23 Gauge Headless Pinner Recommendations

[keith denbesten]

I have the Hitachi, I've only run a few clips through it and it's done all the mahogany I've put in front of it. I don't know if it's commercial grade. All I'm hoping for is to have it hold out while I trim the house. I think it was 80.00 give or take.

[Dan Friedrichs]

The Harbor Freight one (which can be had on sale for $9) is one of their real "gems". It "feels" like it should be much more expensive.

That said, I don't know if the pins they sell are as good as some of the others - every time I've tried to use mine, easily 50% of the pins curl around and end up coming out the front of the work. I'm planning on getting some other brand pins to see if this fixes the problem...

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Grex, no comparison The festool of pinners.

[Matt Meiser]

I had a Harbor Freight which worked great but was limited to 1" pins which IMHO are a little short if you ever want to tack together 3/4" pieces. Now I have a Bostitch which also works well. I probably would have bought a Grex, but stumbled across a clearance deal at an outlet store and got it for something like $50.

[John McClanahan]

I don't use mine enough to justify a good brand name. I'm happy with my Harbor Freight.

[Prashun Patel]

I just went through this process.

There are 2 types: ones that shoot < 1" reliably, and ones that shoot slightly longer (1 3/8") ones.

The Grex is generally regarded as one of the best ones.

I ended up getting the Porter Cable PC138. It was about 1/2 price of the Grex. I find it to shoot 1 3/8" pins reliably. However, I am only a hobbyist. The PC138 does not do a good job of countersinking the pins. You can make it countersink by removing the protective plastic nose. However, this will cause denting. IMHO, flush pins are less visible than countersinked ones with little dents that require filling. If I wanted to fill, I'd just use an 18g nailer...

The Grex, it seems, does not have this 'bug'. Nonetheless, I am happy with the PC138.

If you want to only shoot pins < 1", then there are a bunch of options. The HF is popular, as is the Freeman and Husky nailers. All of these can be had in the $25 range...

[scott vroom]

+1 on the Grex 635

[Bill Arnold]

My HF does everything I need a pinner to do.

[Neil Brooks]

YOUR money ? Grex or Cadex.

MY money: meh. My HF works pretty darned well

[Rich Riddle]

Thanks for all the information. I ordered the Grex 645L today. It looks like it will suit the needs just fine.

[Clint Baxter]

I have and like the Grex 650. It shoots the 2" pins into hardwood again without leaving a mark. You do, however, get the occasional pin that will curl back on you. I've only had this really happen when I'm shooting the 2" pins though. I'm sure you'll be happy with yours.

Clint

[Craig McCormick]

I have the HF also. Never a problem.

AZCRAIG

[ed vitanovec]

I too have the Harbor Freight and it has worked well, I don't use it a lot and felt a low end one would work out for me.

[Jeff Hamilton Jr.]

+1 for the Freeman on sale @ Woodcraft (don't know if it is now, but was when I "pulled the trigger." ha, ha, ha ...)

[Van Huskey]

If you are willing to pay for it get a Grex or my second shoice would be Cadex. Either way and you will have a top of the line pinner.