Hey guys, I was looking for a new cordless finish nailer and ended up getting a used PC Bammer. Anybody else have experience/feedback on these guys? Does an open fuel cartridge have any shelf life or do I need to crack it open and then shoot 1,000 nails in one day?
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
Few people understand it. Nobody agrees what it is, how to learn about it, or who's responsible for it. It has never been more important
Featured Video
SawStop's Portable Tablesaw is Bigger and Better Than BeforeHighlights
"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
I feel for ya bro'
it is like an EDSEL....worst idea in modern history.
get rid of it as soon as you can, REALLY.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
I have a finish nailer PC Bammer. It works fairly well for me - although it does have a habit of not firing sometimes. I am not a pro - and since i only use it for trim, i tolerate the occasional inconsisteny (aka - too cheap to buy another).
There seems to be a decent shelf life on the cartridges. I have left one for 6 months and didnt have a probelm when i started back up again. I am sure that there is some loss, but not enough to make you want to through it away.
And there is the sweet smell of butane after you fire your nail....
Frank
with respect.......dump it youve been had.......
I just stopped in to chuckle.
Hope it was given to you.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
What everybody else said!
If you need parts for it you can always find more of them on E-bay, there plentiful.
Oh BTW, if you do get rid of it, dont go and buy the other airless nailer that PC has, its just as big a joke.
My condolences..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
There's one tool no one would steal, even if I left the keys in it. I had good luck with mine and used it for 6 years without problems or service. It became difficult to find the fuel cells and then my elbow started "smarting" after a good day of use. Went to a comptessor last year and have never looked back. Maybe it will find it way out to a garage sale or maybe it would be a relic to show the grand children some day.
MES
It's been said the case it comes in can make a great raft.
If you ever find out why the 'Caution' disclaimer imprinted on the nose cylinder warning you the nose can heat up and become hot, please let me know.
I successfully got the thing to work in a rhythm only missing about one out of four shots.
be dead on or that quarter inch is going to haunt you
I bought one. It is, what it is. An occasional use gun. Good for knocking out punch lists or whatever. Since you've got it use it. But don't pull it out on a job site and expect the guys to envy you.
Who Dares Wins.
When he gets down here he may not be feeling so good...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Heh. You ought to be the shmuck that paid full price. Talk about depressed.Who Dares Wins.
Well, I guess it's pretty obvious how you guys feel about the bammer! Well to tell you the truth, I've done mostly woodworking in my basement, but I am starting to pick up light finish carpentry jobs here and there and thought a finish nailer would be best. Didn't want to go for the whole compressor/hose/gun setup just yet, thought I would start out cheaper and maybe work up to as I need to. Hopefully I will need to if the jobs keep on rolling in! Anyway, thanks for the advice guys...just out of curiosity though. What nailers do you guys prefer? Senco? and if you use cordless are you saying you prefer the heavy battery-powered suckers?
Personally I have the Paslodes and love them... I'm sure you'll get your money's worth out of the Bammer and then heave it when you can. We've alllllllll made bad purchases in the past, gives us something to b**ch about ;)
well, if it turns out to be a POS then I won't feel bad about dropping it all the time....just hope the cylinder doesn't explode or anything!
Hey... just imagine the lawsuit ;) you'd be set. Maybe an assistant can drop it from a great height at your feet?
I picked up a Bammer at a yard sale two years ago. It had three gas cartridges, all of which looked identical (no way to tell which ones had been "opened" and which ones had not.
I've always assumed that all three had been in the gun and that all three were partials.
I've emptied one of the three, but the second one continues to work just fine. I don't think there are any shelf life issues with them.
I can understand why people dislike the Bammer. It is large (and the case is huge!). It is difficult to pump. Sometimes, after the effort to get it pumped, it misfires. Most of the misfires are because I don't have the nose pushed all of the way down.
The more I use it, the fewer misfires I have. The last time out (a week ago or so) I managed maybe thirty nails with one misfire.
Someone once posted that Porter-Cable told them to spray the nose with silicone lubricant to make it easier to pump. I always remember that everytime I get it out to use it. Unfortunately, I never remember it to put some silicone lubricant in the van.
If you do not have the instructions:
Pump it twice before beginning to nail to prime it (so it will actually be three pumps, two to prime, one to shoot the nail). If you set it down for a few minutes, you may need to prime it again (this is usually the cause of misfires that are not due to the nose being pushed down all the way). Nowadays, I am liberal in my priming it. If I set it down for a little while, I prime it before use.
When trying to remove the gas cartridge, if the red button won't push in, push in on the cap (the one you are trying to remove) and then the red button will work.
After removing the cartridge, two pumps clear the gun of fuel.
If I was doing finish carpentry everyday, I would probably buy something else, but the Bammer was cheap and serves my purposes. My yard can get nails that fit it and the cartridges.
Rich Beckman
Another day, another tool.