23 gauge pin nailer

[Ken Fitzgerald]

At the same time a contractor is building a kitchen addition for us, we had him install all new windows. I insisted they use windows with nail flanges. The contactor installed the exterior trim and I am painting it.

I am doing the interior trim. For the picture frame mitered corners, I had read and the contractor told me he likes to put a single 23 gauge pin nail to secure the mitered corners together while the glue dries. He offered to let me use his 23 gauge pin nailer as he doesn't use it often. I have enough projects where I could use a pin nailer so I purchased one.

Today my Hitachi NP35A 23 gauge pin nailer arrived. I took it to the shop and gave it a test drive. It drove everything from 5/8" to 1 3/8" pin nails into white oak like it was nothing with my air compressor set at 90 PSI.

I finished assembling my outfeed table today. I will put a finish on it later but now I can begin using the outfeed table while ripping red oak for the window trim and pre-finishing it.

Then the little pin nailer will get it's real test. With the initial test drive, I was impressed.

[John Lankers]

I agree with you, I built 100 little box joint boxes last winter and 'clamped' the joints with 5/8" pins, just smeared some saw dust/glue mixture into the pin holes and set them aside to dry - perfect results and super fast. My little King Canada pinner paid for itself within the hour.

[Bruce Page]

I have a Grex 23ga nailer. I don't use it often but if you need to tack something and have it almost undetectable they work really well.

[Prashun Patel]

I like mine too. It's awesome for trim. Beware though that it has very little ability to pull a piece out of tension, so I would not use it if your two pieces don't mate perfectly.

[Randy Red Bemont]

They are tiny but mighty! I have the P/C one and love it. A great air gun to have when you need it.

Red

[Glenn Clabo]

As an old finish guy...the best invention was the pin nailer. I can't tell you how many times my old French mentor made me take something down because it wasn't good enough...mostly because of my inability to nail. As I watch people these days...most no longer know how to use a hammer properly...but I can't blame them at all. Pneumatics are an amazing time and effort saver. Just be careful...those little suckers can curl around knots and are quite painful in a finger.

[Jim Dwight]

As an old finish guy...the best invention was the pin nailer. I can't tell you how many times my old French mentor made me take something down because it wasn't good enough...mostly because of my inability to nail. As I watch people these days...most no longer know how to use a hammer properly...but I can't blame them at all. Pneumatics are an amazing time and effort saver. Just be careful...those little suckers can curl around knots and are quite painful in a finger.

+1 I like using my Bostitch pinner and my 18 gauge brad nailers but both want to wander sometimes, even in pine. It doesn't take a knot for them to go off at wild angles. In my interior trim project on our addition I used the pinner mostly to put the returns on the casing under the window stool. The trim was all painted. If I was doing clear finish trim, I would have used the pinner more.

[Robert Chapman]

I really like my Bosch 23 ga. pin nailer. I use in mostly in place of clamps for glue ups. As stated earlier you need to be careful around knots since the thin pins can be easily deflected.

[Peter Quinn]

I've used that hitachi pin nailer at a few jobs now for a few years, it's probably the best value in pin nailers going. I love the 23 gauge pins, I use them a lot. One fine use is for gluing on face frames that want to slide around, I shoot pins through a scrap of laminate into the plywood edge, then pull the laminate. That adds just enough traction to keep my frames from sliding around as I position and clamp but the clamps can easily squish the protruding pins into the wood. I'm dying to get a 21 guage headless nailer for door glass stops where 18 is too much and 23 not quite enough, but for some reason they are a huge bit more $$$$, so I haven't taken that plunge yet. I think that little hitachi will soon become a favorite.

[Mike Henderson]

I bought the Grex that shoots 2" pins. Good tool but way overkill. I've never used a 2" pin yet!

Mike

[lowell holmes]

I have a Spotnail pin driver. It is good for holding a piece while the glue drys. The pins wouldn't hold the glass mold in an entrance door I made. I had to use brads.
As your contractor used it to hold pieces until the glue dried, I've done the same thing. It is a nice toy er tool to have.

[Jerome Stanek]

Hate to say this but I have the Harbor Freight one that I got while in Reno at a trade show. Needed real quick and only for one small job. the HF was right across the street from where I was working so I thought why not try it. It is one of their gems I have used it many times now and can;t bring myself to buy a better brand.

[Erik Christensen]

I really like my 23 guage pin nailer but it is not without some drawbacks - the most important is to always pay attention to where you place your fingers when using it because the thin 23 guage pin is easily deflected - not at all uncommon to have it hit a knot or grain reversal and take a hard 90 turn especially on longer pins - so if you are shooting 1 1/2" pins make sure your fingers are at least 2" in every dimension away from the tip of the gun - do not pay attention to where the gun is 'pointed' - assume the pin can turn in any direction - don't ask me how I know this :0

[Jim Becker]

I actually have two 23 gage pinners...my original one is a Senco Accuset that only shoots a few sizes up to 3/4" long and was acquired a long time ago. It actually can do most of what I need in the shop for projects but was lacking for home improvement tasks. So a few years ago I also bought a Grex that goes up to 1 3/8" fasteners. That one gets the most use...pretty much every project...and generally, it's for either holding on light trim while glue sets or for making temporary jigs that can be torn down cleanly afterward. Great too to have!

[Mark Blatter]

I have a Grex 23ga nailer. I don't use it often but if you need to tack something and have it almost undetectable they work really well.

+1

I love my Grex. I can drive a long nail, mostly straight, without any issues. I bought a Rigid one not too long ago and tried to put a 1" nail through a piece of 1/4" scribe, into a cabinet. It would not drive it all the way in, though it was hickory. still my Grex would have done with a 1 1/2"l nail all while taking a nap.