In the market for a 15 ga finish nailer. I was thinking about the Hitachi or the Max, but after reading about the possible oil staining of non-painted trim, I’ve started thinking about the Bostitch instead.
Am I looking at becoming Jed Clampett with oil squirting out of the gun? Or is this more realistically something that shows up every 5,000 nails and while a PITA, something that can be cleaned up?
Thanks.
Listeners write in about running a profitable contracting business and ask questions about patching drywall, adding air barriers, and fixing a patio poured against the house.
"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.
Dig into cutting-edge approaches and decades of proven solutions with total access to our experts and tradespeople.
Start Free Trial NowGet instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.
Start Free Trial Now
Replies
In between your two alternatives but definately go oiless... I have a Bostitch and a Senco they're both great guns. I forget the exact gauges but my Senco is the larger of the two. Seldom do either jam or misbehave, HTH
Paul
I've never had problems with oil stains. Just a very little dab once in a while is all you'll need.
Pardon my fat fingers.
http://www.hay98.com/
If you add a few drops of oil each time the gun is used, and you only use it for a dozen nails, that's a huge amount of oil that has to come out somewhere.
On the other hand we add a few drops of oil each morning and may run 500 nails a day. I can't ever remember having oil problems in 10 years of finish carpentry.
Be realistic with the amount of oil vs. # of nails and you'll be fine. Buy the gun that you like.
As for the oil-less designs, they are lubricated, but with a grease packed into the housing. A little grease is dislodged with use to keep things working, but over time it under-lubricates the gun with low service life. If you aren't running trim on a regular basis this shouldn't be a problem, as my last Senco SFN40 ran on grease for 40k nails before needing a rebuild.
Senco even admits that the oil-less designs don't last as long as one with regular oil. Since my guns get 10s of thousands of nails run through them I clean the grease out and simply oil daily. Once you start using oil it washes out the grease and you have to either continue oiling or have it repaced with grease to be oil-free again.
:-)
Thanks to all of you. I should have been more clear on the estimated use. I'll be working on my house and the odd project at my parent's or friend's houses as well. So I'm not going to be banging in 10,000 nails anytime soon. And by Don's comments it sounds like oil-free would be better suited for my use, yes?
I love my Hitachi finish gun. Light, powerful, with a built in blow gun.
Yes, it needs oil, but like someone said, if you don't put too much in, stains aren't a problem.
I bought the Hitachi earlier this year, used it for a few months, then lost it out the truck (along with an 18 ga. and NC stapler.) Within an hour I had another Hitachi. Far better than the Bostitch it replaced (initially.)
"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
The little blower is that useful, eh? Looks nice, but never having used one I'm not sure if it's more gimmicky than a have-to-have feature.
Its not a have-to-have feature, but I have found it useful in blowing sawdust off tools and surfaces.
I run out of lung power after awhile.
I really dig the blow gun feature of the Hitachi, too - not a gimmick in my mind, and I think it'd be a great, logical addition to most other guns, assuming they could keep cost and service needs down.
Very good. Thanks for the advice. I picked up the Hitachi and will put it to use this week.
I have the Senco FP41XP, I think (15g, oil-less). I like it, and haven't had any problems to speak of.