Airless Finish nailers

[Mark W Pugh]

Any recommendations on a airless/battery finish nailer? Would be used for basic construction. Or, should I just avoid them?

[Victor Robinson]

Personally, I think unless you really have a strong need for going hose-less, the technology needs another year or two to fully mature.

Milwaukee's entry into the space was supposed to be game-changing, especially since many are heavily invested in their M18 battery platform. And while the nailers perform well in many areas, the fact that none of them are able to fully sink nails when shot at an angle to the surface is a significant compromise in my book, and a deal-breaker for many, especially when combined with the high cost of the nailers. In addition, they are generally heavy, bulky, and less ergonomic compared to their pneumatic counterparts. The noses are fairly large, which is more annoying on the 18 gauge. I haven't used the Senco or Paslodes, but they suffer from the same general issues (though not the angle sinking issue I mentioned for the Milwaukees).

If the ability to go hoseless is important enough to where you can overlook these compromises, they are a decent tool. I have the M18 16 gauge angled, and while it has been handy for those times a compressor would be cumbersome, I may just sell it because to me the price wasn't worth it. But I am a DIYer so a compressor is easily accessible for my projects and I don't have to tote it around from jobsite to jobsite.

In the 18 gauge space I think the Ryobi is still the best bet, but it's probably not durable enough for daily/pro use.

[Jared Sankovich]

I was looking at the airless finish nailer options recently, I ended up with a senco 1010 compressor instead.

[sebastian phillips]

Not sure what you mean by "basic construction"..., but
The De Walt 18V 16ga units are excellent. They consistently set 2" nails in a production environment.
They never, and I mean never, jam.
They have a nice nose that doesn't mar the work.
The nose also works really well for blind nailing t&g planks.
If you don't like dragging a hose around or listening to a compressor you will be happy.
Get two batteries so you always have a fresh one.
This is a very heavy finish nailer because of the battery, but the plusses override the extra weight, you'll get used to it.
They are "slow to nail", the battery "winds up" when you pull the trigger, but it's trim work..they are plenty fast enough.
Work off scaffolding or a ladder and the lack of a hose will be well worth the extra weight.
I would not use this tool to secure door jambs-use a 15 ga gun w/ 2.5" nails
I would not use this gun to secure cabinet crown-use an 18 ga gun
This tool shines installing 3/4" casings, baseboards, 3/4" t&g paneling, and ceiling crown

[Dave Lehnert]

If I were needing a cordless gun I would research the SENCO Fusion guns.
I got to test drive one a couple years ago at a demo event. Kinda slick how it works.
Would be interested in hearing from anyone who has used one for some time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myv9L4kFjcU

[jack duren]

I always used Paslode. Worked fine...

[Jim Dwight]

I have the 18 gauge brad Ryobi brad nailer. I also have 16 and 18 gauge pneumatics plus a 23 guage pinner, staplers, and flooring nailers. I reach for the Ryobi first for anything within it's capabilities. I used it nearly exclusively to put trim in an addition of about 600 ft2. Base, casing, and interior doors. In another room, I used it to put in small crown. I've shot about 5000 2 inch brads plus some shorter ones. I've had maybe 3 jambs which are cleared without tools. It annoys me slightly that I have to wait for it to spin up when I first pick it up and it's pretty sensitive to the angle I hold it at. It refuses to fire if it doesn't like the angle. There may be an adjustment for it. I just check how I'm holding it and adjust. The pneumatics are less touchy but jamb at least as often. The big advantage of the Ryobi is no compressor. No compressor noise, no hose to drag around. To me, those are big advantages. If you have a quiet and light compressor, it would make things closer. But cordless nailers are just as handy as other cordless tools. And the Ryboi is at least as nice a nailer as my pneumatics (mixture of PC, Bostitch, and HF). It is a little heavy. Much heavier than pneumatics. But a lot lighter than either of my compressors.

