Nail Gun Saftey

[Holzster]

This we me 2 years ago - the saftey plunger got stuck down, & I did not know, as I set the nail gun onthe ground my thumbhit the trigger and right in my bone. The funny part is I did not know it was in me for 10-15 secs as I heard it & said "wow that could be dangerous" I noticed as i tried to take my glove off. No major damage, I was just off the softball circut for a year (as I could not catch a ball without pain)

 

[Holzster]

Second

 

[Holzster]

Third

 

[Holzster]

Third.

 

[RedRocker]

In the news here lately was a guy that shot one into his skull into his brain up through his jaw and did not know it for a day or so.

 

[texbaylea]

The nail gun safety problems are the reason I do not own one. I use a cordless drill/driver and square drive screws. A couple of 3' #10 screws will fasten a 2 x 4 very securely. Takes a little longer but so what.

The use of a nail gun to speed up construction results in a lot of misplaced nails and poor joints. I have seen guys putting sheathing on a roof and it looks like they are just spraying down the nails. Go underneath and look at the number of nails that missed the structural member.

 

[BubbaJr]

<font color="blue"> A couple of 3' #10 screws will fasten a 2 x 4 very securely. Takes a little longer but so what.
</font>

I think driving in two 3 foot screws may be dangerous too. That leaves two foot nine inches of screw hanging out of the back of a couple of 2x4's. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Seriously though, screws don't have the shear strength of nails for load bearing construction.

 

[_RaT_]

Not to mention that any state with half an inspection department requires shiners to be pulled. When doing a nailing inspection, you need to know the nails are driven solid in order to get the shear strength. Used wisely, nail guns are as safe as can be expected and generally ones own fault when there is a mishap. The same cannot be said of owning and driving a car. I own both and feel safer with my nail guns then the car.

 

[EastTexFrank]

That doesn't sound very likely to me. I don't see how anyone can shoot a 3" nail up into their head like that and not know it, unless ofcourse they were brain dead already. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif Or maybe they just couldn't tell anyone about it because their tongue was nailed to the roof of their mouth.

I will admit though that they are dangerous, especially when you get complacent. I've shot nails straight through a sheet of plywood, luckily there was no one behind it, and even had one break out and hit me in the chest. Luckily, it didn't hit end on and didn't break the skin but it did leave a nasty bruise. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Those experiences did make me extremely careful when using one.

 

[Freds]

I'm halfway into a project that requires fastening wood studs to a block wall. There's no way I would have done this without a Hilti nail gun. Trying to hold the 2x4 plumb with one hand and fumble around with the other to drill and run a Tapcon just doesn't cut it with me. Not when 1000 fasteners are required, anyway.
They may be more dangerous if extra care isn't taken, but so is struggling to get the job done. I look at it like the dull knife vs. sharp knife. It may be easier to cut yourself on a sharp knife, but if you don't have to struggle to get the job done...