Cordless Framing Nailer

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Morning all, I've been considering getting a cordless nail gun for a while now. I have a couple projects on my new house that would be a lot easier with it than without. I've got several Milwaukee M18 tools and batteries so that is what I would get if I end up with one. Anyone have advice yes or no? Also I'm not sure the angle really makes a difference but I see that there is a 21 and 30 degree option.

 

[EddieWalker]

99% of the time, I'm going to use screws instead of nails. I have a nice Hitachi air framing gun that shoots full head nails, but I rarely use it unless I'm framing something really big. 3 inch deck screws with star heads and a cordless impact driver allow me to get the wood where I want it, and if I want to change things, it's easy to unscrew and do it again. Screws hold better then nails and I can get into areas with the driver that I can't with my air nailer or just a hammer. I remodel homes for a living and do this almost daily

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I've been doing to screw thing so far. It just seems to take longer and screws are so expensive. But, I guess they are a lot less expensive than a nailer...

 

[Minsid]

I got one when I put together a deck last year. Everything ended up with screws because as Eddie said they hold better. What the nailer did very well was tack boards in place for the screws. For me at least putting in a long deck screw takes two hands to get started.

The finish nailer OTOH has been wonderful for trim pieces where screws cannot be used.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

I got a 29 degree Harbor Freight Air nailer that I use 30 degree nails in (more common) sometimes. When I helped a contractor build a room here it outperformed his Paslode nailer and he had two. We used both nails & screws. Nails to get things in place then screws as well for strength.

 

[JeepHead]

I have several nail guns but unless I'm framing a house or putting on a roof, I use screws.

 

[Snobdds]

Milwaukee makes the best nailers. But their triggers suck.

Dewalt makes a sucky nailer...but their triggers work.

Pick your poison.

 

[weldingisfun]

Paslode cordless Framing Nailers | Paslode

 

[Hay Dude]

Milwaukee makes the best nailers. But their triggers suck.

Dewalt makes a sucky nailer...but their triggers work.

Pick your poison.

My DeWalt has worked well so far except an occasional jam. If i want to pound nails a lot, I go to my air guns.

 

[2manyrocks]

I tend to use screws myself, but my recollection is that nails have greater strength against shearing. A nail gun also holds the fasteners, and can be used one-handed. Is also faster at setting the fastener. But good luck pulling a coated nail that was shot from a nail gun because the coating is designed to heat up and lock in place when shot. You also don't want to be holding the piece of wood anywhere near where the nail is being shot because a knot or grain in the wood can cause the nail to unexpectedly veer off into your hand.

 

[jwmorris]

I have an older paslode pneumatic framing nailer and one of their cordless ones that works just as good. They use a battery for ignition but a fuel for combustion. They don’t have an infinite shelf life though. I got a smoking deal on it from Craigslist because the previous owner didn’t know this.

That said, it just shoots nails. I’d pick my Senco collated screw gun for projects I would rather use a more reliable fastener on. They are amazingly fast too.

 

[EddieWalker]

I tend to use screws myself, but my recollection is that nails have greater strength against shearing. A nail gun also holds the fasteners, and can be used one-handed. Is also faster at setting the fastener. But good luck pulling a coated nail that was shot from a nail gun because the coating is designed to heat up and lock in place when shot. You also don't want to be holding the piece of wood anywhere near where the nail is being shot because a knot or grain in the wood can cause the nail to unexpectedly veer off into your hand.

I do a lot of demo when remodeling clients homes. I'm very happy when they use 3 1/4 inch nails to hold the framing together. They come apart easily. I'm on a master bathroom job right now, and the guys who did the bathroom before me used screws for everything. Most are square head drive screws that are sunk into the wood, so it's hard to get them out again. It's been pure misery taking this bathroom apart because of how much stronger the screws hold everything together!!!!!!

Sheer strength is a good argument that doesn't really apply to proper framing. Nails and screws are there to hold the lumber in place, not support it. Nails and screws should never be used for any sort of support in framing.

 

[crazyjake8493]

I have several different Hitachi 18v battery nailers and they are the best I've used for both battery and pneumatic nailers.

If you're already invested in Milwaukee you may want to go with Milwaukee's so you have more batteries. They had issues with nailers in the past but they may have fixed them.

 

[tom3]

I like a hammer in some places as it really sinks the nail and pulls the board down tight. Screws are great in some places too but some of those pretty gold colored screws are plain garbage. Built a 2 story pole storage building and used screws throughout. Spent some money on those too. Noticed it wasn't nearly as sturdy as it should have been. Started checking and about half the screws were broken. Those things snapped off like glass. Put some 16s in places and lag bolts in others. Rock solid now even with playing ping pong upstairs. I'm in love with the trim nailer though!

 

[grsthegreat]

With the screws there are shiny gold Philip headed screws….just a colored drywall screw as far as im concerned, then there are the torque drive gold framing screws. Those dont shear off. There amazing at holding together wood.

 

[Btwoodman]

I would guess we use 800-1000$ of nail gun nails every 2 months. I don’t attempt to use the cordless guns. I’ve broken and repaired so many tools especially nailers. Pneumatics are durable, reliable and they perform. And air compressors have gotten very lightweight. If I have 1 door to install it’s easy enough to tote in a small compressor with a 15’ hose.

The most durable nailers in my experience are hitachi. Senco is a close second although a bit more finicky. I remove the safety on 16ga and 18ga guns. Framing nailers and staplers keep their safety intact.

Screws have their place as well. I’m a big fan of Makita drills and drivers. They last a long time unless you overheat them drilling a lot or large holes.

New construction is slowing down so our nail usage will decrease.

 

[Fixastuff]

I don't think a house framed with screws will pass inspection here.

 

[EddieWalker]

It doesn't make sense to do an entire house with screws when nails are so much faster and cheaper. But if they are not full head, 3 1/4 inch long nails, it might not pass inspection either.

Years ago my brother worked for a framing crew that was super cheap on how many nails they used on a house. To cut corners, they only used one nail at each end of the stud instead of two. Once the walls where standing, and the top plats installed, nobody could tell. They did a lot of houses that way!!!!

 

[grsthegreat]

Yeiks

 

[Hay Dude]

It doesn't make sense to do an entire house with screws when nails are so much faster and cheaper. But if they are not full head, 3 1/4 inch long nails, it might not pass inspection either.

Years ago my brother worked for a framing crew that was super cheap on how many nails they used on a house. To cut corners, they only used one nail at each end of the stud instead of two. Once the walls where standing, and the top plats installed, nobody could tell. They did a lot of houses that way!!!!

Wow, I’d like to be able to “un-read” that. Thats just plain old scary