Bought a Framing Nail Gun

[Haywire]

Got a Hitachi 21° full round head nailer. Don't really need it, but am building a small chicken coop and used that as an excuse to collect another toy.

Figured out a couple things pretty quickly.

1. They didn't have any coated nails at Lowes and the uncoated ones pull out fairly easily.

2. Since I can drive a nail with every pull of a trigger, I use more nails than I would normally. What the heck... put another one there... POW!

3. Toenailing is a bit awkward. If you drive nails flush on flat wood, you leave the head hanging high when toenailing. I used a punch and hammer to set most of them. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

4. It's loud. I'm going to take the cap off the top and redirect the exhaust in another direction. It comes out the front and when I'm leaning over looking where I'm putting the nail, I invariably get it in the ear. I took to wearing ear plugs when I remembered. If I didn't, it reminded me.

Ian

 

[Fixemall]

Get the bump trigger and you will like it a lot more. You should be able to adjust it to flush sink a toenail.

 

[Haywire]

Bump trigger? You mean where you just hold the trigger and tap it on the wood to drive the nail? I think that would just shorten the time it takes me to end up in the emergency room. LOL... already tapered a finger with one of my other toys... the table saw. Think I will want to avoid doing something similar with this. That finger hurt something awful.

Ian

 

[Fixemall]

That's the one, I have them on my framing nailer and OSB stapler, you can really rip thru framing projects fast once you get used to them

 

[Ken45101]

It's loud. I'm going to take the cap off the top and redirect the exhaust in another direction. It comes out the front and when I'm leaning over looking where I'm putting the nail, I invariably get it in the ear.

I would not be putting my face that close. If the nail hits an obstruction, it could go sideways....right into your face! If you need to, aim it but get back before you pull the trigger.

Set the penetration higher and it should set your toenails in deep enough.

Ken

 

[Rustyiron]

That's a good tool, it will last you for ever if you put a few drops of air tool oil in the coupler EVERY TIME you use it. These rely solely on O rings and ya got to keep them from drying out. As soon as you redirect the exaust you'll be in a situation that'l put your face where it is!

 

[Haywire]

I saw some air tools a lineman was using when I was in Japan that had a pair of hoses attached. They were made together like the cheap extension cords are. One was pressure and the other was the exhaust. It vented the tool through a muffler down at the truck. I can't recall if it was hard lined into the bucket or if there was hose going all the way to the ground. That thing was super quiet.

About the o-rings. The manual said not to keep stored it outside in the barn during the winter. I figured it was because of stiff seals. I'll have to get some air tool oil, or at least an applicator. I put a few drops of engine oil in it without an applicator, but it involved dipping a screwdriver in the bottle and letting it drip into the intake. Not the most efficient method.

Ian

 

[jake98]

Ring shank nails don't pull out easily. They're mostly used for sheathing. :thumbsup:

 

[cttractor]

Ring shank nails don't pull out easily. They're mostly used for sheathing. :thumbsup:

You might want to consider wearing safety glasses when you use it as well as hearing protection. I wear the glasses when I use my nail guns becausde I've seen debris go flying from the exhaust air as well as from the nail quickly going into the wood and sometimes spewing fibers. I'm not afraid of the gun, but am afraid to get my head and face too close to it when it's being used. Call me a wimp, I guess.

 

[Haywire]

I bought some 2" nails for the siding and didn't notice till I got home that they were hot dipped galvanized ring shank nails. I probably paid a lot more for them than I intended.

Edit... looked at my receipt. Looks like they didn't charge me for either of my boxes of nails. No wonder I didn't notice the expensive nails. They were free.

I was reading over at the sawmill creek forums that in some places, code won't allow clipped head nails. I don't think that's the case here though. There were a blue million different types of clipped head nails on the rack, but not that many round heads.

Ian

 

[Haywire]

You might want to consider wearing safety glasses when you use it as well as hearing protection. I wear the glasses when I use my nail guns because I've seen debris go flying from the exhaust air as well as from the nail quickly going into the wood and sometimes spewing fibers. I'm not afraid of the gun, but am afraid to get my head and face too close to it when it's being used. Call me a wimp, I guess.

