Nail guns and compressors

[scooby]

At the moment, we (my dad & I) have 3 nail guns. Paslode im350, the hitachi equivalent and the paslode finish nailer. My dad thinks they are the bees knees.

I'm not so sure. Yes, they are good but I also find them a little finnicky at times and infurianting sometimes. The biggest flaw I've found is the Hitachi won't fire nails upwards. And, on occasions all 3 guns won't fire when you want them too (which is an buttocks if you trying to hold a piece of timber,stud,etc in position and want to skew nail asap).

I wouldn't mind trying out an air nailer. But I don't know anything about either the guns or compressors. I'm not sure whether to get an air nailer equivalent to the im350 or getting a finish nailer. Could anyone some good air nailers to look at and compressors (preferably as small as possible as I'll need to lug it around with me on site). Looking for a balance between cheap but good for compressor, don't mind paying more for the nailer. Quite like the look of the senco stuff. I've got a Senco drywall screwdriver which has been excellent so far.
Thanks

 

[Ed451]

I have a Senco 15 ga finish nailer and an 18 ga medium crown stapler. I find they work very well. So well, in fact, that I intend to upgrade my 18 ga brad nailer to a Senco as well.

Hope this helps,

Ed

 

[davy_owen_88]

If you want a compressor for nailing purposes only you don't need anything more than a 6 litre reservoir (as long as you don't mind it kicking in every minute or so). Remember if you are using it for site work you will need a very long air-line and that acts as a reservoir aswell.

I can't recommend a specific compressor as the cheapo compressor I started with has been discontinued

And I upgraded recently to this which is a tad heavy and only good if you keep it in one place or have a trailer so you can wheel it in.

I'm looking for a good air finish nailer too so I hope to gain to advice from this thread also.

Davy

EDIT: Have I done the links wrong or have clickable links been disabled due to the numerous spam posts the other day?
Davy,
Odd things happen with some links, some characters stop the auto linking working, the '!' in the diytools link, I have tweaked the links so they work OK now.
DaveL with his Mod hat on

 

[WoodStoat]

I use the Bostitch Brad Nailer which uses brads from 20-50mm, seems well constructed, and works when I press the button. There is an adjusting wheel for the piston which allows you to set for either flush or punched nailing, and it's best to try it on an offcut before changing timbers or lengths of brad. I don't like the fiddly little plastic bit which protects the wood from marking, but it really only is of use on pine. I've discarded it without any ill effects on operation.

 

[Shultzy]

I was going to buy this compressor and brad nailer and then buy a round head nailer to nail the shiplap on my workshop, as 18g brad are too light weight.

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/product.as ... 2007&g=102

 

[George_N]

The main problem I've found with combined nailer/staplers is that the "hammer" is 5 - 6 mm wide, to enable it to drive the narrow crown staples. This can leave a fair sized mark on the wood. It's not always a problem...only when the brads are in an area that will show. It might also be my cheap SIP/Cosmo nailer/stapler as there is no obvious way to regulate the depth it sets the brads to.

 

[Vormulac]

Hi Scooby,

I bought a cheapie compressor and tool set from B&Q a while ago for something daft like £60. Needless to say, the compressor is not any good for running airtools from, but it is the business with an air nailer as it is light to move around. The 18g nailer itself is not branded, but I have used it for random jobs as well as building my decking and in all that time it has jammed only once. I imagine a more expensive one would have been quicker or easier to clear and return to operational status, but I guess what I'm saying is you don't have to spend Paslode money to get an equivalent or superior air nailer.

V.

 

[Anonymous]

Another vote here for the B&Q compressor!

I bought one about 5 years ago for use on site for £99.00 including a nail gun. The gun's fine but because I've got a couple of Porter Cable guns in the workshop I don't use it that often. The compressor has been fantastic!
I can't imagine going out on a fitting job without it and for pinning and nailing it has more than enough capacity. It even powers my big 16 gauge gun without problem.

For many years in a previous existence I used Senco guns but I now prefer Porter Cable. I got mine from Adfix - 01482 222100

Brad Naylor

 

[mailee]

I vote for the B&Q nailer and compressor too. Had a little trouble with the compressor leaking on the line but soon sorted that. Only had one jam in over a year with it too! :wink: