Cordless pin nailers ?

[Kelly Colin Mark]

The P6xx series guns all shoot pins from 3/8" up to the max length for that gun.

What is your thought process on cabinets? I'm wondering if they will work for your need.

Greg - thanks for the clarification. I misread my dealer's website - I thought only the P650 and P650L handled a range of nail lengths, and that my gun ONLY used 1-3/16" nails. Now that I know my gun will handle the useful range of lengths for this gauge, I'm feeling good that this is the right choice. Thanks !

As for my thought process - I'm completely a hack but I understood one could use these nails to hold cabinet pieces together while they are either being screwed or glued up, and that the smaller gauge would leave less of a hole. I have a tiny, tiny space so if I ever have to clamp anything up, I'm out of space - not to mention I can barely swing a 48" clamp in my space in the first place. So my hope was that a nailer could help eliminate some of the need for clamping.

In some videos I saw, that process also seemed really easy - I could square up the each corner by feel, shoot a nail in that corner, and have some confidence it would remain square until I could drive some screws. Most recently, I've been playing with pocket hole screws, but I find the act of joining two pieces has a tendency to move those same pieces.

The other application I have in mind is to hold solid edge banding in place until glue dries.

Am I off base in what I think these guns can do ?

thanks !

[Rich Engelhardt]

Kelly - you're probably going to just have to find out by trial and error what the pin nailer won't do.
Even that can get "iffy".

I used mine w/ 1" pins to attach some shoe molding once. It worked great.
Next time around, it wouldn't hold worth a darn & I had to go up a step to an 18 ga.

Despite that - I still believe you'll find a ton of uses. I know I have with all my nailers.
Heck even the roofing nailer I bought! I had no idea that could be used to attach weather seal to the bottom of a garage door until I saw it being done!

[Kelly Colin Mark]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I managed to play with the nailer and compressor a bit on the weekend. First impressions:
- the Rolair felt a lot heavier when I got it home than it did in the store when I did a side-by-side with the Senco. It also sounded a lot louder than I remember.
- it was stunning how quiet it was driving the nails (when the compressor wasn't on). My only prior experience with nailers was with a fuel-powered Paslode (IIRC) and it was way louder. Nails were nearly invisible, but one nail did go completely off course. Initially I thought I must have aimed wrong but now wonder whether the nail was just following the path of least resistance. Will nails go off course with plywood, or should ply be more homogenous and less likely to steer nails off course ?
- I did some 90degree butt joints in ply. They wobbled a bit but I'm not sure if my pieces were exactly square so that could explain it - they were just the scraps I found nearby. The pieces weren't easy to pull apart by hand.

- the nail gun was really fun to use.

Next question - are nail guns basically the same, or are there compelling reasons to pay more for premium tools ? I can see there could be some usability and ergonomic issues, but I could buy a trio of Husky air tools (two nailers and a stapler) at my HD for less than $100 bucks. None is a pin nailer so I would keep the Grex, but if I decided to buy something that could handle bigger nails, it'd be nice to know what I'm giving up and if I'd miss anything.

thanks everyone ! I spent 15 minutes today at HD staring at the wall of air tools and wondering what they would be used for ;-)

[John M Wilson]

Next question - are nail guns basically the same, or are there compelling reasons to pay more for premium tools ? I can see there could be some usability and ergonomic issues, but I could buy a trio of Husky air tools (two nailers and a stapler) at my HD for less than $100 bucks.

My advice, for what its worth:

Nailing is fun, but right now you have a solution in search of a problem (you have no pressing need for another air tool, but they look like fun, so...)

Since you are not on a deadline, time is your friend. Don't get in a hurry -- these things go on sale all the time.

Do a little research, surf the web, etc. Figure out which tool you need, not which tool you want, as there is a fair amount of overlap among the various gauges & sizes.

I have had good luck with Hitachi (the NT65MA4 15 gauge finish nailer, and the NT50AE2 18 gauge brad nailer). With a 15 gauge and and 18 gauge, I don't need a 16 gauge. But other folks will find that the 16 gauge is the sweet spot for them...

Start with the fastener that is best to do the job that you're doing, and work backwards from there. Otherwise you may find that you spent money on a tool that is not quite what you need, and then you either compromise, or buy twice. DAMHIKT

Good Luck!

[Rich Engelhardt]

Next question - are nail guns basically the same, or are there compelling reasons to pay more for premium tools

W/air nailers, you pay more for things you don't see.
The cheaper ones will usually leave a pronounced oval shaped "divot" in the wood from the hammer. Better ones lessen the chances of that.
Also, better name brands - Bostitch, Porter Cable, Senco, etc. will have parts available to rebuild them when they need it.
With the cheaper one, like the Husky, Harbor Freight, etc. - when they need seals or something you just toss them.