Does anyone own this gun? I’m thinking of getting one, Coastal has a great price.
I have the 16 gauge and I’m happy with it.
I thought someone on JLC said it jams quite often.
Thanks.
Glenn
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Fine Homebuilding's editorial director has some fun news to share.
Featured Video
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
Hey Glenn,
I had one - refurbished - for a week or so about this time last year. I used it for two smaller jobs and ended up returning it. I found that the drive mechanism on mine wouldn't fully retract after about every other nail, made for some pretty slow nailing. That model got returned, but I've heard plenty of good things from guys like yourself who own the 16 gauge model. Can't say I wouldn't give it a shot if I were in your shoes. Personally, I prefer a small compressor or a CO2 setup for smaller jobs, makes more sense if I need 18 or 23 gauge guns as well.
Hope that helps.
Nick
Nick,I agree about the compressor. I have a Rol Air which is very good. However, it is also heavy, loud, and trips anything using 14 gauge wire.There was a discussion here recently about small compressors. I believe Basswood made, for me, a compelling argument to get the small DeWalt.I almost goe a used one on Ebay, but didn't bite the bullet.So now I must choose: the cordless gun or the compressor.If i buy the gun, I almost certainly will also get the compressor for the reasons you stated.Just don't tell my wife. She's making all the money.DW is my sugar momma!Glenn
I like the way you think!
Well, I went back and looked at an earlier thread in which Basswood extols the virtues of the DeWalt 1 gallon compressor. $107 at Amazon. Not bad.I hope it holds up. Was torn between that, the 2 gallon DeWalt, and a Makita Mac700. Hate making choices. Hope I didn't make a bad one.Don't worry. I think I'll get the gun eventually,too.I just can't help myself.Hehehe.Glenn
See, now you got my itch going... and it's been in overdrive this week. I've been looking between that 2 gallon DeWalt and the Mac700 a lot lately. I've had it with the PC pancake compressor that I hijacked from a friend to avoid humping my big (HEAVY!!!) Makita twin-tank around. Wasn't too thrilled with the idea of refilling CO2 tanks on a somewhat regular basis. So here I am. 107 bucks is a nice deal. Especially with a 50 dollar gift cert to Amazon burning a hole in my pocket... hmmmmmmmmmmmm...
For $107 minus $50....Get the 1 gal. Dewalt!I ran three finish guns with mine all week (crew of three, but one guy mostly just cutting at the saws). Had 16 ga. 18 ga. and 23 ga. guns all going.I've had mine for about a year now, so far it has been great.Sooooo quiet compared to PC pancake or even the MAC...much lighter too.
Hey Bass,
How have you been?
I think I'm going to go ahead and order it. I have a few smaller trim jobs coming up and this would definately fit the bill for them. I almost hate to get anything else to take up shelf space in the shop, but this seems to be exactly what I'm looking for.
Thanks for that last second advice to push me over the edge.
Nick
Nick,Doing pretty well here.I think you will like the Dewalt for trim jobs, large or small. It will even frame an occasional wall. Several of the other small compressors would be fine too, but I do like the stable stance of the Dewalt and the roll cage configuration, etc.Did you see any pics of how I set my compressor up with a manifold and swivel lanyards? I also put pipe insulation on the corners and handle and wrapped them with elec. tape. Nicer to carry that way and you can set it down, back-end first with out the bare metal of the roll cage thumping a finished floor.Let us know how you like it,Bass
Yeah I remembered seeing that the first time that you posted in a thread about that compressor. I think this will be a nice addition to the fleet per say, and will tuck right in behind the seat of my truck or onto an upper shelf in the shop when not on a job. I'm just tired of lugging around bulky, heavy equipment for short jobs. I've - gasp - been hand-nailing most of my "quick" jobs over the last few months just to avoid the added PITA of hauling in a heavy compressor and setting it up. Not to say that there's anything at all wrong with hand nailing, or that it really has an effect on the overall quality of my work, but when you have a almost a grand worth of finish nailers sitting at home it gets to be painful.
