Recommend me a Nailer / Stapler

[fezman]

Evening All,

I occasionally would like to use a nailer / stapler and keep looking at the Air/ Cordless / Electric options out there.

I would like to use one for temporary holding together of frames / boxes / pedestals etc, possibly some upholstery and probably fixing some speaker wires into corners.

If I went down the air route, I would need to buy a compressor, silent only. So that will up the cost, but i then would likely use the compressor for other things - my current Clarke monster makes so much noise the neighbours would likely lynch me if i were to use it regularly.

I've had a cheap cordless one before (B&Q Performance Power) and it was tripe. The ryobi 18g Strike one+ seems to have mostly good reviews, but would mean i have to start buying Ryobi batteries and chargers. Plus it seems to have had a price surge in recent weeks.

I'm quite amenable to having an electric one. There are so many out there, it's difficult to know the good from the indifferent.

So... what would you recommend to me and why

 

[TFrench]

If you already have a compressor, then air is a no brainer to me. Guns are cheap and reliable. If your compressor is a big one, it will only have to charge up the cylinder, then it will take you forever to use a full tank of air. When I did my stairs I just left it in the garage and got a 20m air hose from screwfix and ran it into the house. Corded electric guns seem cheap and nasty, decent battery ones are eye wateringly expensive.

 

[Trevanion]

Pneumatic guns are by far the most reliable compared to corded/cordless and they tend to be cheaper for comparative quality, a decent pneumatic will last decades of pretty heavy use, judging from what people are saying you'd be lucky to get a couple of years out of some of the cordless guns in regular heavy use, even the very expensive cordless Makita guns.

I've got a Makita 18G AF505 which cost me I think £80 and very recently a Makita 23G AF353 which cost me another £80. Both are excellent guns and would recommend them highly, particularly the 23G gun, I wish I had bought it a lot sooner. So that's roughly £160 for two good quality guns, whilst the Ryobi is a little less than that for just the bare gun with no batteries and it looks to be a bit unwieldy compared to my guns.

As for the compressor, nail guns don't really use that much air so unless it's a tiny tank it shouldn't be re-charging too much. On a very intensive run of 18G pinning my 50L might trigger once every twenty minutes for 30 seconds or so, on the 23G it seems the air never runs out!

 

[AES]

I haven't got a lot of experience with these but although I have a compressor (it's VERY loud, so lives in the garage - my shop is in the cellar, about as far from the garage as it's possible to get) I bought a cheapo B&D electric stapler. I also bought a "big" hand-operated stapler.

The problem with both of those is that in my case anyway, you seem to need 3 hands to operate them properly! 1 to operate the trigger, one to hold the job/align the stapler properly, and 1 to press down hard on top of the stapler - if I don't do No. 3 the recoil of the stapler's action seems to not drive the staple fully into the job/or allow it to "bounce back part way out".

The cheapo Aldi/Lidl air jobbie I have doesn't need that 3rd hand at all. So if I have stapling to do I now pull the compressor out of the garage and run a long airline through the door into the cellar. A bit of a hassle, but that way I get a properly driven staple every time. (BTW, I'm not trying to drive huge staples - I think 14m staples and 18mm "panel pins" are the limit).

I guess my answer is to buy a quiet compressor and have it in the cellar.

Another BTW, I've never tried a big electric or gas driver for big staples and jointing pins. More of a framers tool though I think.

 

[Jonathan S]

I can't comment on electric/battery guns as I've not seen anyone use them here in Spain.
I have verious air guns which are excellent, I also have a noisy 50 litre compressor that's a nightmare to transport....so I got a air brush kit and converted it to take air lines, its fantastic, vertically silent and is more than big enough for nail guns. The big compressor now only gets used when I need to blow up tyres.
The only negative is its so quiet I forget to turn it off when I leave the workshop.

Mine is something like this...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254510852462

Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk

 

[AES]

Thanks for that Jonathon S. I've got a small airbrush compressor (Badger, diaphragm type, very quiet, but no tank, not necessary for an air brush if the airline is long). But never thought to try it on my cheapo air stapler. I've got loads of airline adaptors, so I'll give that a quick try, thanks.

 

[MikeG.]

"Occasional" staple use.......not sure why people are suggesting the OP goes out to buy a compressor and air stapler. For occasional use a hand stapler and a hammer stapler cover all the bases nicely. Anything else seems like overkill, and particularly if you end up with a nasty battery powered thing which falls to bits in 3 years.

If you do buy a hammer stapler, be judicious in how close to your free hand you use it, because driving a 12mm staple into the bones of your finger is something you'll remember for a while. There's a reason I know this.

 

[custard]

This thread's worth a read,

nailer-stapler-best-option-t108692.html

 

[Steve Maskery]

I can give you a rec for one to avoid.
Tacwise/Rapesco. The biggest piece of junk I've ever had the misfortune to spend money on.
By a country mile.

 

[fezman]

Thanks for all the advice folks, I think I will invest in a decent silent compressor. Probably the Bambi BB24v.

So can i ask a (daft) question? Do you need to discharge the air in the tank when the compressor is left for a while? i.e. if I charge the compressor, use it, recharge, then leave the workshop for a few days, should I release the air and recharge it on return, or will it be ok left charged? Note - I turn off all power in the workshop when i leave.

I'm likely to buy the Makita nailer previously mentioned. Can anyone recommend a relatively cheap (c£50-£75) spray gun for finishes?

 

[fezman]

Does anyone have any experience or view on this kit

https://www.airsupplies.co.uk/senco-pc1 ... ug-in-work

Would 9 litre tank cope with applying finishes? I don't make huge amounts of furniture, but do have a full office build coming up in May & spray finish would be nice.

thanks

 

[MikeJhn]

If you are thinking of a spray finish, look into HVLP sprays rather then an old fashioned compressor spray gun combination, less overspray and much easier to use, I will now wait for the flack that I normally get.

 

[AES]

@fezman: Your question, QUOTE: So can i ask a (daft) question? Do you need to discharge the air in the tank when the compressor is left for a while? i.e. if I charge the compressor, use it, recharge, then leave the workshop for a few days, should I release the air and recharge it on return, or will it be ok left charged? Note - I turn off all power in the workshop when i leave. UNQUOTE:

My understanding is "YES, DEFINITELY". My own compressor is stored in the garage (which sometimes also houses a wet car, though I do try not to do that too often). In any case, there is always air circulation within the garage, and although it's insulated the garage is not heated, though one wall is common with the house.

So after using the compressor I ALWAYS release any air left in the tank, then drain the tank (the little drain nipple right underneath, somewhere along the length of the tank, right where it's hard to reach)!!!!!!!! AND I ALWAYS leave the drain nipple OPEN.

The compressor is well over 10 years old and I have no signs of rust inside the (steel) tank. Neither do I see any sign of rust on any other tools stored in the garage, but "you can't be too careful"!

Remember that when air is compressed it gets warmer, so can therefore hold a bit more moisture than cold (ambient) air. That's why if using the compressor for spray painting, etc, you should always have a moisture trap in the line, after the tank but before it reaches the spray gun.

My practice anyway, HTH.