I need a brad nailer for 2 particular jobs that I know of right now.
I want to use it to attach small moldings to cabinets.
The other job is to install a wood floor. I know – that sounds weird but I think it’s a good idea that was given to me by a guy who sells reclaimed flooring. He said that the way he installed his floors of square-edged old chestnut and pine was to face nail the boards down with the brad nailer, sinking the nails below the surface. Next he sanded the floor. Then he went back over it and face nailed the boards with square cut nails and finally put the finish on it. This process gave him the look of old face-nailed flooring while saving him the trouble of setting every nail head (once before sanding and maybe again after) and/or tearing paper on the sander.
I’d like to find a nailer that is as small as possible and can get into some pretty tight spots. I’m not sure what gauge brads to use – 16? 18?
I have a good compressor – Porter Cable, 6.8 CFM @ 90 psi.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Replies
I use a Porter Cable gun, never have had a problem, inexpensive. Shoots 3/4"-2" bad nails. 18 gauge. Check this site for specs on the gun.
http://www.rockler.com/findit.cfm?page=89&cookietest=1
Semper Fi
That looks like what I need. Glad to hear that you've had no problems. Thanks.
I have the PC BN200 (I think that is the part number). It shoots 18ga up to 2". They also have one that can't take the 2" brads.
Anyhow, I am VERY happy with it.
tool-less jam clearing, aimable exhaust port, safety tip is behind the nose (not in front), easy c'sink depth adjustment and plenty of punch (2" brads into oak with no problem). I think it was an FHB review that leaned me towards this one.
I might go with a smaller unit someday if doing furniture mouldings, but I like this one a lot.
Cool. Same tool recommended by jarhead. I looked at the smaller model too - BN125A, which drives 5/8" to 1-1/4" 18 ga brads. I'm tempted to go for that instead because most of my use will be attaching small moldings to cabinets and the like. But my immediate need is for the flooring projects and I don't think 1-1/4 brads will do that job, even though they're only intended to be temporary fasteners. (The floorboards I have are 7/8" thick.) The smaller tool is about 1-1/4" shorter and marginally lighter.
I dunno. Maybe I should sleep on it. On the one hand, it may be shortsighted to let a single project determine which tool I buy. On the other hand, maybe I only think this flooring job is the only time I'll ever need longer brads. Back on the first hand ... five fingers. (Geez, I hope I can keep it that way.) Now you can see why I asked for advice. I want somebody else to make the decision for me. :^)
Thanks for the response.
I had the PC 18 ga that was limited to 1-1/4" brads. Worked well, but several times I wanted to shoot longer brads. I now have a Bostich. Also works very well.
I'm not sure I agree on the method of nailing the wood floor, but here's my advice anyway. The 18 ga brad nailer is way too light for that. I would use a 15 ga finish nailer. I have a Bostich, and it's nice. Shoot 1-1/2" nails into the flooring, set the depth so it will sink them as far as possible, and then go to it.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Yeah, I think you're right. I should go for 2" at least on the floor. The 18 ga brads are awfully light for a floor but they only have to hold the boards down long enough to get them sanded. I think 18ga 2" brads sound like an OK compromise.
I don't think I suggested 2" x 18 ga brads for the floor. I would not use anything smaller than 16 ga for your application, and since I have a 15 ga nailer, that would be my choice.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I have the PC nailer and it's good... but don't get between me and my paslode brad nailer. Too many times kitchen designers left me short on mouldings and pullin out the compressor to shoot a couple of brads was just miserable. It shoots the same brads as the PC up to 2".
I have Sears 1 1/4 and a Senco thats shoots 2 1/8.
I don't think much of the Senco and always use the Sears for shorter brads.
If I buy another, I will get one that won't shoot when empty.
Bummer. I just read an online review of a Senco SLP20 and it sounded good. Sorry to hear that you don't like yours What model is it and what's wrong with it?
It is a finish pro 18 and came as a package with a small compressor. It doesn't work very well when trying to angle one in.
Gary Striegler who writes for Fine Homebuilding seems to really like the 23-gague pinner since the pin is essentially invisible. I have a Bostich 18-ga pinner which I like, and I bought a Rigid 18-ga recently that shoots 2" nails which I also like. I just don't like filling holes in trim, and when I'm doing "built up" trim, I use glue anyway, so I think a 23-ga would be fine. Any of you have experience with 23-gauge pinners?Never be afraid to buy the best -- you'll always be happy with it!
Invisible holes is what I am shooting for (pardon the pun) with my floor project. I was hoping the 18ga holes would pretty well dissappear in the rustic wood floor. Do you not think that's true?