Anyways, thanks for the added advice. Hopefully in a week or so I'll be up and running.
Nick
I'll tell you what, Basswood, I went with it primarily due to your research and endorsement several months ago. But I originally thought it was the 2 gallon DeWalt you were referring to.That left me in a quandary. The 1 or 2 gallon or the Mac700.I would like the 2 gallon or Mac for light framing, but I went for what I need right now. Hope I'm as happy with it as you are.My new tool desire was hoping someone would tell me to get the DeWalt 15 gauge gun, too. $189 plus $22 shipping on Ebay from Tool King.How could I go wrong?Thanks for the input, gentlemen.Glenn
Glenn,I understand your quandry, I almost bought the 2 gal. Dewalt. Since 90% of my work is in the trim genre, and I have a larger compressor for the occasional air hog jobs...I went for the smaller model.So far, I have been impressed with the 1 gallon Dewalt. Great for trim, and capable enough for light remodeling. Still wonder why I lugged a larger, louder compressor around all these years,The Dewalt 15 ga. cordless might be worthwhile, if it proves reliable. I used to run Paslode Impulse cordless framing and and trim guns, since I did mostly small jobs and punch list work...but I often use a narrow crown stapler, and 23 ga. micro pinners too.So, I ended up needing a compressor too, on most jobs. Now, with the small, light & quiet compressor, I dumped the cordless nailers--they just didn't make sense for me, anymore.Just depends on the kind of jobs you are getting most often.You might get the small compressor first, then see if you still need the cordless guns too. Maybe, maybe not.I'm going to go fetch 135' of crown molding this afternoon...it is a 45 min. drive each way and the wifes' Audi has the "ski bag" feature that is good for trim...besides it is about 5* below zero and the Audi heater rocks and my van heater sucks. Lunch at Chipolte grill makes it worth the trip too.Good success,Brian
Thanks, Brian. Hope it's a nice trip.By the way, I've wanted a 23 g pinner and will probably get one soon. I'm thinking Cadex most likely, unless you can suggest that something else is better. Have a real nice kitchen to do with a friend who thinks I do that work well, and I would like to try a pinner for the trim work instead of an 18 g brad nailer. What other work do you use the pinner for.And, the original question I had, what do use the narrow crown stapler for? And what kind do you use?Always interested in trying new products and tools, but some of the guys I do work for think I'm MR. Gadget, or don't think the new product will work as well as the old method.Until they try it. Then they are geniuses for having the sense to find new things.Glenn
I mainly use my stapler when I'm building counter-tops. Super handy and no worries of punch through.It's also handy if you are building carcasses for installing corner blocks/etc.Regards,Julian
Glenn,The trip went well...12' crown inside the Audi...you might never guess that would work.The Cadex is nicer than the 23 ga. guns I have. Mine are PC and Bostitch. I use them for molding over wood stuff like crown on cabs and for molding returns and outside corners. Being able to shoot virtually invisible pins, right at the edge or end of a molding, without splitting, is amazing.If you do lots of crown on cabinets, the Cadex would be worth the $$$. If you do general remodeling, with trim and and 2 or 3 kitchens per year, the Bostitch 23 ga. is a pretty good choice for around $100. I try to spend on tools that I think will really make me money. My first tool in most catagories is not the cheapest or most expensive, but the tool I think will do a solid job for a good price. Then if it is a tool I use really hard, I upgrade and keep the orginal as a back up or shop tool.I use the stapler as JT describes and I also pre-shim the hinge sides of all door openings by stapling shims at the hinge locations. Makes door hanging faster IMO. Staples hold the shims well. Lots of uses. My stapler is a Bostitch and has never failed me. Bass
Glenn,
I have the 1 3/8" Cadex and I love it. The only thing even close to a gripe is the toggle for the blow gun that's built into the side, same as the Hitachi trim guns - sometimes will catch and scare the daylights out of me. It's absolutely diminutive, quiet, will countersink a full-length pin into anything I've aimed it at so far, and most importantly well made. It's the first nailer that I've bought in a long time that just feels like a well made tool picking it up.
