I restore older homes so production speed is a little less than in new home construction. I’ve been using the “Impulse nailer collection” for 8-10? years now and am wondering if anyone else has experienced problems with the newer models? The newer angled finish nailer performed so poorly we returned it, basically the newer models with the short gas cartridges seem to not last long enough for even medium production speed, they seem very high maintenance. My original straight clip 16ga finish gun still works great on its second set of batteries as does my Framing gun and Stapler. The Brad gun does nice work, but definitely has higher maintenance requirements.
What are other folks experiences with these issues? Is the impression that the quality is not what it used to be?
Also a company called “Powers Fasteners” seems to be introducing a new line of gas powered nailers, might be good for Paslode to have some competition?
Replies
i have both the straight 16 g finish & the framing nailer. The framer has been repaired more than & care to think about, the finish nailer seems to hold up ok. Both are ocassional use tools,just too much maintance.we use the air nailers on any job that we have room to leave a compressor set up. I have been looking @ the dewalt finish nailers, but, haven't gotten any feed back or had the chance to use one. It might be a option.
I've had the impulse almost to the day they first came out..
how long has that been?
It seem the biggest problem I have is just keeping the thing
clean as I work inside exclusively and consequently they
see a lot of dust.
I just got my "Tools of the Trade" mag.(free subscription
@ http://www.toolsofthetrade.net/subscribe) and they have
an advertisment from MAX (http://www.maxusacorp.com) that shows a new
cordless 21 degree full round head nails. Edited to add
that they don't have it listed on their web site yet
and I called the company( I believe the call went to India)
and they don't have any info. on it yet.
I'll be anxiously waiting to see how they preform.
The web site for powers trak-it is http://www.powers.com
Edited 9/19/2005 5:12 pm ET by butch
Edited 9/19/2005 5:19 pm ET by butch
I am just about to but my first nailer for exactly that kind of use, it looks like the best option is the Paslode straight finish nailer. None of the retailers I have talked to have had a good thing to say about the Dewalt, even though they sell both.
My other option is to get a paslode finish gun and mini 1.5HP compressor, which retails for exactly the same amount and the nails are alot cheaper, I am worried that it will be alot of hassle though with hoses and take up space on small projects. Any advice welcome.
strait nails are a % of the cost of angled.
I run both the dewalt & porter cable straight finish air guns both work without any problems,the dewalt is much longer so if size is a consideration. Most 16 gauge straight nails are interchangable so shop by price not brand
I started out with the paslode pneumatic straight clip trim nailer (3/4-2 1/2" 16ga) and although I now use the impulse tools in the field, I still use the air tools in the shop, I just bought a paslode 5/8-2" 18ga pneumatic brad gun for the shop after my mostly positive experience with the impulse brad nailer (although it needs a lot of cleaning, and short gas cartridges) in the field.
I picked up the dewalt in the store and even without the battery it seems very heavy, I might expect a framing gun to weigh that much but not a finish gun.
I cannot tell you what the new impulse 16ga trim gun is like, but I know it uses the shorter gas cartridges which don't seem to perform as well as the older ones that were longer.
Yes the straight clips of nails are less expensive and I've never not been able to figure out how to use it in "tight" spaces since that seems to be one of the "selling" points for the angled units.
The compressor issue is another thing altogether, I haven't looked at what the latest is out there, my old emglo 1.5hp still works fine, but unless you have a 20amp outlet (or a 10ga 50' extension cord), you are running to the panel box a lot, I hope they have improved on that by now as well as the weight. To sum this all up, I like to use both the 18ga brad gun and the 16ga finish gun for trim work and recommend both (starting with the 16ga) which ever route you go on gas (having no hoses in a real plus) vs. air issue.
Great reply, thanks.
I have just priced a job which invoves both new construction of steps/fllooring walls and various trim, all in timber. You can get a 14g conversion kit for the paslode 16g, would that size of nails be ok for face nailing softwood floorboards? Otherwise I might need a framing nailer as well to fire 2" brads. Paslode also do a kit with a 1.5 HP compressor and finish gun, I wondered if for ocasional use this would work ok with a framer. Thanks.
The portable 1.5 hp compressor seems to have always pushed one framing gun just fine for me, it isn't really able to do much more than one with out running all the time.
I am not aware of the conversion kit for Paslode trim gun, though for face nailing a larger gage might be a plus. Will the nails be counter sunk and filled? or exposed heads like I am asked to do some times, then its hand nails from the Tremont nail company if that look is wanted.
If you go the framing nailer route make sure it can have a soft non marring tip as an option (I have a rubber tip for my paslode impulse nailer that replaces the toothed one Amazon.com: Tools & Hardware: Paslode 404705 Non-Mar Contact Element) and it does full round head nails or in the case of paslodes impulse "round drive" nails which are offset full round heads.
