Nail Gun recommendations

[Bugle]

I am "in need" :wwink: of a nail gun for small projects...trim, picture frames, craft items, etc. Since I won't be using it too often, I don't want to spend a lot of money. Would you go pneumatic or electric.

 

[Mike Camp]

If you want cheap don't go electric. I love my Dewalt 16 gauge cordless electric nailer, Dewalt makes an 18 gauge as well. My 18 gauge pneumatic Bostitch BT1855K has given me no issues and was only around $65 refurbished if I remember correctly.

As far as the pneumatic vs electric, I prefer the electrics but again the cost is normally 2.5 - 3x more so if you already have a compressor and aren't going to be using it a ton I would go with a pneumatic.

 

[Pop Golden]

I've never used an electric gun. I have a Emglo compressor and 16 ga., 18 ga., 1/4 in. crown head, pin and upholsterer guns. I have P-C, Hitachi, Acuset (Senco) and Harbor Fright brands. Very good luck with the P-C and Acuset. Just bought the Hitachi. The Harbor Fright upholsterer gun was donated and not used much. I've had very very bad luck with Cambell-Hausfield products.

Bill "Pop" Golden

 

[ehpoole]

I have been very happy with my Bostitch pneumatic nailers. I have the oiled type and have not yet tried the latest oilless variety. I have the Bostitch 16ga Finish nailer (2.5"), 18ga Brad nailer (2"), 18ga Narrow Crown Stapler (1-1/2") and their 23ga Pinner (1-3/16"). If you are buying new and wanted all of the first three (that is, minus Pinner) it is, ironically, cheaper to by the starter kit with their 6gal oilless compressor, which is how I aquired mine (Lowes). I have not had a single issue with any of these nailers and have had them for nearly 3 years now. All of these are available locally at Lowes or from numerous online vendors.

I also have Woodcraft's European EZ-Fasten 21ga Pinner/Brad Nailer (1-3/16" or 30mm) which is great when you need either stronger pins with *much* greater holding power OR you want very small 21ga brads for those small projects. I am very happy with it with one minor exception, it does not sink the pins/brads as deeply as I would like out-of-the-box, though you can grind the tip down a fraction of an inch to fix this issue, if so motivated. I use both my EZ-Fasten and my Bostitch Pinners quite regularly.

If you want the ultimate 23ga Pinner and money is really no object, Grex has a line of 23ga Pinners (available from Woodcraft and others) which can drive 23ga pins in lengths of 1-3/8", 1-3/4" or 2" depending on the Pinner model you choose. These are pretty much the Cadillacs (Festools?) of the 23ga Pinner family and are priced accordingly... I would love to have the 1-3/4" model for those occassions when 1-3/16" pins are not quite adequate.

I have recently added a new 80gal 4HP (claimed 4.5HP) air compressor to my collection, but I will be keeping the 6gal Bostitch compressor for around-the-house and mobile (e.g. my grandmother's NC cabin) jobs ... at 38lbs it is a heck of alot easier to transport than my 500+lb shop compressor!

I can't comment on the DeWalt electric nailers another poster mentioned, but my past experiences with other electric nailers and staplers has always been very disappointing by comparision... lots of half driven nails and staples that still required a traditional hammer and nail set to finish the job. Obviously, others have apparently had better fortune than I (or maybe the DeWalts are just that much better than the other's I've tried... hard to say).

HTH

Tip: For the Bostitch 23ga Pinner, I have found that the Grex and Porter Cable 23ga pins (1/2" to 1-3/16", minus 3/4") fit this Pinner better than Bostitch's own -- with the exception of the 3/4" size for which the Grex brand are 1mm oversized and the Bostitch 3/4" pins fit perfectly. Grex pins are available from Woodcraft and Amazon, as well as other online vendors.

 

[Mike Camp]

Good points Ethan. I will expand on the DeWalt electric nailers for the sake of clarity. It is truly a cadillac of a nailer. Drives nails well into any soft or hardwood I've thrown at it and gets plenty of battery life. The only thing is for the same price you could get the 3 Bostitch nailers and a pancake compressor and still have some money left over for pizza and beer.

I bought it at the time, because a buddy of mine let me borrow his and I liked it so much I saved for a few months and bought it. If I had to do it all over again from a purely cost perspective and bang for your buck I probably would have gotten one of the Bostitch or Porter Cable combo deals available at the big box stores.

 

[junquecol]

I just picked up the new HF combo 18 ga / 1/4" crown stapler this week for $12.99. Haven't had a chance to use it yet, but a friend has both the 23 ga pinner and 1/4" crown stapler from same series. He has nothing but praise for them. These are the new Red and Silver guns. There is a coupon in either Wood, or American Woodworker to get combo gun for $12.99, limit of four. I have an extra coupon for this gun from Sunday paper, FYI. I own Senco, PC, Hitachi, Bostich, DeVilbiss guns also. I don't have a preference of one over the other. All have served me well.

 

[jhreed]

I have the Bostitich 18 ga, 5/8-2" oil free and love it. No jams, no misfires. Drives a nail everytime.

 

[Jim M.]

I love my Porter Cable nail guns. Once in a blue moon I get a jamb, but that's usually my fault. I have a 23ga pinner, 1/4" crown stapler, 18ga brad nailer and 16ga. finish nailer. Jim

 

[JimD]

I have a 18 gauge Porter Cable, a 23 gauge Bostitch, a 16 gauge Bostitch and Harbor Freight 1/4 crown and wide crown fabric staplers. The HF items work but not as well as the main brands. But for the money, they are fine. The narrow crown will not work with the 1 1/2 inch staples it is rated to use but works fine with 3/4 inch. If the pressure was REALLY high, maybe it would drive the long one. The fabric stapler works fine. I get occasional mis-fires on the Porter Cable but those have decreased a lot since when it was new. The two Bostitch I own have always worked well. I love the little 23 gauge and reach for it first for small things. It will only drive a 1 3/16 pin or less but does that well making a small hole. The little headless pins hold surprisingly well.

Jim

 

[drw]

I purchased a Porter Cable package deal (compressor, brad nailer, finish nailer and stapler) from Lowes during a sale...I think I paid around $150 for everything. While none of the guns are used heavily, I have been very pleased with their performance.

Donn

 

[KenOfCary]

I've got a PC 18 ga, Hitachi 16 ga and recently got the PC 23 ga PN138. It is a big improvement over the PN100. It will do 1-3/8" pins and includes a no-fire on empty feature. I don't know how many times I've fired the other guns with no nails in them. But I'm pretty happy with all of these. Home Depot actually has a pretty good price on the PC PN138. Got the other PC from Craigs List.

- Ken.