[keith micinski]

I have the rigid 18 and for general trim use it does pretty well. I have a problem with it not fully sinking a 2" nail about every 8-10 nails and that is annoying. I have no problems with 1.5 nails. The slow fire and the heaviness shouldn't be a deterrent at all. It's not something your going to use every day I would guess and nothing is nicer then showing up on a project and finding out that there is a small job needing nailed and all you have to do is go to the truck and grab your small bag with your nailer in it. Keeping a compressor, hose and nailer on you at all times is pretty hard to do. Keeping the cordless nailer around isn't. I would say whatever battery system you use for your drill and impact is the nailer you should get. The reason I have mostly rigid tools is because almost all of my stuff is that so I have plenty of batteries and chargers everywhere and I don't have to worry about compatibility.

I just had to do trim out a full basement and part of the first floor at a house I flipped. I had my compressor and everything else there so using my fine point bostich for all of that trim was a no brainier but I missed a little piece over by the front door and saw it this afternoon. Going and grabbing the cordless and firing up a piece in seconds was worth the 250 bucks to not go and drag everything out for the air nailer.

[lowell holmes]

My airless finish nailer is a 7 oz. Bluegrass hammer.

Actually, I have a finish nailer and a brad nailer. I seldom use either.

[Neil Gaskin]

I wouldstay away from Pasload gas fired nailers. They can be finicky, require cleaning, and our general maintenance nightmares in my experience. I have played with the DeWalt battery powered and they seem OK. I would only purchased one for select use and circumstances were only a few nails are required and calling out a compressor and hose would be too cumbersome.

If this is going to be a primary finish nailer used often I would buy decent quality air fired.

[julian abram]

If you only use nailers in one location like your shop I would stay with air units. If you need the use of one out at remote locations it's nice to have a cordless option. I've had air nailers for years out building houses and remodels. Just a few weeks ago I purchased my first cordless, a new Dewalt 16 gauge 18V. This thing is the cat's meow, one of those tools I wish I had purchased years ago. It's great not to mess with an air compressor and hose every time you need a trim nailer. I even used it today building some plywood forms for a set of steps. I just ran in the shop and grabbed it out of the case, started nailing forms together, no air compressor or hose needed.
The size of the job is also a factor I would consider. If I was trimming a whole house, I would want an air nailer. After I purchased the cordless some friends needed at bathtub window trimmed. I used the Dewalt for the first time on that window, small job, it worked perfect for that application. Consider how you will use it and how often you will use it would be my advice.

[Wayne Lomman]

I use Paslode gas powered framing and finishing guns every day and highly recommend them. They are reliable and trouble free. They are simple to clean on the rare occasions they need it. It makes a big difference to keep them off the floor and they have a belt hook which makes that easy. The finishing nailer always fully drives its nails even on an angle. The framer is great on softwood but struggles with Australian hardwoods. For these I have to get out the air powered framing gun which will drive nails into the hardwoods provided it has 100-120psi available. The cordless electric nailers are still a bit gutless for my work. As already said, I might look at them in a year or two. Cheers

[Jim Dwight]

My Ryobi brad nailer always sinks 2 inch nails. If it fires, the nail goes in. No issue with power, at least so far. But the usage on hardwood is very limited. Almost totally painted MDF or finger jointed trim.

[Ken Platt]

I've had the Paslode 16 ga nailer for something like 15 yrs. It was my first nail gun, at the time I didn't have a compressor and this seemed like a good idea. It works very well, rarely jams, and sinks 2.5" nails well, although I'm usually nailing soft woods. I have found it to be a sturdy, well made, high quality product. It's a pleasure to use.

Thing is, it was a lot more expensive that a regular air nailer, and once I realized that I was going to need several different types of nailers, and bought a compressor, well, it didn't seem that smart of a purchase; except for those rare occasions where I want to use a nailer far from electricity.

So I would say I'm still glad I have it, but looking back I'd probably tell my younger self to have gotten a compressor earlier and just gotten regular air nailers.

One thing about the Paslode that I didn't find out until I'd had it awhile is that the gas cartridges gradually go bad on the shelf, faster if they are subject to temp swings. So I often don't nearly use the gas cartridges full capacity, as my use of the nailer is intermittent. For the regular user, it's not an issue, but sometimes I don't use it for 6-8 months at a time.

Hope this helps.

Ken

[scott vroom]

I bought a Paslode finish nailer about 8 or 9 years ago. It was a major pain in the ass, a lot of no-fires and mis-fires with jammed nails. Waste of money, I went back to compressor and hose...consistently reliable.