Edited 9/27/2005 11:00 am ET by WoodWolf
It looks like the best option is to get both the framer and the finish gun from what you say. the job I was on today was really busy with several finishing trades and adding hoses into that mix would have been no fun. The floor is softwood with exposed nails, traditionaly I would use sunk in cut nails. I also need to build a frame to bring up some levels to fit it on, so the framer would be handy for that.
Is there much difference between the newer model and the old 250 nailer? The new one is not yet available in the UK.
The framer and finish gun are a good combination to have, I am using what I think is the second generation framer (first orange one, first one was black) not sure about the model number if that is the same model you are talking about, it has worked very well for me, I will check out the newer one next time I'm through the lumber yard again, but it looks very similar.
WoodWolf, I also have the same Emglo compressor for 15+ years and I have had the same problems with circuits flipping (especially in cold weather). I was tired of bringing it indoors to warm it up and was about to trade it in for a new oilless compressor when a friend recommended synthetic compressor oil. Made a huge difference...now it will start right up at 10 degrees and I can plug it into a 12 or 14 gauge ext. cord instead of dragging out the 50' 10 gauge.The oil I used was made by Amsoil and not easy to find (try a compressor repair/dealer). Be sure its compressor oil and not motor oil. It is still too heavy to lug around so I use the Paslode Impulse framer or Paslode 16 gauge straight finish nailer when possible. I got these for the simple reason that they use the same nails as my Paslode pneumatic guns.
Edited 9/29/2005 7:29 pm ET by wood4rd
Thanks for the info.
I use the same nails in my guns gas and air too, a lot easier that way.
WW-
I have both the finish and the framer from Paslode. They are not subject to enough usage by any means, but I have had them about 5 years.
I'm getting fed up with the framer. Just had the plunger break while it was nailing, dropped it off and it was $100 for a fix. Got it back to the job, didn't use a stick of nails and it won't fire now. If this keeps up, I won't bother fixing it. (I actually enjoy hand nailing.)
I was a big fan, and am getting less happy whenever it goes back for repair.
Don K.
I also enjoy hand nailing, however I often screw together small sections of framework when remodeling. As I do small jobs where space is often an issue. Common tasks for me are fixing ply/mdf panels and boxes, usual trim work, kitchen and bathroom installation. I guess the convenience of cordless on these is more important than greater reliabilty/speed of a compressor set up.
I am one of those crazy people that actually enjoys doing my own repairs, but if I have to keep fixing the gun over and over it becomes more of a liability than an asset. I have noticed with the impulses that they are also very temperature sensitive, in the winter I usually warm them up (good for air guns too) on the job (in front of a heat duct or radiator or on the truck dashboard with the defrost on {remove the gas cartridge first}) or take them into the house at night, before I use them the next day, I did break a drive pin on one but I think it had been in below freezing the night before and not warmed up, also when it is very hot and humid, the spark plug/igniter seems sluggish. Replacing the batteries made a big difference too after about 4-5 years.
Also, I'm wondering exactly who are these "industrial" designer/engineers that put these things together, and how many of them actually use them? There seems to be a lot of bad design going on. Maybe one day they will actually ask the users what they want and need in these tools, that would probably be a lot more successful.
WW-
You mention designers and it reminded me of one of my pet peeves - the hammer loop on the back of Carhart overalls. I don't know who put this thing on, but for my $ it's a waste of thread and material. You couldn't fit a hammer handle into that thing no matter how hard you try - I can just about get two fingers into this "loop". So why do they bother? Doesn't anybody try these things out? Don't get me started...
Don K.
Don K.-
> the hammer loop on the back of Carhart overalls. I don't know who put
> this thing on, but for my $ it's a waste of thread and material. You
> couldn't fit a hammer handle into that thing no matter how hard you
> try - I can just about get two fingers into this "loop".
Carpenters are not the only folks that wear Carharts. I bet the iron workers love dropping a spud wrench into that loop.
Yeah but, Carhartt does not sell them as "Iron Worker's" pants, they have carpenter on the description. (:->
Never had a problem with my framer, but my angled trim nailer is pretty touchy. Usually if its a critical nail the nail either jams or the plunger pin slides past the nail (not completely setting it) and still sinking in the wood.
I'm even considering a second framer for my helper. I have a LOADED van so i'm not really interested in packing up a compressor. I dont do that much framing anyway.
I started out with the orange straight clip finish nailer years ago. Basically wore it out, so I bought the angle finish nailer a year or so ago. So far, its worked well, with no jams or problems. And it gets pretty regular use.
I also have the framing gun, and the 18ga. brad gun. Wouldn't want to be without any of them.
edit to include- I do find the gas cylinders don't last nearly as long as the straight nailer ones, but they are a lot shorter. I just like the convenience of the angle nailer for getting into tighter areas.
Edited 9/27/2005 11:21 am ET by Shep
I am still running the original black straight clip 16ga finish gun on second set of batteries, I'm am glad to hear your angled finish gun is working for you, maybe they have fixed the misfiring problem with the first ones by now, I agree with the not wanting to be without them anymore, it is so much easier than dragging hoses and compressor.