Replies

1. 
   xMikeSmith | Jul 14, 2002 04:34am | #1

   no... they'll get too many splits..

   we use Bostich N64 with an adjustable nose... 4d box for reds, 3.5d for whites

   Mike Smith   Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

1. 
   River19 | Jul 14, 2002 05:11am | #2

   Mike - That N64 is a winner of a siding nailer.  I'm using my framing nailer with suprisingly good success on my WRC claps shooting 2" SS ring shanks.  But I wish I had the N64 my buddy has.  He said it is a little bit of a pain in the #### to load though.  If I were doing shakes I would have sprung for the N64.  Anyone that is shakin' should just bite the bullet and buy the right tool.

   SJ

   Know a little about alot and alot about little.

2. 
   BruceM16 | Jul 14, 2002 11:30pm | #4

   Mike

   I'm in final planning for installing Red Western Cedar siding shingles. If you were starting new (owned no pneumatic nailers), would you get the Bostich N64 as you mentioned for this kind of job? Are the 4d's hot dipped galvanized or Stainless? This will be a costal house with high winds and the usual salt air.

   Thanks

   BruceM

1. 
   xMikeSmith | Jul 15, 2002 05:17am | #5

   Bruce: i'd get the N64 in a NY minute...very versatile gun...sub-floor, sheathing, siding, furring.. have an N63 and an N64... since you can get after market nails. teh selection is almost endless....but make sure the nails are compatible....

   adjustable nose settings are pretty easy..

   for siding we do white cedar, red cedar , clapboards, fibercement.. and the N64 handles them all.. the only thing we can't do is 5/4 GP Prime Trim since we use SS for exterior trim and the 5/4 is just too dense for an SS nail.... they bend..

   Mike Smith   Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

1. 
   BruceM16 | Jul 15, 2002 08:20am | #6

   Mike

   Great info! Is it the N64C-1? I found this at ToolCrib-Amazon.com. Take a look at

   http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/hi/B00005RZMZ/qid=1026709591/br=1-1/ref=br_lf_hi_1/102-6685164-9856967

   Where do you get your nails and do you have the nail number you use for cedar shingle siding? With Tool Crib its kind of a hunt-n-find for nails. Do you use a nail specialty house to order?

   Thanks very much for any and all help, and thanks for the tip on the 5/4 nail bender!

   BruceM

1. 
   xMikeSmith | Jul 15, 2002 01:04pm | #7

   yes, that's the one... i don't know what the "c" designation is though..

   we get our nails locally , either at Quaker Lane Tool.. or JT's Lumber..

   the SS are all Bostich.. with some occasional no-label chinese stuff..

   JT's carries a Stallion Nail for bostich too... good buy, good nail..

   more and more.. the mfr's are standardizing , so one nail will fit a lot of guns.. especially Hitachi / BostichMike Smith   Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

3. 
   Harborman | Jul 16, 2002 03:21am | #8

   Mike:  Thanks for the information.  I'm going to buy the Bostitch N64C nail gun.  I found one in Tools On Sale for $369.00 tax and freight included.  I'll have to find a good source for the nails. Thanks again.   Dale

2. 
   caribouman | Jul 14, 2002 06:07pm | #3

   Harborman,

   I've used roofing coil nailers on cedar shingles with mixed results.  First, did an entire house in 1997 with coil nailers.  We used the nailers only on full shingles, and kept a consistent 1" in from the edge.  The house is fine, doesn't seem to have a tendency towards splits.   

   Second, did a repair project a few blocks away.  Tried using the coil nailer again.  Nada-split everything all to $%*&.  So I hauled out my finish stapler (I don't even know if you could rent a wide-crown out here, I haven't seen one in years).  I was worried that it simply wouldn't have the gripping strength, but decided to try it.  (Contending things 1. High wind area, 2. Interior plaster with me hammering on the walls, hmm...)  No tendency towards splits, and so far, so good.  That job was done in 2000.

   So why the difference?  I think it was entirely in the conditions and the shingles:  The first job was done in rapidly alternating weather, with high humidity conditions, and the shingles definitely weren't dry when we got them.  The second job was done not in Fall, but in  a hot, dry spell, and the shingles were like corn-chips, extremely dry and light to begin with. 

   Conclusions:  If I ever do another whole house, I'll try to find a wide crown stapler for the fields, and reserve my finish stapler for cut shingles and hard to get at spots.  I think the fact that the coil nailer worked on the first job is a fluke of weather conditions and the the condition of the shingles themselves.

   Good Luck, Caribouman