Hello all. I’m debating whether to buy a Senco air free #41 finish nailer. It is the battery powered nailer and I don’t know anyone whose owned one. Has any reader had experience with it?
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I have one and also use the Airless Brad nailer at work. Both are good. I've used them to do whole houses worth of trim. I prefer to use the compressor for that size of job, but for small jobs (repairs, bathrooms), it's great to just carry one case.
Ditto....great for punch out or small jobs. I wouldn't count on as a production nailer.
John
J.R. Lazaro Builders, Inc.
Indianapolis, In.
http://www.lazarobuilders.com
I just bought the 18ga, staright nail model (I think its the 25) and am very pleased after dragging hoses around for the past 15 years. I have heard the 16ga (is that the 41 model?) has design problems hence not readily available for sale at a lot of places.
Mike
I've had one for about a year. I agree with what xhammernailsx said. Really, though, I way prefer to use an air hose guns. One thing about the Senco Free Air is that when you pull the trigger, you wait about a second or so before the gun fires while you wait for it to charge up. It's a little disconcerting... The cordless Passlode is faster as it charges *after* you shoot the nail. The only thing about the Passlode is that it shoots 16 gauge nails, and, for example, for hanging doors, I much prefer the 15 gauge as they hold much better and have larger heads that don't pull through the wood as much, and don't get deflected grain in the wood, by knots, etc nearly as much. Another good thing is that it costs less to operate, since the Passlode has the fuel sells. I think you have a wider variety of nails available for the Senco too. The Senco has been reliable thus far, although, it's a PITA to get the battery off.
When I have anything other than a very small job, I usually just end up dragging out the hoses so I can have a variety of fasteners - 15 ga, 18ga pins and Narrow crown staples, and I can shoot them all at least as fast as I can pull the trigger.
As others have said, they are great for punch, but Especially for warranty work. Its nice to not have to drag hoses through a homeowner's furnished house for a small task.
I would never use one for production.
As Matt mentioned, the batteries are hard to get off (I'm glad he said that, I thot it was just me).
darcy
Batteries hard to get off!? Am I the only one in the world who can slide those batteries off without a problem?!
You can't pull. You just slide it off. It requires a finesse that I didn't think I even possessed.
It's probably just me. Because my hands are not very big, I often use my left thumb on one side, and middle finger on my right to get many batteries off of cordless tools. I wish I had bigger hands and was about 3 inches taller! Heck, more shoulder muscle would be great too!
I'm glad to see so many people like it...I've thought of getting it, then did some research...Probably right when it came out. People either liked it, or HATED it... And people were talking about having to return theirs 3-4 times to get one that worked.
Young, poor, and eager to learn
"And people were talking about having to return theirs 3-4 times to get one that worked."
That's not good news, but we haven't had any problems. . .yet.
I saw that the prices were reduced to $189 at HD about two weeks ago. Didn't buy one at the time. Went to a different HD a few days later to pick one up, and was told the reason they were on sale was because they were being discontinued- too many problems. Of course, the "discontinued" story was coming from one of the $8/hr geniuses at HD, but I have heard about the 3-4 return trips to get one that works. Maybe they should be discontinued.
Bob
I heard the same thing, and talked to the Senco guys at the Home Builders show in Vegas. They said, at that price, buy it, then send it to them with some "problem" and they would replace it with the latest gen which has been updated.
hmmmmmmm....makes you think!Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
I think they are going to continue making them, but Home Depot isn't going to carry them.