Nail Gun Opinions

[Hay Dude]

Pick up a palm nailer too. They are fantastic for joist hangers and rafter ties.

Bout 15 years ago, I pitched up a Bostich joist hanger nailer. They are really nice

 

[Rustyiron]

Yeah it's definitely a standing squarely on 2 feet tool. The only time I use it up in "the air" is nailing down 2" thick roof purlins or on a solid scaffold.

 

[BigGG]

I have started another building project and am thinking about getting a nail gun. Last shed build I did, I used screws on the whole thing. I have an air compressor but thinking about the battery so I don't have to worry about the hose.

Any recommendation from the pro builders on here what to buy? I will be using for framing.

I bought the Ryobi 30deg for my shop project, since I don't have electricity available. It's driven a box+ of 3" nails without problems and has survived a few drops from 8' plus. It'll go all day on a 4ah battery. But doggone it's heavy, and expensive.

If I had air available, I think the light weight (and lower price) of a pneumatic outweighs the hose inconvenience. The Paslode gasser is nice, but I understand you need to clean them regularly.

 

[Hay Dude]

I had Paslode battery/gas guns. I thought they were cumbersome. Switched to the DeWalt and found it to be a nice upgrade.
You can usually pick up a decent used wheelbarrow style twin tank nail gun compressor for $300-$500

 

[ericm979]

I have a Metabo air nailer (the new brand name for Hitachi). Its very reliable. But if I was to buy one now it'd be a battery nailer.

One problem with some plastic collated nails is the plastic getting stuck around and under the nail head. I want my work to look neat (I'm doing this for myself not production) so I go back and chip them off.

 

[nch77]

I have a Dewalt 20v framing nailer, Bostitch air nailer, and a Milwaukee M18 framing nailer. I liked the Dewalt but it was a little underpowered, the Milwaukee is the way to go. Its as fast as my air nailer and as powerful. I built my whole barn with it and not having a compressor or hose was great. Only issues are that it's heavy and expensive.

 

[MossRoad]

Several years ago I bought this Banks 30-34 degree framing nailer from Harbor Freight when I built a 24x24 garage addition. It worked flawlessly. Never missed a beat. Under $100. Figured it into the cost of the addition.

30°-34° Framing Nailer

Amazing deals on this 30 Degree Framing Nailer at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Then I picked up a palm nailer for under $20 to put in the roof truss brackets and nails. Again, worked flawlessly.

Compact Palm Nailer

Amazing deals on this Compact Palm Nailer at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

I was so impressed by it that I purchased this Banks 15 degree coil roofing nailer. It also worked flawlessly. Did the roof, then stripped the original 20x24 roof and did that as well. It was a bit over $100. Figured that into the cost of the addition as well.

15° Coil Roofing Nailer

Amazing deals on this 15Deg Coil Roofing Air Nailer at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Cheap? Yes.
Works well? Yes

Using them again this month rehabbing a dilapidated shed.

 

[3gunr]

We have 4 paslodes and use them every day they are great . If i were framing all the time i would go with air guns but the paslodes are so handy. We mostly finish basements so not a huge amount of framing, Their finish nailer is great also

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

A couple years ago our local Harbor Freight had a 28 degree nailer clearanced for $50. I've used 28, 29 & 30° nails no problem. A contractor friend & I built a horse tack room. His Paslode gave problems so we used mine...it worked great. I do put a few drops oil in each morning. Then his pancake (expensive) compressor quit so we used my HF $100 one.
Some of their stuff is pretty good!

 

[MossRoad]

A couple years ago our local Harbor Freight had a 28 degree nailer clearanced for $50. I've used 28, 29 & 30° nails no problem. A contractor friend & I built a horse tack room. His Paslode gave problems so we used mine...it worked great. I do put a few drops oil in each morning. Then his pancake (expensive) compressor quit so we used my HF $100 one.
Some of their stuff is pretty good!

Yep. I keep a bottle of air tool oil on my compressor and give all of my air tools a few drops every time I use them. I have a Harbor Freight impact wrench that I've had since the late 70s. They were called Harbor Freight Salvage back then. Used it last week to change the shocks on my Suburban.

