Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Apr 25, 2000 02:42am | #6

   *
   I've been fastening colonial oak door casing with a Senco airnailer using 1 1/2" finish nails. The wood seems to be quite dry and often splits out even in the middle of a piece. Was wondering if others may be using a fastener more appropriate for this and having better luck.
   Thanks

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   Guest_ | Apr 18, 2000 08:48pm | #1

   *Hi Bob, problems like yours have been discussed up here in the past. The best advice to be given is to orient your nailer so that the chisel point on the end of the nails goes in perpendicular to the grain. By doing this, the nail will cut through the fibers of the wood rather than wedging between them which can cause splitting. If that doesn't quite help, I think that I would resort to pre-drilling and hand nailing the casing. Hope that helps a bit - Nick

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   Guest_ | Apr 19, 2000 09:11am | #2

   *Ditto - it does work.There are also lighter gauge nailers ... 16 guage and, a cabinetry guy was telling me, "wire nailers" that shoot really fine brads. Anyone use these? And there's always glue (const. adhesive).

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   Guest_ | Apr 19, 2000 12:23pm | #3

   *Bob,Is this store bought casing? If so, methinks the nail you're using is too big.To the jamb, the brad nailer with 1" pins fastens well without the split. Stay away from the mitre an inch. To the framing a 2" fin. nail.Course if it's thicker specially milled casing, you should lengthen the nail but still might be able to make the brad work.Best of luck.

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   Guest_ | Apr 21, 2000 05:41pm | #4

   *Thanks for your input on this elementary question. I'll probably try the wire nailer route next time - smaller holes to fill too. Thanks for the reminder to check archives - what a wealth of info there.Bob

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   Larry_"The_Home_Hack" | Apr 22, 2000 04:18pm | #5

   *Bob, Could the casing be an old one and hence the wood quite dry? I do alot of DIY projects with "pre-owned" lumber, and get splitting quite often due to the "seasoned" materials.

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   Guest_ | Apr 25, 2000 02:42am | #7

   *I've gotta agree with the advice about orienting the nailer, it really does help a lot. And just let me say an exuberant "Thank You!" to whomever first posted that one. It's certainly made my days go a little bit nicer. Also, I recently bought an 18-gauge nailer which shoots 3/4"-2" nails, this one is really nice for some of the really "splitty" wood like maple. I've gotten to the point where I always grab it to put in the last nail near the end of whatever I am nailing, just to be on the safe side.