious about experiences with airless nailers. Looking for a 16 or 18 gauge airless nailer. I tried the Milwaukee but had inconsistent results getting the nails to fully set with it.

Gordon, I also had the same experience with the Milwaukee 18.  Even the replacement wasn't consistent (some nails did set correctly, some didn't) and it needed a break if I set more than 1 nail per second or fired off more than 3-4 in a row (I wasn't testing for this and trying to push it's limits and I was not bump firing, there is something wrong with their design or implementation).  I compared to a Ryobi and a Porter Cable and both set the nails consistently below the surface and didn't require the constant pauses that the Milwaukee did.  Both guns did have a slight delay as you pulled the trigger, like the gun was "winding up" to fire the nail.  Nothing that would bother me for hobby or homeowner use, but if I was using this to earn a living, I might take issue with it. 

As to the guns, 18 first, 15 second.  If you're up for a third to pin smaller pieces, I would recommend looking at a 21 (senco and cadex make them).  It leaves a slightly larger hole than a 23 but has more holding power and the nails have heads on them.

 

[Kev]

I'm a big fan of Cadex .. I was heading down the path of distributing them here in Oz but the economics and logistics just don't add up right now. Upside is I've got a big selection of Cadex Toys [wink]

Combo pinner / bradders in 23g and 21g that can fire 55mm pins and come in Systainers are drool worthy tools, but 18g would probably be the smallest I'd seriously go for skirts, architraves, etc.

A good pneumatic stapler can be a nice tool too, great for the odd bit of upholstery too as Bert says.

A small pony bottle (think paintball gun size) and regulator will have you mobile with anything 18g and up or staplers but if you lean 15/16g I would (and did) go cordless.

A pinner at the workbench that's always ready to go becomes one of those tools you never understand how you did without.

What do you buy? ... I'd go Grex or Cadex.