Pin Nails for Crown Molding?

[Tom Bain]

I don’t do a lot of crown but am trimming out the top of a built-in cabinet with some cove molding. In the past I’ve used a finish nailer, but I now own a nice Grex 23 gauge pin nailer. Is a 2” pin nail sufficient to secure the crown?

[Cameron Wood]

I don't believe 23g pin nails come that long.
Seems like not enough to me, but try a sample.

[Tom M King]

With some glue it should be fine, especially with some glue blocks behind it. They do come 2" long. I only buy them in stainless steel so they will work anywhere I need them. Does it fit against a ceiling?

[Dave Zellers]

I think the new pin nailers do shoot 2" but I don't think I would want to use them in this situation.

Is the crown wood or PVC? Wood will move just a bit. Also, many of the nails for crown mldgs are driven at a slight angle, reducing their penetration into the stud or ceiling. I would want to use an 18g 2 1/2" brad for this to be safe. It would be awful to cut a perfect cope in a corner and have it open up over time.

[Dave Zellers]

Ahh- Tom's point re glue blocks is a good one.

[Leo Graywacz]

23ga pins are usually fine for applying moldings. It's always nice if you can glue the molding on, which makes the pins a clamp. If you are using prefinished moldings on prefinished cabinets then you should shoot 2 pins in a cross patter to lock the joint because they have no head to hold the wood.

As for the length it depends on the thickness and what you are shooting into. The general rule is the nail is 3x the thickness of what you are shooting through. I find that a little long, but it is what it is. So if the section of the molding you are shooting through is 1/4" than a 3/4" nail should work well. Mostly I use 1 1/4" pins to shoot most of my moldings on.

I have a Grex pinner and made sure I didn't get one that could shoot 2" because I consider them danger nails LOL. They can curve back and come out of the wood, I've seen 18ga nails do it. My gun max is 1 3/4" and I rarely shoot 1 1/2"

[Dave Zellers]

Yikes. I have to come back and admit I missed that we are talking about trimming a cabinet. Even tho it's right there in black and white. All of my comments were addressed toward running crown around a room. Oopsie daisy. Thus my mention of coping a corner.

Never Mind...

[Thomas McCurnin]

When we did a Habitat for Humanity home a while back, the finish carpenters ripped a triangular glue block, which was attached with finish nails.

Then they used CA glue with an accelerant and a pin nailer with 2-3 guys to help pressing the molding against the glue block. Honestly, the CA glue seemed like it would have worked by itself. It was ridiculously fast.

[Leo Graywacz]

I use 2P10 a lot. I actually wish it was a little slower. It's suppose to take 10 seconds to bond but it's more like 3-4 seconds and it's locked up. You have to get your joint nearly perfect from the start which isn't always easy. With a true 10 seconds it would be.

Great stuff otherwise. Under fully controlled conditions it makes joining molding miters easy and quick. I use it as a clamp for regular wood glue. 2 spots on either end of the molding and yellow glue in between and around the perimeter of the molding profile makes for a quick joint that will have great strength when the yellow glue cures. Otherwise unless you by the "R" version of 2P10 it's brittle and if you drop the pc on the ground the joint can just break apart.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I don’t do a lot of crown but am trimming out the top of a built-in cabinet with some cove molding. In the past I’ve used a finish nailer, but I now own a nice Grex 23 gauge pin nailer. Is a 2” pin nail sufficient to secure the crown?

I hope a 1" works as well as it has for the last 6 years...

If you're concerned, some glue blocks should put any fears to rest.

Crown isn't something that gets a lot of stress.

[Jim Becker]

My opinion is that the 23 gage pins can provide some value at outside corners for knitting together from both sides while glue sets, but since they are headless fasteners, even putting them in at random angles is not going to be sufficient to properly hold up heavy crown. But for the top of a cabinet with smaller material, they might be sufficient as long as glue is also in the mix.

[Tom Bain]

The cabinets and the cove molding are already finished with a pigmented lacquer. If I wanted to use glue blocks for insurance, I’m thinking I would need to screw (or nail) those in place first? Or is there another preferred way of attaching those?

Appreciate all the advice.

[Phil Gaudio]

If I remember correctly, I installed this crown molding with pin nails and then reinforced it with a number of glue blocks. Has held together just fine for years. The molding was already finished when it was installed.

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[Ron Selzer]

Major like on that window seat, always wanted one.
Ron

[andrew whicker]

If I remember correctly, I installed this crown molding with pin nails and then reinforced it with a number of glue blocks. Has held together just fine for years. The molding was already finished when it was installed.

I don't think you see doors to go the floor like that very often. Did you have to scribe the doors to the floor or was the floor pretty straight / flat?