newbie question about air powered nailers

[russell johansen]

I have never used air powered tools before but see them used on Norm's show a lot. My question is not about which brand to use. I am confused by the functions of the various types of nailers and the gauges. Brad Nailer vs Finish nailer, etc.... Is there an article, book, or web page that explains the various applications of each?

I am looking for something to help assemble my woodworking projects so I think i want a finish nailer (something small with no head) to assist with joinery/glue up. Thanks for the input.

[Kent Fitzgerald]

First, IMHO and hopefully without getting into the Great Norm Debate, air nailers are not a necessity (and often not advisable) for building furniture. They are, however, versatile tools for lots of home improvement and general building tasks.

That said, my rules of thumb are:

18 ga brad nailer: Small trim (quarter round, bead, up to 1" wide or so), especially trim applied over other trim.

16 ga finish nailer: Medium trim (base, door and window casing, up to 3" or so), assembling utility projects.

15 ga finish nailer: I don't have one, but it's the choice for larger architectural moldings.

Narrow crown stapler: Attaching thin plywood for cabinet backs, etc.

Wide crown staper: Upholsery.

[Michael Schwartz]

Kent pretty much summed up the uses of each gun.

I would like to add that for furniture or for installing trim on cabinetry a 23 gauge pin nailer is going to be the gun of choice.

I won't install trim without a pneumatic nailer because it is so much easier and the results are better. You align the peice of trim and nail it instantly. In addition the nail is set perfectly every single time, and I have rarely had any splitting as a result of a pneumatically driven nail.

I have had good luck with my guns from Porter Cable. They set the nails consistently in any wood without having to run them much higher than 90 psi and they are well made and durable. I have yet to have one jam to date.


I have a framing nailer from Senco which is also a great gun, but I can't comment on their finish or brad guns because I havent worked with any of them.

My advice about brands is to get a name brand. If you get the cheap gun from harbor freight or a cheap gun sold by a name brand you will find that they don't drive nails to a consistant depth and that they will jam frequently and when they do clearing that jam will involve tools.

Also be wary of combination brad/staple guns as they will leave a nice 1/4" wide divot in the wood when you are driving brads.

[Greg Narozniak]

I started with an 18ga Brad Nailer and still use it on almost every project.

Next purchase was a 15ga Finish Nailer as others have said it is great for doing Moldings and crown and when I was adding Bead board to my kitchen and changing out doors and door and base molding in my old house it was a great tool.

Next purchase was a 23ga Pinner and it make almost no hole and works wonderful in holding pieces until the glue sets up. love it

Next was a 18ga Crown stapler and as noted, it is used for attaching plywood backs to cabinets as it hold the ply much better than just a brad.

The only one I am missing is a Framing nailer, but I have not had a need yet but having used on when we did a basement renovation and it was invaluable for the speed of framing.

[Randal Stevenson]

I have never used air powered tools before but see them used on Norm's show a lot. My question is not about which brand to use. I am confused by the functions of the various types of nailers and the gauges. Brad Nailer vs Finish nailer, etc.... Is there an article, book, or web page that explains the various applications of each?

I am looking for something to help assemble my woodworking projects so I think i want a finish nailer (something small with no head) to assist with joinery/glue up. Thanks for the input.

First, IMHO and hopefully without getting into the Great Norm Debate, air nailers are not a necessity (and often not advisable) for building furniture. They are, however, versatile tools for lots of home improvement and general building tasks.

That said, my rules of thumb are:

18 ga brad nailer: Small trim (quarter round, bead, up to 1" wide or so), especially trim applied over other trim.

16 ga finish nailer: Medium trim (base, door and window casing, up to 3" or so), assembling utility projects.

15 ga finish nailer: I don't have one, but it's the choice for larger architectural moldings.

Narrow crown stapler: Attaching thin plywood for cabinet backs, etc.

Wide crown staper: Upholsery.

Also you can get a good idea by looking at the boxes of nails for them at your local borgs, HF, etc.

A framing nailer is self explanitory, a finish nailer, is to help you finish off the walls. But, a Finish nailer shoots nails that are up to a size range, that they can be used for non-structural construction. (aka things like those dummy walls giving some dust protection to the furnace and water heater burners).

A brad nailer (and now pin nailers), are to put it in Nahm's terms, to hold the part there until the glue dries.

[Craig D Peltier]

I use my guns alot to tack pieces in place, I also use a 18 Gauge to put backs on and all trims on my pieces.
I bought the three pack porter cable kit with compressor. If I were to do it again I would buy the same but I feel also needed is a 23 gauge pinless head nailer and a smaller compressor that can handle one gun and is much quieter for inside houses.
I also dont like a 15 gauge gun for crown due to size of hole it puts in wood adn the dent it sometimes can cause from recoil. Im not sure if they make a 18 Gauge gun that can hold 2.5 inch nails for crown but that would be nice.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I did without pneumatic tools for a long time. After I got a compressor and nailers I went around asking people to kick me for not getting them sooner. You can do a much better job in joining as when you get pieces lined up, stick the gun there and bam, it's joined. With manually hammering in nails you have to constantly check the alignment from beating on it and use all kinds of clamps.

