electric nail guns (worth it or not)

[Lark]

is it worth getting a cheaper end nail gun or not... i would want to use it on 18mm wood so i guess i would need something up to about 40mm?

but anything that i see with power behind it more like £100 so id be better off with an air compressor at least it can do more than one thing?

 

[George_N]

I think that the cheap electric nailers have a poor reputation. I have heard that the Rapesco ones can't drive a 20 mm 18g brad into softwood. My cheap Cosmo/SIP nailer/stapler will sunk a 50 mm 18g brad. Compressor and gun cost about £80. The advantage of electric nailers is that you can take them around the house without lugging a compressor and hose.

 

[mailee]

I agree with George. I use an air powered nail gun for light work in the shop which uses brads up to 25mm. I also have the De Walt 618XRP gun which uses 18 Volt batteies and shoots up to 63mm nails but the latter is too large for small delicate work like mouldings. Personally I would go with a air powered nailer and a small compressor. :wink:

 

[Andy Pullen]

Electric nailers are generally very underpowered and need the tip of the gun pressing very firmly against the workpiece when firing which tends to leave dents and forget hardwood altogether.
A cheap compressor and 18g nail gun kit can be bought for under a £100, they work really well and it has several other uses, dusting, airbrushes etc.
Other than that you are into Paslode territory and £350 per gun.
Regards Andy

 

[andypo]

I agree electric nailers are rubbish. I have a air nailer and that far out does the electric rapesco one. I have a paslode that is very very good , unfortunately i might have to get rid of it to fund a new project.

 

[Lark]

wow thanks for all the replies

yes i was worried about that. the other thing, if i was to go compressor, then i would like it to be able to spray paint, air blow and nail gun i think thats all i would use it for....

i here with spray painting needs big one, where the sealey 50l with spray gun £200 on ebay i think would be to big for me but i guess this is really better asked when i plan to go ahead and get one

 

[Anonymous]

To be honest, when I use nails (rarely) I find an old fashioned hammer easy and quick, and cheap........










I'll get me coat

 

[mailee]

Of course you are correct Tony, but where does your third hand come from when you are trying to hold that small piece of moulding in place while holding the workpiece and the nail with the hammer in your other 'free' hand. :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Of course you are correct Tony, but where does your third hand come from when you are trying to hold that small piece of moulding in place while holding the workpiece and the nail with the hammer in your other 'free' hand. :lol:

Ahh, I am married...... :lol: :wink:

 

[Jake]

It depends what you do. I put in a hardwood t&g ceiling in our extension, and used about 4000 nails in the process. I didn't do that by hand, and if I had, I'd probably still be there.

I know I should probably be ashamed of doing something which isn't cabinetwork, but for some reason I'm not. Nail guns are a good thing in my book, and there's no substitute for air, or gas - although people say goods thing about the 18V dewalt pinner.

The other advantage over hand/hammer/nails, is that nailgun nails can be much thinner and still drive true, so much less covering up if they are on show-faces.

 

[Karl]

I've got a Rapesco model (cost about £50) which struggles to drive brads through MDF - and when it does, it leaves serious damage behind. Even with the protector pad fitted.

It is now gathering dust on the top shelf of the 'shop storage.

Cheers

Karl

 

[jasonB]

I've got a Maestri electric pinner that fires upto 35mm and will drive them into MDF and Hardwood but they do run at about £200, guess you get what you pay for :wink: It's great for fixing mouldings and getting into the groove of T&G to secter fix it.

Jason

 

[BradNaylor]

I would definitely go down the compressed air route.

Get a decent sized compressor that will handle spraying and a brad nailer. I use Porter Cable nailers in various gauges, including one which fires very fine pins which are pretty well invisible. Much cheaper ones are available however, and do a good job.

Once you've got air in the workshop you'll wonder how you managed without.

Cheers
Dan

 

[dddd]

I have the tacwise 500EL Pro, cost me about 70 GBP, I bought it as a bit of a compromise when I was laying an Oak floor in my lounge. I have to say I was concerned it would not be up to the job, but in fairness it has been excellent. It never flinched once when secret nailing into 18mm Oak sitting on top of 22mm chipboard flooring, I was mainly using 35mm 'T' headed nails but it drove some 40mm no problem. You can use up to 50mm but I haven't tried that yet.
As mentioned earlier you have to be careful not to mark the wood as it does kick like a mule, but with a little practice you get used to the kick and can angle it right to not leave a mark.
In a perfect world I'd probably go for an air powered set up, but I have to say I really like this nailer.

 

[chunkolini]

I knoiw some guys who make pallets for a living, they have mega nail guns. I herad a while back about one them getting dropped on the floor and setting itself off.

They had to evacuate the building until it had discharged itself. Sounds like fun. I would guess misused equipment.

Chunko'.

I would love to have seen them all bailing out of the shed though.

 

[OLD]

I am happy with my air set up aldi compressor with extra bits in the price and a axminster nailgun which has depth adjustment good depth range and lots of sizes of nails available.

 

[RogerS]

Other than that you are into Paslode territory and £350 per gun.
Regards Andy

You can get them from eBay at much less than that. I got a im350 for under £200. Beats trailing air hoses - DAMHIKT

 

[Andy Pullen]

Other than that you are into Paslode territory and £350 per gun.
Regards Andy

You can get them from eBay at much less than that. I got a im350 for under £200. Beats trailing air hoses - DAMHIKT

How did you get a Paslode for under £200? I bought mine from them when a new store opened and only managed to get 10% off the price I quoted.

 

[Andy Pullen]

Just checked Screwefix.com and they START at £350.

 

[Andy Pullen]

Ahhh, Ebay not screwfix! I would be very careful. I personally would rather pay the price and know where my machine is coming from in this instance. I was told by a Paslode rep that the cheap ones come from America and as such have no warranty or comebacks.
Best of luck to you with yours though :wink: