Secret nailing

[gasman]

Hello everyone and seasonal greetings
I need to lay 25 sq m of 19mm oak flooring onto a solid floor. I have laid 25*38 batons with 25mm insulating sheets between each and 300mm gaps between. I want to secret nail the oak (100mm wide). I have just bought a Tacwise 500EL nail gun which I think is the first mains powered gun capable of putting in 50mm nails. The blurb says it will do secret nailing - and I have done a few rows so far which went OK - but there is no special head to ensure you are delivering the nail either at 45 degrees or in the right place - so I reckon I have wasted about 50% of the nails so far. Anyone have any better ideas how to make this nail gun work better? Thanks for your time
Mark

 

[brihol]

You obviously can't get 45 degrees with the gun the "right way round" so could you cut a suitably angled piece of wood and tape it to the top and use the gun upside down?
Where is the "right place" for your secret nails? If it's through the inside edge of the tongue, I would have thought the gun will rest on that transition quite naturally.

Brian

 

[petermillard]

Not the tool for the job, really - you'd be better off hiring a Porta Nailer. My experiences with Tacwise 18g brad guns have been poor - I've owned a few and disposed of them all except for the cheapest, which I use occasionally as a stapler. If you have the time/patience, they may be OK for lightweight pinning, but I'd never recommend them for fixing hardwood flooring.

Sorry not to be more positive, but hope this helps, Pete.

 

[Karl]

I'd agree with PeteM - not really the tool for the job. Even if you could get the fixing in satisfactorily, i'd be concerned about the brad working loose over time. The Portanailer uses cleats with an anchor serration on them which "grip" the battens to which the flooring is fixed.

I use a brad nailer and flooring mastik for fixing down the first couple of rows where the secret fixing can't be used ('cos of the size of the size of the Portanailer). I fire the brads through the face of the board, and fill with a coloured wax for an invisible finish (well, invisible unless you're REALLY looking for it).

Cheers

Karl

 

[Ateallthepies]

A while back I used a Paslode 16 gauge angled nailer to secret nail some Oak and after setting the depth and getting the angle right it went very well. As it was the angled type I was able to face the board and use it vertically. If your nailer is the straight type it's a little harder and would IMO need to be used in-line with the board at 45 degrees.

Can't really think of a way to ensure the correct angle except some sort of jig fixed to the gun with an arm that when at true 45 is flush and square to the finished floor?

I think your gonna just need to persevere and use it freehand. Or could you hire a hammer fix flooring nailer for a day?


Steve.

 

[chippy1970]

As said above get a portanailer its the right tool for the job you can hire them. The nails are better than the brads that your gun will fire and there will be less chance of ending up with a squeeky floor.

 

[Windy*miller]

I don't get it with the nail guns for wooden flooring unless you are doing a really large area. I did 20 m2 or so last year by hand, drilling small holes through the boards at 45 degrees to get the angle right and avoid splitting then using a hammer and punch. For that area I am certain that farting around with a nail gun would have made only a marginal difference to the time it took. Clearing the room, prepping the area, cutting the boards etc took far longer than. the nailing did.

To avoid any arguments I agree that if flooring is your business it's different...

 

[andersonec]

I don't get it with the nail guns for wooden flooring unless you are doing a really large area. I did 20 m2 or so last year by hand, drilling small holes through the boards at 45 degrees to get the angle right and avoid splitting then using a hammer and punch. For that area I am certain that farting around with a nail gun would have made only a marginal difference to the time it took. Clearing the room, prepping the area, cutting the boards etc took far longer than. the nailing did.

To avoid any arguments I agree that if flooring is your business it's different...

Totally agree windy, another expensive machine to go wrong and cause untold expences. Hammer and punch, a sight more accurate when it comes to depth.