Bad Nail Gun Day

[jayhaitch]

I gave myself tennis elbow installing 400 sq ft of 3/4 hardwood strip flooring in our current house getting ready to sell. Taking a long time to heal, as tennis elbow does. I had lots of close range blows down a long narrow hall I couldn't swing my arm properly so swung from my elbow.

I can't imagine doing what I did with a manual nailer. I did wear good boots though!


Spiney Norman: "E nailed my 'ead tuh thu floor."

 

[roxynoodle]

Yeah, I'm not sure how well it will work for me. My kitchen is 14' x 27'. As it is, it may take me 2 days. It is 3/4" maple flooring. On the other hand I've heard of or seen so many nail gun accidents with the power ones that they worry me. Tennis elbow isn't any fun but it does seem to be something I deal with a few times a year.

 

[JerryG]

Um.... Jerry... that story is counter productive to my previous views of you...
That musta been a sight though....

It was a sight, with all three fingers nailed together. Loved the look of my wife and kids when they saw it. We live about 45 miles from the closest ER. I had to tell my wife to slow down 5 or 6 times on the way in.

 

[Rob_H]

Stories like these and a couple of close calls myself remind me how much I want to disable the bump feature on my Porter Cable nailer. Anybody know how?

It is real easy to change a Porter Cable framing nail gun from bump to single fire. I have the 350R gun, and there is a little red barrel in the trigger that is put in right side up for bump fire, and the other way around for single fire. I agree with the others that have posted, bump fire can be difficult to control in tight spaces. Additionally, most of the time I'm using a nail gun it is a finish nailer or a brad nailer building furniture, so I'm sure there is some pilot error involved with bump nailing with a framing gun.

 

[jimmysisson]

Yeah, I'm not sure how well it will work for me. My kitchen is 14' x 27'. As it is, it may take me 2 days. It is 3/4" maple flooring. On the other hand I've heard of or seen so many nail gun accidents with the power ones that they worry me. Tennis elbow isn't any fun but it does seem to be something I deal with a few times a year.

***********
We have a Bostitch air-powered flooring nailer that works pretty slick. Takes a lot less pounding than the old Rockwell, but still sets the boards together. Much easier on the elbow, and pretty safe, especially since you're not so worn out using it. Probably available as a rental. Save your arm (and other parts)!
Jim

 

[roxynoodle]

Well, I had been thinking I'd rent a power nailer since the rest of my house is hardwood floors and I wouldn't be using one again. But, then I remembered my ex's finger and the other story with the pallet guy and said hmm... and neighbor offered the use of the manual one. This is a hard one to decide since a manual one will be hard on me as a woman, but with a power one it is possible I'll nail myself to the floor.

 

[Defective]

Roxy,

The first and most important step in avoiding accidents with powertools is knowing what can happen. The second step is knowing HOW it can happen. The third step is simply working carefully.

At this point, I'd say you have steps one and two covered. Step three is pretty easy.

I'd recommend renting the power nailer. Manual ones are rough on big strong men too.

 

[roxynoodle]

I will probably rent the power one then. I do own about every saw imaginable and manage to be careful and incident free with those. My opinion is the first safety rule with a tool, esp. a power tool, is to know where all your body parts are! Maybe I'll try the manual one to see how bad it is; the neighbor who owns it is a pretty small guy and says he put hardwood floors in the whole house. But, he is a guy and therefore has much stronger upper body strength than I do. I probably won't get to the kitchen floor for at least another month yet because I'm still taking apart my barn that fell down and trying to get stone veneer on one last outside wall of my house before winter.

 

[patrick_g]

Maybe it is a local thing but I have yet to have met a framer who hasn't shot himself with a nail gun. I have had close calls with my little pneumatic brad guns and pinners (23 ga) but only close enough to be a warning shot across my bow and not a trip to the emergency room. For that I used a hammer.

Pat

 

[Defective]

That's it...

Gotta admit my one close call...

I was working on a log house many years ago & nailed my boot to the deck with a 16" spike. I was a little crooked driving it in and it came out of the bottom of the log right where my foot was. Fortunately, while it missed the toe cap, it also missed my foot. Unfortunately, the guys I was working with refused to help me get loose until after lunch.