You're not a wimp, you're smart. You'll die with your eyes and ears fully functional except for what time does to them. :thumbsup:

Ian

 

[gsganzer]

I bought a Milwaukee round head nailer and have been very happy with it. It has some nice features including hand adjustable exhaust direction and selectable trigger. It's also fairly light weight. I've used it to frame a 30' x 40' shop and never had a jam or fail to fire.

 

[Haywire]

I've had 3 or 4 fails to feed in the short time I've used this one. The stack of nails just doesn't slide down once in a while. I've got some dry graphite spray lube I think I'm going to try on it to see if I can get things going a little smoother.

Ian

 

[Airedale]

I bought a Home Depot "Rigid" round head framing nailer last year to use on a barn addition project, I must say it was one of the best tools I have ever purchased.


Al

 

[ustmd]

I bought a Porter-Cable framing nailer (310 A I think) last year and it was one of the best tool purchases I have made (two major projects with it so far).

For the exhaust, the Porter has an exhaust port that rotates 360 degrees. So if I remember to adjust it :laughing:.....

I would recommed the eye protection and ear plugs. For the eyes, my major concern is the plastic or metal material they use to hold the stick of nails togther. It plies everywhere with each nail. For the ears, most of the time it is not an issue, but then you need to drive a nail in strange position and the gun is near your head/ear.

I get my nails at Home Depot (good selection--they have one brand that comes in a great plastic container that protects the nails when not in use and can be recycled in the shop for other storage) or from Amazon.com (if you have a Prime membership, 2nd shippment is free, which is greta for heavy items like a box of nails).

 

[300UGUY]

After I bought my first air nailer, I wondered what the heck took me so long!! Same thing when I bought my 1st impact wrench. Odd thing, I'd used air tools at work for years, don't know why it took me so long to buy them for my home shop. Well, my wife knows why, I cheap!!! Btw, bought them at HD, Porter Cable brand.

 

[skipmarcy]

I bought my Porter Cable 350 nailer 5 years ago when I built my house and have run 80,000 nails thru it since. It's a 21 degree full head gun that uses plastic collated nails. Those plastic pieces fly everywhere - I always use eye protection, but the noise isn't bad and my exhaust also rotates 360 degrees. I use a little air tool oil every time I use it and it has held-up fine. I blow the magazine out with a blowgun and spray some silicone spray for lube. My trigger is adjustable for single fire or bump fire but even after all the experience with my gun I don't trust using the bump fire mode - too dangerous, I keep it on single fire and work right along just fine ... My gun will easily sink toenails below flush, just have to adjust the depth properly for the type of wood you're using.

 

[PapaPerk]

The hitachi full head nail gun is a sweet tool. I love mine.

Try Home Depot for the nails. Always had real good luck there. Sometimes they are on sale at a good price.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Framing guns have come a long ways especially in the weight department. I bought my DuoFast around 92'. First couple of times I used it I thought my arm would fall off by the end of the day. Good thing I only had to use it on some rental units I had at the time, a couple of barns, etc. I always wore hearing protection and safety glasses with it because of the flying plastic debris and it is loud.

Over the years, I added a couple of finish nailers, a roofing nailer and a crowned staple nailer, all Porter Cable.

I never cared for the clipped head nails. Seems like a risky way to save money.

 

[dmccarty]

Clipped head nails should be allowed by code. The big question is does the building inspector know the code. :laughing:The holding power of a nail is mostly due to the length and diameter of the nail, not the shape of its head.

Having said that, I have a round head nail gun.

I bought one that uses paper collated nails. The idea of bits of metal or plastic flying around did not seem like a good idea. I get the nails from Lowes.

You really have to wear hearing and eye protection especially the eyes. Various things can go flying through the air when using a nail gun.

My nail gun is a Bostitch F33PT. WHY did I wait so long before buying it? I have used a different brand of nails as well as Bostitch with no problems. The F33PT can also nail metal connectors which is a big deal for me. As well as the paper collated nails.

The nail gun can do sequential or bump but there is no way I would enable the bump trigger. That is asking for a nail in a body part.

Later,
Dan