 

[Deleted member 371759]

I have the M18 framing nailer. Zero complaints, no spool up time and good power. Not dragging a compressor around the farm is a giant benefit. Im a pretty big fan of Milwaukee cordless stuff. Seems Milwaukee have more of a tool lineup that we need for farm and shop. Especially when we made the battery platform decision. At the time they had the best ratchets and their impacts hit the hardest by far. But we went with Milwaukee 5 or 6 years ago.

 

[4570Man]

I had Paslode battery/gas guns. I thought they were cumbersome. Switched to the DeWalt and found it to be a nice upgrade.
You can usually pick up a decent used wheelbarrow style twin tank nail gun compressor for $300-$500

Maybe the dewalt guns have gotten better but my cordless Dewalt framing gun leaves me wanting to turn it into a hammer. It’s maybe 3 years old so it’s not an ancient relic. I’ve used a cordless Milwaukee and it does pretty good against new lumber but it still lacks power to sink the nails well in Advantec.

 

[Hay Dude]

I dont think they work well in Advantec, but I dont know if any of them claimed they would shoot nails equally as well as a pneumatic nailer in every type of material, either.

They aren't a pneumatic gun replacement, they are a more portable alternative for lower frequency, somewhat lighter rough framing, smaller jobs, hard to access areas, etc.

 

[duffer]

Having built several houses over the years, and using different framing crews, most (not all) use pneumatic nailers. 21° is by far the most popular.

I originally had a Porter-Cable framing nailer. It was good until I dropped it. The repair guy told me to get a different brand because PC is nutso expensive for parts and repair. Asked my lumber supply salesman what gun is the most popular among framing crews these days, and he said Hitachi. I bought one for projects, works great.

Not a fan of battery powered nailers since you don't have the range of adjustment for pressure like you do on pneumatic. Yes, they're convenient, no hose to drag around, but unless you carry the extra battery on you at all times, the battery goes dead at the most in-opportune time and you're no where close to the replacement. At least that's my luck.

My 2¢

 

[Hay Dude]

I’ve had pneumatic compressors break, hoses blow up and the pneumatic nail guns start giving us troubles, too.
Everything breaks, except a steel handled 28oz mill face Estwing.

 

[Gitrdone2dayt]

If you currently have cordless power tools, go with a nailer that uses the same batteries as your power tools.

I was thinking the same I like Rigid tools been eyeing the nailers they have I already have several other tools with batteries and multiple chargers all use the same batteries it even has an extension to hold more nails on the 21degree nailer

 

[Hay Dude]

If you currently have cordless power tools, go with a nailer that uses the same batteries as your power tools.

That’s great advice-did this with DeWalt and even though nobody builds the best cordless tool in EVERY category, it still beats lugging around different batteries and brands in most cases.

Funny to see how Milwaukee, DeWalt and other brands have become like Ford & Chevy & Ram. People get all jacked up on the brand competition.

 

[Deleted member 371759]

That’s great advice-did this with DeWalt and even though nobody builds the best cordless tool in EVERY category, it still beats lugging around different batteries and brands in most cases.

Funny to see how Milwaukee, DeWalt and other brands have become like Ford & Chevy & Ram. People get all jacked up on the brand competition.

I have zero brand loyalty to power tools except for the convenience of the platform. If there was a battery standard I would most likely have a mix of different tools. Only loyalty I have is to small companies and very few of them.

 

[Hay Dude]

I have zero brand loyalty to power tools except for the convenience of the platform. If there was a battery standard I would most likely have a mix of different tools. Only loyalty I have is to small companies and very few of them.

Me too. The thing with cordless power tools is for every brand you own, you also need to own their batteries and charger. Gets aggravating.
Therefore, I went with the brand that best suits MY needs.
I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the major brands

 

[Deleted member 371759]

Me too. The thing with cordless power tools is for every brand you own, you also need to own their batteries and charger. Gets aggravating.
Therefore, I went with the brand that best suits MY needs.
I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the major brands

My favorite new tool is... Crown stapler. I do a lot of stuff with hardware cloth. Regular staple always pull out, its super hard to hold stuff straight and it takes forever. Crown stapler with glue coated 1 inch or 1 1/2 inch staples are my jam. You cant pull it out unless you use a small pry bar. You will tear up the hardware cloth. Jobs that used to take hours now take a few minutes and I have not had to make any repairs to hardware cloth from staples failing to hold.