I probably don't use a pinner as much as Bass does, however it is slowly becoming my go to particularly for preassembling returns, installing small detail moldings when backed by solid wood, and tacking smaller assemblies to reduce clamp time. I even occasionally reach for it to pin down templates or straightedges where most clamps won't do.
I've heard mixed reviews on the Bostitch - I know Bass and McDesign both love theirs. Mine wouldn't sink into red oak which wouldn't do - I do a lot of stair work - but that could have been a fluke. I really do like that Cadex though, might be worth a look.
Compressor should be in sometime this week by the way. Can't wait for it, or the other things that I picked up "while I was at it." The trip to Rockler's website is a completely different story of tool-buying addiction which I should seek counseling for. Guys at the station were drooling this morning when I pulled my truck in for a quick rinse in the wash bay... guess I'm doing something right.
Oh well, back to work... yay.
Nick
<Can't wait for it, or the other things that I picked up "while I was at it.">Ah, the dreaded 'impulse items'. At times they are more expensive than what you went for in the first place.Which Cadex do you have and from where? I have visited Floyd Tool and will probably try them.My compressor should be here by the end of the week. Just in time for me to set doors. I also bought a 5 set of Door Deckers from Speed painting. Doing painting fairly often and the next two jobs have 10 and more than 20 doors to paint, respectively. They should make stacking them easier.Hmmm, what next? I know!Just getting new living room furniture and our first LCD TV. I'm going to be making the tables and TV/Stereo cabinet. I don't like saying entertainment center, although it probably is appropriate.I just know I'll need something new for that project. Some jig for setting drawer slides? There's got to be something.Glenn
Cadex CPB23.35. $199.00 from Floyd which is a really good price. So far I'm very happy with it. From what I've heard that Nikle model is pretty nice, although I'm sold on the Cadex.Impulse can be dangerous, but it really amounts to just saying eff it once in a while and buying what you want/need instead of putting off. Now I'm just trying to talk myself out of a portable planer. Not that I don't need one, but I just sold a railing job today that will involve milling the square balusters and beveled railings in the shop. Nice little DeWalt 735 or a Ridgid planer would be quite welcome right about now. I've really just put off buying a planer far too long... getting tired of getting by without.Oh well, we shall see.Nick
Tools of the Trade recently gave the Bostitch a bad review, and FHB gave it a good review a couple of years ago.My opinion is that the big difference in reviews was likely PSI used. TotT used 90 psi for all the guns they reviewed, suposedly to create a level playing field (it was the max pres. for some of the models in the test), but the Bostitch is designed for 20-30 PSI higher (120 psi max.) They said the Bostitch did not set pins flush in hardwoods....at 90 PSI--well duh!I run 110 to 120 psi and hold the gun firmly against the work and get good results. Someday I will upgrade to a Cadex or other high qualiy gun (Nickle, Max, Grex, etc.). The Bostitch was an upgade for me as the PC had a 1" pin max and is less consistent in setting pins (grinding down the nose is supposed to help).When I bought the PC it was that or the Senco at my local tool shops (I like to buy tools where they service what they sell). I got the Bostitch on sale for $109 locally. The sale was timed with a driver failure in my PC gun and I needed a 23 ga. for a cabinet crown job the same day.Your Cadex is undoubtedly better. When I do get one, the Bostitch will be a worthy back up and handy to leave set up in the shop. Then I can part with the PC, but it can get into tight spots better than any other 23ga., so I might just keep it.Now you know my rationale...for what it is worth.Good building,Brian
the gc on my last job had the angled 16ga 18volt dewalt and it got used alot as we were out side and high up on lifts but compared to the holding power of my 15ga hitachi i did not care for it i have a thomas 4 gal and my partner has the baby senco. the baby senco will run 2 18 ga guns on a spliter or the 15 ga all day and is real quiet
The 16 has it's purpose, but i won't use it for setting doors.I have a PC 15 gauge but thought about making that cordless also.Might still.Glenn