Air Nailer Newbie

MikePA · Apr 6, 2004

I have a finish air nailer on the way for putting up some trim where swinging a hammer might be difficult. Being my first ever air nailer, I have some questions...

How do you control how deep the nail goes?

What happens if you 'miss', i.e., think that there's a stud behind the drywall where you're attaching the trim but there isn't? Can the nail fly through the drywall?

The trim I am putting up is on the inside of a closet around the door as well as baseboard.

I think I recall Norm on TOH recommending that 4p (1.5" long) finish nails should be used on the inside of the trim (the side closest to the opening) while 6p (2.0" long) goes on the other side. Good advice?

Also, since nails for air tools come in lengths,

MarkV · Apr 6, 2004

Mike,
I believe you will like using a finish nailer if you have always hand nailed trim in the past. It is much easier, faster and you will not leave near as many blemishes on the trim piece.

I would not worry about a nail shooting through the drywall. Some trim nailers have depth settings and some don't. For the most part you will not have to worry about it. The nail is actually pushed by a driver in the gun that has a tapered point that sets the nail about 1/8 of an inch into the wood. If you have a special application that requires less of a set adjusting the air pressure on your compressor will allow you to set a nail flush with the surface. Try 70 to 80 pounds of pressure as a starting point for normal use. Your nail sizes sound about right though many of us just use 2" nails for most all trim. On door or window casing trim you will need to nail to the side frame of the door (jamb) as well as to the 2x4 next to the door (jack stud). That is what helps keep the doorframe plumb and square. Try to place your nails where you will be able to fill the holes with out doing a lot of sanding in the sharp grooves of the trim.

Finally be safe and keep your hands and body out of the line of fire if a nail were to deflect or shoot through a thin part of the wood. Sometimes even a hard knot in the wood can cause the nail to bend and come out the side. Eye protection is always a good idea.

MarkV

shvl73 · Apr 6, 2004

Most finish nailers have a depth adjustment to vary the countersink. The manual will describe it. I leave mine on max depth & it seems just fine. You probably want to fill over the nails before painting anyway. 4d is fine for the inside of your average 2-1/2" trim & 6d will work for the outside. If you miss the stud it shouldn't pass through the trim, & definitely not the drywall behind it. The inside of a closet is a great starting spot, it hides mistakes. Keep your free hand away from the trim as you nail it, a near miss or deflected nail can easily find your appendages, leading to a embarrassing, painful all-too common trip to the hospital. Safety glasses are an excellant idea as well, the exhaust port from the nailer can blow dust & debris into your eyes at 95 psi. Work safe.

_RaT_ · Apr 6, 2004

I have the last of the old ultra compact Senco SN1's. I love using this trim nailer. It's depth of drive is built in, in other words, you cannot adjust it easily. I find though that 99% of the time, it is unnecessary to do so. You can decrease the depth by grinding the drive down a touch. It countersinks about a 1/16" or slightly less. Most any air nailer short of firing in "air" have a very limited travel as all are considered low velocity unlike the old 70's high velocity powder acturated that actually drove nails through the metal washer, 2X and concrete to the floor below. Todays nailers and powder nailers are all plunger driven.

shvl73 · Apr 7, 2004

If you can find one of the older SN4's or a SN70, they have (or had?) a GC23AHAN 2-1/4" hardened nail that you could shoot through 2x into block or newer concrete, all on 100+ psi. It would usually countersink the nail as well. The nails were around $20 per thousand instead of $15 per hundred for the shot & nails for powder actuated tools. Limited applications but, worked well if you already owned the framing tool.

MikePA · Apr 17, 2004

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Wow, do I ever feel like I've gone from the 18th century to the 21st century! I used my Porter Cable Finish Nailer ( Model FN250B ) for the first time today. I had put some of the molding (where I could swing the hammer) inside the closet last week. However, there was no convenient way to swing the hammer for the other baseboard pieces, so I just wedged it in, since I wanted to get all the stuff back into the closet before my wife returned from a trip, planning to air nail the rest of it when the weather got better (compressor is in a detached garage).

Well, since the weather is nice today, I could get the compressor out and run the hose into the house. Other than upsetting the dogs /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif , the molding was nailed up in the closet in about 2 minutes. It was so much fun, I nailed up the molding in the kitchen. Some of it was behind the refrigerator, which I couldn't move very far, certainly not far enough to create enough room to swing a hammer, but more than enough room for the finish nailer. Add some wood putty, and a little paint, and I am done.

When I think of all the finish nails I've hammered, then set by hand, then filled in the 'rosebud' when I missed the nail. Pfft, pfft, pfft, in go the finish nails. If you have trim to install, do yourself a BIG favor and get a finish nailer.

Bird · Apr 17, 2004

They are fun to use, aren't they? So much so that I built an entire doghouse a few years ago (for a chow sized dog) using nothing but an 18 gauge brad nailer. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

MikePA · Apr 17, 2004

<font color="blue"> They are fun to use, aren't they? </font>
They sure are. In fact, I am sitting here trying to think of some other trim that needs nailed. I think there's some out at the barn, although, my 2" finish nails will be too long since it's 3/4" trim on top of 3/4" plywood on a Dutch door. Gotta run to the hardware store to get some 1.25" nails.

Junkman · Apr 17, 2004

If it is on a door, pick up some wood glue and use that before you nail it. They work well, but they will work loose if there is a lot of vibration with the door opening and closing... slam slam slam... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Richard · Apr 17, 2004

Another caution (and dont ask how I know /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif)

If you use longer nails, which you undoubtedly will at some point, when you put the gun to the wood, be sure to keep your hand AWAY from the front of gun.

I was nailing something or another, the nail fired, went into the trim wood, hit (if I recall correctly) the corner bead, or a drywall screw, or a drywall nail... and that 2 1/2" or 3" nail, did a "U" turn and came back OUT in a different direction.

Had I had my hand off to the side away from the "line of fire" as might seem reasonable, I could have still been impaled as the nail went in, changed direction and curved right back out of the wood.

Only had that happen once that I can clearly recall, however, one nail in my hand is one too many.

On my gun which is the same as yours, or possibly it's larger brother?, there is a knurled knob on the thingy ( /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif) and it's this knob that adjusts the set depth. the thingy is defined as the saftey lock that pushes up when you depress gun onto wood.

PRIOR to me getting ours, I used a framing hammer to put the baseboard down (dont flog me TBN folks... /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif) My wife was never very happy about the waffle patterns I left EVERYWHERE.

Thankfully, she one day decided to rip it ALL up and put down 3 piece along floor. I bought this nailer and there was (*$@_ to pay. Then she used it and today, she'll give up her beloved Otis before her nailgun. (but we dont tell Otis that)

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