Nail guns choices driving me mad

[mickmick]

I'm mainly doing inside finish/trim work, kitchens, flooring, built-in wardrobes.
I had a 18 gauge gas nailer before and it was a total PITA - gas that would off really quickly, not warm enough blah blah. I got rid.
I am now in the market for another.
I have two questions that keep me going round:
-Should I stick to the 18 gauge or is 23 gauge ok for what I do? Will it hold skirting while liquid nail takes hold? Will it hold 18mm painted mdf trim on the side of a wardrobe? I know you can get both but...
-Should I go back to compressor air guns or try the new 18v all electric nailers? I see Makita have a new one Makita DPT353Z. Also Dewalt. Anyone using them?

I can't really afford 2 x electric nailers this month. I could buy the compressor and a couple of nailers though. Still if I could get by with a 23 gauge and it was reliable, that would be the dream.

Am I dreaming?

 

[dynax]

all i use are air nailers, tried the crappy leccy ones in the past, never tried the cordless versions, so can't really say much about them, but if i had to make a choice it would be air every time,

all mine are 18g, do everything i need,

 

[Trevanion]

In my opinion, 23G pins probably wouldn't have the holding power you're after when pinning the 18mm MDF. They're kind of known for being the "Dolls house" pin gun as they're more suited to very fine trim work less than 10mm thick. 18G pins are a very good size and have a lot of holding power.

What gun you decide to get really depends on what you plan on doing with it mostly, if you're doing a lot of second-fix in peoples homes then perhaps lugging around a heavy, noisy air compressor and a tangled hose isn't ideal and one of those 18V nailer jobbies would be ideal. But if you're in a workshop environment I would go for air nailers every time as they're pretty much indestructible and will only wear out after hundreds of thousands of nails whilst the lifespan of an 18V nailer is questionable. I quite like the Makita Af505 but a Senco, Ace & K or Bostitch would give you good results also.

 

[Noel]

Air all the way, 18g would suit for what you do in most cases.
Much prefer the rapid shooting that air also gives along with small and light guns.

 

[AJB Temple]

I have recently replaced my stolen passlode with De Walt DCN 660 send fix cordless and gasless battery nailer. 16g. Angled.

It needs no tools to clear jams or release the compression plunger, and you can switch it from single shot to bump easily. Bump mode will fire nails quicker than I can accurately reposition the tool. They claim 4 per second but I never do that. It's brushless, which gives it a long run time (mine came in a kit with two 5 amp hour batteries) and they claim 2000 nails per charge. That is more nails than I drive in one session, by miles. The snag with brushless motors is if the tool fails they are usually uneconomic to repair.

Doesn't mark the work and I have found it excellent so far. I would not dream of lugging a compressor and air line around now. The battery nailers have really come on. The newish Hitachi is getting good reviews but I have not used one. By the way, the first fix De Walt is nowhere near as good as the second fix - so don't buy a two tool kit. I was pre-warned.

 

[dynax]

no need to lug a big compressor about, i have a clarke wiz air compressor mainly use it for airbrush work, but it is virtually silent, i jerry rigged a tank from a 2 litre pop bottle to use in an emergency repair one night a few years ago, it all fit into a 16" toolbox,

 

[rafezetter]

all i use are air nailers, tried the crappy leccy ones in the past, never tried the cordless versions, so can't really say much about them, but if i had to make a choice it would be air every time,

all mine are 18g, do everything i need,

I concur - air every time - 18mm mdf is suprisingly hard for "staple / finish nails" to go through with anything less (electric nail gun) and I often find myself having to drive them home and set with a punch.

Ofc air brings it's own issues - but there are smaller portable compressors that will be up to the task as long as you're not trying to set 50 nails a minute, alternatively if this is for regular work you might wish to consider one of the "quiet" variations - a bit more money, but easier on the ears over protracted periods.

 

[cymelbushby]

i use air all the time on site and in workshop , most are ace&k but i have 3 axminster ones for very fine and staples in all i have 8 but its just i won't let people use my special ones
i also have 2 compressors i fixed and the other is 25l with a coiled hose
won't go back to gas ones always played me up

 

[shed9]

I was in a similar position in recent weeks in getting a framing nailer. I didn't know whether to go cordless or air. I tried a few cordless but did not take to them at all.

The Hitachi gas-less/cordless seems to stand up to the hype from the feedback I got but you're looking at £450+ if you haven't already invested in their battery system. The Dewalt gas-less/cordless range seemed a good choice but then I found out that the firing pin has a woefully short shelf life and is a complete return to Dewalt fix - Dewalt class it as a consumable, which I guess it is but not to that extent.

I plumbed for air and could not be happier. I went with Fasco, got a Framing nailer and an 18g brad nailer. Must admit, I'd never heard of them until recently but they seem to be ahead of their game and the kit is industrial grade. I have a generic 23g pinner and have to agree with most on here in that the 18g is the way to go with your requirements, especially 18mm MDF. That said, 23g pinners are so useful and with your requirement being trim work, I'd get pro 18g and 23g air tools.

 

[user22161]

I have 18g and 23g nailers. Without doubt the 18g are a stronger fix but 23g good enough for many jobs if skew nailed and a much smaller hole to fill. I use one of these compressors from Aim tools (home of the Katsu routers), pretty quiet -

https://www.aimtools.co.uk/collections/ ... 1771366026

 

[LBCarpentry]

23guage pins would never hold a price of skirting on, forget it.

Go back to air compressors for consistent performance. There are plenty of site friendly options these days. Air all the way!

 

[mickmick]

thanks for all your replies.
I am going to go with a Senco PC1010 and 18 and 23 air nailers.
I really wanted the convenience of the 18v systems but the price of them (£400 each with batteries/chargers) puts me off. Also quite wary, as went through the "new tech" of a Bostich and Paslode gas nailers, both of which were a PITO - getting gas that was fresh :
I had been sharing a workshop and would borrow the other guys 23 pin when I needed it, and had my own 18 brad. But have just got rid of the gas nonsense, so was looking at options.
People seem happy with the Senco PC1010, so hopefully it will be an Ok compromise. The old compressor I used years back was a lump, and I'm too old to be carting it up Victorian terrace stairs nowadays, but the Senco PC1010 looks manageable.

 

[Cordy]

Mick, the Senco looks good
Recently I decided to buy a 'Nail gun' and went for this Ryobi

So far it is doing the biz easily with Oak, Walnut and Redwood
Lots of uTubes covering this model