The brads can really be aggravating - put them exactly where they need to be because if you mis-shoot one you're most likely going to have to clip it off and use a nail punch to bend it over slightly and putty as they don't drive out. All (or at least all I've used) have a glue coating on them and the friction from drivig them in melts the glue and it sets instantly and the nail is there.

As far far as sizes I use a 15 ga. for light case work and larger moldings, an 18 gauge for smaller moldings and small items, a 23 ga pin nailer for very light stuff - just to hold a piece till the glue dries and a stapler for holding thin stuff like 1/4 in backing. When you get one play around with shooting a few brads in scrap and there is a adjustment for setting the depth of the fastener and setting it real deep makes puttying a pain. The setting depth is also dependent on how much pressure you put on the gun.

[Brian Brown]

Russell,

You'll really like using a finish nailer, especially if you're doing moulding. I think every one who has responded here has covered the uses and advantages of these nailers, but nobody mentioned safety. If you have never used an air nailer before, as Norm would say, read understand and follow the saftey information in your owners manual, and "always remember to wear these, saftey glasses". Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Seriously though, an air gun requires the same respect and caution as any other power tool. I was nailing a case together, and the brad (22ga) hit a knot in the wood, bent and turned almost 120 degrees, exiting the case from the side. It was bad enough that I ruined the side on my project, but as luck would have it, my finger happened to be occupying the same space at that moment. Bad words were said, and I managed to pry my finger loose from my project. I learned several important things from this incident:

Accidents like this make it hard for a couple of weeks to register your opinion with bad drivers
Blood is a poor wood stain
Swearing loudly while throwing things around the shop usually summons the neighbors, and often the police
And most importantly, My fingers stay at least 4 nail lengths away from the business end of the nailer (prefferably more) This is what clamps were invented for.

Good luck with your air nailer.

Brian

[Dan Clark]

Russell,

You'll really like using a finish nailer, especially if you're doing moulding. I think every one who has responded here has covered the uses and advantages of these nailers, but nobody mentioned safety. If you have never used an air nailer before, as Norm would say, read understand and follow the saftey information in your owners manual, and "always remember to wear these, saftey glasses". Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Seriously though, an air gun requires the same respect and caution as any other power tool. I was nailing a case together, and the brad (22ga) hit a knot in the wood, bent and turned almost 120 degrees, exiting the case from the side. It was bad enough that I ruined the side on my project, but as luck would have it, my finger happened to be occupying the same space at that moment. Bad words were said, and I managed to pry my finger loose from my project. I learned several important things from this incident:

Accidents like this make it hard for a couple of weeks to register your opinion with bad drivers
Blood is a poor wood stain
Swearing loudly while throwing things around the shop usually summons the neighbors, and often the police
And most importantly, My fingers stay at least 4 nail lengths away from the business end of the nailer (prefferably more) This is what clamps were invented for.

Good luck with your air nailer.

Brian

Brian,

Very good points on safety. I'll go one further - treat it like any gun! That's what it is! They fire a projectile.

You think, "It's got safety lockouts, etc." Lockouts can fail, or catch on clothes and other objects. To add what Brian's caveats:

- NEVER point it at yourself or anyone else.
- Keep you finger OFF the trigger until you're ready to fire it.
- Lube it according to the manufacturer's recommendations.
- Always remove the air line before adjusting it or changing nails/staples.
- Always remove the air line immediately after using it.

Yes, I know I'm anal retentive, but I have six of the beasties, used them a fair amount, and never had an accident (except for story below). I don't plan on it either.

I have a Hitachi framing and 15g finish nailer, PC 18g and palm nailers, and PC 1/4" crown and uphostory staplers. The only other one I want is a 23g pinner (probably Grex).

A quick story about 23g pinners. About a year ago, I stopped by the Grex booth at a woodworking show. I got to play with one. And they allowed me shoot one (645L) in some sample blocks.

While I was aware of the double trigger, I had never so much as picked one up. It's a good thing I treat them like real guns and had it pointed down, because when I picked it up, my trigger finger brushed both triggers at the same time. Bang! A pin hit the wood with the head two inches away.

No damage (other than to my ego), but it confirmed that you can screw up even when trying to be careful.

Treat 'em like guns. Never point them at anything you don't want to hit!

Dan.

[Jim Becker]

One small addition to Kent's comments...the 16 gage guns are really "brad nailers" in my mind even though they are most often referred to as finish nailers. The fasteners are the same format as the 18 gage units (flat wire with a Tee head). The 15 gage gun shoots fasteners that actually look more like nails.

[frank shic]

don't forget to wear hearing protection. each shot puts out about 100 decibels

[russell johansen]

I really appreciated all the responses and I am sorry I didn't respond soon. I came down with a rather large kidney stone and didn't get back until tonight. THanks again for the info. Very appreciated and now I think I know what I am looking for.

[Rick Christopherson]

Russel,
I didn't see this thread when it was originally active, but I have an article specifically geared to the original question you asked. You can read it at http://www.waterfront-woods.com/Articles/Nailers.htm

Just in case anyone notices the new URL, I am moving my entire website to a proper domain name and a better host than my old AT&T host. If anyone has a link or bookmark to the old site, you will want to update it to the new domain.