Once again got talked into laying an oak floor.
All the Bostitch IIIFS nailers I have used (3 or 4) have eventually sprayed some oil droplets out the exhaust ports. This time the floor is prefinished, so it’s not that big of a deal, but still is annoying.
I typically only use a drop or two of oil at the beginning of each day of use, so hard to believe that’s too much.
Is this your experience with this tool? How about other floor nailers?
Replies
I've had the same thing happen with rented Bostich floor guns a few times. My guess is that most renters don't bother oiling, the piston/cylinder/ring assembly dries out, and you get some "blow-by."
We just rented a Porter Cable floor nailer for a small floor, it seemed to work fine.
In the past I have rented. However, this nailer is a CPO Bostitch "new" reconditioned unit.
After only about 100 s.f. it started spitting. I'm going to finish the floor with a paper towel taped around the top of the gun since I noticed it also sprayed some droplets on the newly painted wall! After that, maybe I will return it to Bostitch.
Thanks.
Cracked o-ring that wasn't replaced when it was reconditioned.
Finish your job and send it back.
Bostitch has a repair/reconditioning facility close to me. I had the same problem with a narrow crown stapler that I bought from a local tool supply house. I took my sales reciept and the stapler to the repair center because it was closer to me than the retailer.
They fixed and shipped it back to me ... no charge.
Also got some maintenace advice on over oiling an air tool (didn't think that was possible, but it is).
My Senco flooring nailer has been spitting oil since day 2. Local Senco repair shop says you got to oil the heck out of it (four drops three or four times daily). Still spits oil, and still get the same response from repair guy-Keep it really oiled.
I have justed taped a towel around the outlets to keep from spraying the walls.
I picked up a Primatec stapler a few months ago and even though it looks bizarre it's night and day compared to the Bostitch. 1 or 2 drops per week, will only fire when on the tongue, gets one row nearer the wall and requires less impact to fire. In fact the only time it missed a beat was with Ipe and then I switched to 1 1/2" staples and it worked fine. The yellow one is now just for back up.
That was my thought as well. I think I will take that path. Thanks.
As for the Primatech model, that sounds very interesting. If I did more floors, I would definitely check it out since the 210/240 have some nice features.
I just had that same stapler rebuilt. The guy at the shop (who I trust completely) said it will be a fact of life if you keep the proper amount of oil in it. He recommended that I tape a sock over the exhaust port area and just deal with it.
That's disappointing to say the least.
I have been using a paper towel taped around it with success, but there's clearly a design issue here if all the rings are in good shape and the gun still does this.
Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but annoying nonetheless given that this is not a $10 tool.