Bought a Framing Nail Gun

[Haywire]

Got a Hitachi 21° full round head nailer. Don't really need it, but am building a small chicken coop and used that as an excuse to collect another toy.

Figured out a couple things pretty quickly.

1. They didn't have any coated nails at Lowes and the uncoated ones pull out fairly easily.

2. Since I can drive a nail with every pull of a trigger, I use more nails than I would normally. What the heck... put another one there... POW!

3. Toenailing is a bit awkward. If you drive nails flush on flat wood, you leave the head hanging high when toenailing. I used a punch and hammer to set most of them. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

4. It's loud. I'm going to take the cap off the top and redirect the exhaust in another direction. It comes out the front and when I'm leaning over looking where I'm putting the nail, I invariably get it in the ear. I took to wearing ear plugs when I remembered. If I didn't, it reminded me.

Ian

 

[Fixemall]

Get the bump trigger and you will like it a lot more. You should be able to adjust it to flush sink a toenail.

 

[Haywire]

Bump trigger? You mean where you just hold the trigger and tap it on the wood to drive the nail? I think that would just shorten the time it takes me to end up in the emergency room. LOL... already tapered a finger with one of my other toys... the table saw. Think I will want to avoid doing something similar with this. That finger hurt something awful.

Ian

 

[Fixemall]

That's the one, I have them on my framing nailer and OSB stapler, you can really rip thru framing projects fast once you get used to them

 

[Ken45101]

It's loud. I'm going to take the cap off the top and redirect the exhaust in another direction. It comes out the front and when I'm leaning over looking where I'm putting the nail, I invariably get it in the ear.

I would not be putting my face that close. If the nail hits an obstruction, it could go sideways....right into your face! If you need to, aim it but get back before you pull the trigger.

Set the penetration higher and it should set your toenails in deep enough.

Ken

 

[Rustyiron]

That's a good tool, it will last you for ever if you put a few drops of air tool oil in the coupler EVERY TIME you use it. These rely solely on O rings and ya got to keep them from drying out. As soon as you redirect the exaust you'll be in a situation that'l put your face where it is!

 

[Haywire]

I saw some air tools a lineman was using when I was in Japan that had a pair of hoses attached. They were made together like the cheap extension cords are. One was pressure and the other was the exhaust. It vented the tool through a muffler down at the truck. I can't recall if it was hard lined into the bucket or if there was hose going all the way to the ground. That thing was super quiet.

About the o-rings. The manual said not to keep stored it outside in the barn during the winter. I figured it was because of stiff seals. I'll have to get some air tool oil, or at least an applicator. I put a few drops of engine oil in it without an applicator, but it involved dipping a screwdriver in the bottle and letting it drip into the intake. Not the most efficient method.

Ian

 

[jake98]

Ring shank nails don't pull out easily. They're mostly used for sheathing. :thumbsup:

 

[cttractor]

Ring shank nails don't pull out easily. They're mostly used for sheathing. :thumbsup:

You might want to consider wearing safety glasses when you use it as well as hearing protection. I wear the glasses when I use my nail guns becausde I've seen debris go flying from the exhaust air as well as from the nail quickly going into the wood and sometimes spewing fibers. I'm not afraid of the gun, but am afraid to get my head and face too close to it when it's being used. Call me a wimp, I guess.

 

[Haywire]

I bought some 2" nails for the siding and didn't notice till I got home that they were hot dipped galvanized ring shank nails. I probably paid a lot more for them than I intended.

Edit... looked at my receipt. Looks like they didn't charge me for either of my boxes of nails. No wonder I didn't notice the expensive nails. They were free.

I was reading over at the sawmill creek forums that in some places, code won't allow clipped head nails. I don't think that's the case here though. There were a blue million different types of clipped head nails on the rack, but not that many round heads.

Ian