opinion of narrow crown 18ga staple guns ?

[Scott Perkins47]

I have used 18ga brads for many years in crown and base molding and other small trim
but I observed the obvious failing of how easy the heads would pull through on more
substantive structures. Now I see they have bigger brad nailers in 16ga and 15ga.

Also new to me( I have not been paying attention) are these narrow crown staplers.
I would think that with two 1.5" legs and a 3/8" crown in the staple functioning as
the head of a nail..... Seems to me the 18ga staple would hold better than the
15ga brads based on the surface area of the staple acting as the head of a nail.

My intended use was going to be the use in outside trim that was going to be painted
such as soffet and facia and cornice work etc. Maybe even siding.

In any case I need to increase my speed with a pneumatic nailer of some sort
on this kind of work.

Anyone with direct experience comparing the 18ga staples with perhaps the 15ga brads ?

[Jim Andrew]

I have used staples for trim work, you turn the stapler so the crown is with the grain, and it works ok, but I prefer 16 gauge nails. You can turn the nailer so the angle on the nail is across grain and it avoids splits. The 15 gauge causes many cracks, especially in oak. Neither narrow crown or 15 gauge finish nails are good for installing feisha or siding. You want a headed nail for siding and feisha, but a narrow crown staple is fine for installing sheet soffit. Just don't use finish nails for soffit, as the soffit can come off. Wind storms put pressure on soffits.

[Jim Becker]

There's no comparison in between 15 gage nails and narrow crow staples. The former are real nails (not brads) with real heads and generally have an adhesive coating on the body of the nail. Staples have their place, but not for hanging trim. Those thin legs can rust through pretty quickly, too, in outdoor applications. A 15 gage angle nailer is the correct tool for your stated applications, IMHO.

[John McClanahan]

I bought one of the Menard's brand guns years ago when I stumbled on it on sale for $16. It even had a generous supply of staples in the case. While I don't use it a lot, it has turned out to be money well spent.


John

[John Lankers]

In addition what others have already said don't underestimate the importance of the length of the nails/staples. I personally reach for the longest brads/nails/staples I can get away with.
My experience is the same as John's, the cheap no name Nailers never give me any trouble whereas 2 brand name Nailers turned out to be junk - you don't always get what you pay for IMO.

[Scott Perkins47]

I want to make the careful distinction between 15ga brads and 15ga nails. Yes I am concerned
about the holding power of the brads with their smaller heads and like I said it looks like the total
area of an 18ga staple crown is bigger than the 15ga brad. ( not the 15ga nail ).

For siding soffet and facia etc. what pneumatic gun is available? Can we get shorter nails
for framing guns and use for siding ? I hate to get one of those big ole monsters and was
hoping I could find a smaller fastener gun. What is the guage used in the Framing guns ?

[Kevin Womer]

I bought one of the Menard's brand guns years ago when I stumbled on it on sale for $16. It even had a generous supply of staples in the case. While I don't use it a lot, it has turned out to be money well spent.John

I gotta get me one of those!

[Rich Engelhardt]

A 15 ga finishing nailer is no small item.
They are very close in size to a 10 ga

You should take a run to the borg and check out the sizes.

My 15 ga has a magnesium frame so it's a lot handier than an aluminum framed gun.

18 ga narrow crown staples come in stainless steel for exterior use, but, I believe they are limited to 1 1/2" long and under.
For exterior trim you want 2 or better yet, 2.5" long fasteners.

Framing nailers are 10 ga. BUT they vary in actual size, by collation material and by angle .121" and .130" are usually the most common.
Fastenal can special order 2" framing nails for you in paper. wire or plastic collation.

I know for sure you can get 28 degree wire collated 2" nails for a Bostitch and Harbor Freight framing nailer.

[Eric Schmid]

For siding you want a siding nail, unless you are doing a rough surface such as shake. Pneumatic guns available for this purpose are generally coil type. The siding nail guage is around .092 while framing nails are around .131. This should also work for your soffit material.

You want your nail heads flush or just a hair counter to the face of the siding. This will minimize painting prep. A staple can be very difficult to set to the proper depth and is likely to be either under driven or over driven; both of which will cause you a lot of extra work. 15ga finish nails likely will not have the holding power to be suitable for siding (soft woods).

For most casings the 15ga is a better choice than the stapler for the same reason. The staple head tends to break the wood as it counter sinks and requires more patch work than a trim head casing nail. It is also very challenging to counter sink an under set staple.

In general staples have better holding power than nails, but the added strength is unwarranted in most cases. The one exception that I can think of is cedar shake. Siding nails don't mix well with the rough texture and trim head nails lack the holding power I prefer. Using a variety of nails in the manner in which they are designed is going to make your job run smoother (e.g. casing nails for casings and siding nails for siding).

If you are limited to one gun purchase I would get the siding nailer. I am assuming you have a lot more siding and soffit nails to drive? Casings are easy enough to hand nail or pick up a 15ga finish nailer, which is less expensive than the siding nail gun will be.

Finally, I recommend stainless fasteners on the exterior; especially if your siding is cedar. Hot dipped galvanized would be my second choice. I try to refrain from using electro-galvanized outside and especially with cedar or pressure treated products.

[Scott Perkins47]

until a year ago I had an 18ga stapler and I used exclusively stainless staples for lathe
in decorating decks and front porches etc. I thought the staples held exceedingly well
and that was a perfect application for the staples. Then apparently someone borrowed
my 18ga stapler. Now I only have an 18ga brad nailer. If I remember correctly the
stapler could do both staples and brads.