16 or 18 gauge? That is the question!
Howdy, I am new to this forum and I’d like some advise on what gauge air nailer is best for trim work. I have been looking at a couple of the Porter cable combo kits with either a 16 or 18 gauge nailer. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Replies
I would recommend going with the 16, but there was a thread on here the other day if you could find it had a lot of differing opinions, I looked for it but couldn't find it for you.
Allztime- Welcome to breaktime.
I tried to find that thread also but came up short. There is a lot of information on your subject in the Breaktime Archives. If you'll scroll down the posts column on the left side of the screen you'll find a 'search' bar to fill out. Type in 16 gauge or something similar and a lot of various threads from the past will come up. Maybe what you're looking for will be there.
Half of good livin' is staying out of bad situations.
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=24787.1
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
piffin coming through as usual lol
Piffin, the man, the myth, the legend Half of good livin' is staying out of bad situations.
18 guage nailers are commonly referred to as pin nailers. These are brad nailers with a very thin wire guage. They are most commonly used during glue up assembly, etc. There is not a lot of strength in the nails.
15 or 16 guage nailers are commonly referred to as finish nailers and are used by finish carpenters to nail on finish molding. trim, etc. These shoot a larger diameter nail which is most suitable for this type of work.
For example: A cabinet maker will use a pin nailer to hold decorative trim in place while the glue dries whereas a finsih carpenter will shoot a piece of trim to the wall and expect it to stay where it was shot.
Interestingly enough, most good carpenters have a pin and a finish nailer in their arsenal of tools. In my case I also have a framer for those times when the darn trim just wont stay put...LOL.
S
I've got an 18 and a 16 guage finish nailer, both Porter Cable. I keep them both hooked up when I'm doing finish trim work, I'll nail the outside of the casing to the studs through the drywall with the 16, then grab the 18 and nail into the window casing itself on the inside. I could do it both with the 16, but there is less chance of breaking out with the 18, and a smaller hole to fill. same for window sill returns, My 18 shoots a 1 1/2 brad so I can also use it for tacking together case work while it dries, (though I usually use 16 for that)
I would probably start with a 16, but I think you will soon start wanting an 18 for fine work . Justus Koshiol
Running Pug Construction
Justus,
You mentioned the possibility of nail "break-out". This typically happens to me when I'm trying to nail the casing to the jamb and maintain a 1/4" reveal. There's not a lot of wood to hit, and sometimes the point will blow out grain on the jamb.
This can be especially annoying when you're shooting the nails into some wild grain. Interestingly, I've had better results going to larger nails than smaller. I think this is because the 15 gauge nails are strong enough to resist bending.
Give it a try sometime if you haven't already. You might be surprised at how much better it works.
Regards,
Ragnar
I have found that if you examine the orientation of the chisel point on your nails you can eliminate most of the blow out. My 15 ga. Stanley has a chisel point the is beveled towards the side of the clip, so I hold the gun perpendicular to the trim. My 18 ga. bradder is perpendicular, so I hold it parallel. The thinking is that the chisel point will guide the nail when it hits a hard spot. If you can guide the travel parallel with the trim instead of perpendicular (out the finished side) than you usually will be okay.
Jon Blakemore
good point Jon, My guns orient the chisel point different so I have to put a mark on the jug to remind me of way to turn it for the grain; I don't think I ever had a nail blow out if its turned the right way before firing.
To clarify, you're saying that you should orient the bevel point so that it DOES NOT act as a wedge (like if you were splitting lumber) right?
I pay attention to this when I'm nailing by hand, but I can't say for sure if I've paid that much attention to the guns. Thanks for the tip -- I'll give it a try.
Ragnar
Exactly right. The nail will almost always (like Allen said) follow the chisel point, just like a hand chisel or splitting wedge. Just like foundation water managing, path of least resistance is the best way.Jon Blakemore
You guys are right about the chisel point, and I do take care to cut across the grain with it. Sometimes you just get a freak bend, (AKA bad luck) and it just breaks out of the side. Justus Koshiol
Running Pug Construction
Welcome Allztime,
I think the others here have put some good points forward. I would like to add a little more.
I bought one of the the PC combo kits for my shop. Since I don't do production work, I don't mind the small pancake compressor. If you are going to use this for larger work, get a bigger model. Otherwise the constant running will drive you nuts.
I bought the kit with the 18Ga and bought a used 16Ga PC from a friend. It had been many years since I used air nailers on a regular basis, so I may have missed the evolution in the business, but I have to say both guns are great units. Far better than the early generation products I used 10 years ago. The pancake compressor is also very well built for what it is. I'm impressed with all of the components and I would highly recommend them.
What ever you buy, if your doing trim work get at least a 50 ft hose the 25 footers are never long enough, unless you want to move your compressor with you room to room
hi allztime and welcome! rule of thumb, little wood little nails, big wood big nails this is also called the kiss method
Unless you get really mad cause your tirm wont stay then you pull out the framer right?
yep drive a 16 halfway in and bend it over!
but I always like to carry a few railroad spikes ! you know
just in case
Duct tape, nothing beats duct tape.
Just make sure you use the right primer or you will never be able to paint over it.Women and men of wit are dangerous tools,And ever fatal to admiring fools.
- John Wilmot second Earl of Rochester
Just a word of caution regarding the PC combo deal. We have had some bad luck buying brand name tools at Home Depot eg a PC sander and a Bostich framer. I've heard that some companies with reputable names are manufacting lower grades for sale only at HD. Is this combo one of them? Could be myth, one way to check is the upc code I think. See if another store has the same model
Ian