I use a Senco 23 gauge pinner for light applications, in fact I was using it yesterday for attaching toe kick on cabinets. I am happy with it so far.
I've got the Cadex 23ga pinner that fires up to 1 3/8" pins from Floyd Tools:http://www.floydtool.com/cp2335.htm
It's a really nice well-made gun. It auto-adjusts for pin size so you don't have to screw with the depth adjustments and it has a soft rubber tip so you don't dent your molding. It will also fire brad-head pins which most pinners won't do. My painter was blown away by how small the holes are -- almost too small to get any putty in there. ;-)
Billy
the boss just got us that compressor-brad nailer kit and i cannot agree more. the compressor is great but what a usless gun! cannot fire a 2" brad at all and jams easy, then when clearing the jam you havto take the nosepiece apart and a spring flies out and is very difficult to get back in.. Absolutely stoopid design..So anyway everyone please avoid the FP18 unless you like punching walls and arguing with co-workers______________________________________________
--> measure once / scribble several lines / spend some time figuring out wich scribble / cut the wrong line / get mad
i,ve got that pc thats shoots up to 1 1/4,works fine then i bought a bostich that goes up to 2".great gun never pick up the pc now.whatever you buy i'd go for the one that shoots 2" and shoot it in the floor. 1 1/4 going through 3/4 only gives you 1/2 inch maybe.i'd rather be into the subfloor a full 3/4.larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
Agreed. 2" sounds better. I just looked up the Bostitch BT2000K-2. It's $95 at Amazon. It's a bit on the large side of life though. About an inch longer and an inch higher than the similar Senco model. The customer reviews on Amazon are pretty awful though. They all complain about misfires. Have you had this problem?
i'll tell ya i own a bostich framing nailer and that pc of doo is dangerous!that said the 18ga. finish nailer has never once misfired. i have had a few 2" go into oak and hit a knot and curl out.but i think thats going to happen with any gun shooting 18 ga,2" nails. if you get a chance to hold one it's very light. larryhand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
If you're going to face nail flooring, consider using stainless nails. That way you'll never get those black rust stains even if it gets wet. For stainless nails, look at:
http://www.swansecure.com
-- J.S.
Thanks, but I'm probably going to use reproduction hand-cut nails such as:
http://www.tremontnail.com/tremont-flooring.htm
In this case (trying to produce the look of a centuries old floor) the black stains might actually be desirable "character marks". :^)
Those flooring nails look just like some that I found in my grandfather's stuff. Late 1800's to early 1900's, I'd guess.
-- J.S.
I think you're right. And that is the vintage of my house too. The Tremont nails identified as common nails do look like the nails I've been pulling around the place. In fact I actually have a pretty good collection of authentic oldies that I've gathered from this house and my first house, which was of a slightly later vintage. I thought about trying to use them for flooring but it would be way too much of a headache. Many aer in excellent shape but many are not. I ought to learn something about how they were made in various periods because I've found an interesting phenomenon - sometimes they seem to split longitudinally when I try to reuse them. It almost seems as though they were laminated from thin strips of iron. (This was observed with the ones from my first house which I think dates to around 1935-1850.)
Another thought I had was to wonder if the galvanized flooring nails would be a good choice. It seems they would hold better.
I like my Hitachi - it shoots up to 2 inch, doesn't misfire or jam.
It has one quirk that has been confirmed by others - only happens occasionally when first hooked up. It is as if the piston is in the wrong part of the cycle and it just hisses. I used to bump it - never liked that procedure.
But it's easy when you know the trick: disconnect, symotaniously disarm safety, point at a safe target, pull the trigger and hook on the air - it'll shoot, and everything's ok.
After reading everything here on 23 ga. pinners, I went with the Grex P635 which I bought on Ebay at: http://cgi.ebay.com/Grex-P635-23-Ga-3-8-1-3-8-Bostitch-Senco-Portercable_W0QQitemZ260042465260QQihZ016QQcategoryZ66910QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
It looks to be the same as the Cadex, but a little less expensive. I got it in the mail today (only took 2 days) and so far am very impressed. It drives 1 3/8" pins into 2 pieces of 3/4" red oak flawlessly, and does the same with pine quarter round pinned to MDF baseboard. The heads are sunk the same in both cases, and it consistently sinks the heads if the tip of the gun is reasonably square to the material. This unit comes with a very nice case and it looks to be very well made. The fit and finish are excellent.
Highly recommended if you are looking for a 23 ga. pinner.
Never be afraid to buy the best..... you'll always be happy with it!