Do old guys need nail guns?

[retiredmgn]

I keep running into it but I keep dismissing it. I learned how to nail at 19 years of age while building FHA housing in the Portland area. Nail guns hadn't been invented yet. When nailing off a floor there was a skill that had to be learned and it 'wernt' easy. One had to learn to 'roll' nails in the left hand. Hammer hand never stopped. While right hand was hammering, left hand was manipulating a fistfull of 8 penny and once the hammer set the current nail the left hand had the next nail ready to go. It was a special thing when three guys would be nailing off a floor and a rhythm would start up. Tap, set the nail. Pound, sink it flush. Bang, set it below the surface. Three hits to a 8 penny. It was like a drummers troop. Everyone would try to stay in time. Tap, sink, set, tap, sink, set.
I was riding up a ski lift at Sugarloaf a couple of years ago. The other occupant was a 19 year old carpenter. We were talking current construction techniques and when nailguns came up he said, "Some of the old timers still do it the old fashioned way (an actual hammer)" A quick backhand to his nose left him stunned enough I was able to raise the safety bar and slide him out of the chair to the slope below. (kidding).
I suppose I have to invest in a compressor and nailgun at some point. I'm in no hurry. I know it will be faster and easier but there is that old age stubbornness - what I got works, why change it now.

 

[mmurphy]

I have nail guns but, still use hammer alot more than wasting time getting gun out. I find if you are doing work on old houses some times you do not know if nail penetrated any thing solid with a gun. Some times it is nice to hurry and getter done!

 

[MossflowerWoods]

A quick backhand to his nose left him stunned enough I was able to raise the safety bar and slide him out of the chair to the slope below. (kidding).

I totally understand the feeling. He probably needed it. This current "entitlement" generation kills me. My son is 26 and his personal life is a disaster but for some reason he insists he is "managment" material. I think we all did not smack our kids enough when they needed it and now they are all out of calibration... I know I'm guilty.:mur:

On the nail gun issue. I'm not even close to as good as you describe, but carpal tunnel in both wrists (prolly surgery in both in the next 3-6 months) and other issues are forcing me into the nail-gun zone. My only remaining decision is which one/ones to buy...

But it is not because we are old, ok. Kill that rumor now. You're not old, I'm not old, we are experienced... VERY Experienced maybe...:thumbsup:

Be well sir,
David

PS - Portland OR? I grew up there...

 

[20 20]

Now if you had said you build with wooden dowels that would have been different. I have and use nail guns, great for speed but most of all when toe nailing especially when your alone. I still grab a hammer and nail for a lot of stuff.
When we started building our house my son and I where out nailing all day{hammer nail}, wife gets home and says,"what's the matter with the hammer?" Of course son and I set there and stare at our hammers thinking we have a cracked handle or something{clueless moment}. Long story short, I forgot I owned a nail gun :laughing: :laughing:

 

[DJ54]

I still use a hammer for framing etc., although I did break down this summer, and bought a Porter-Cable finish nailer. I used it to hang the white oak on my stall fronts, shown in another thread in this section. Sure saved a lot of buggered fingers, and nail setting...

Most of my hammers are the Plumb, with fiberglass handles... All.., have a 3/8" hole drilled in the end, about an inch or so deep, of the handle, and filled with bee's wax. Sure makes the larger nails ( I still like to use ring shank mails) go in so much easier... A trick I learnd from my grandpa who was a carpenter. Just a little dab will do it...

Toilet bowl rings are a cheap source for this... They go a long way..!!

 

[forgeblast]

Love the nail gun, but use the hammer when too far from an outlet.

 

[bp fick]

Use them all. Hammer, finish gun and stud gun, etc. There's a place for all of it. Same with saws.

To me it isn't an "either/or" question, but a "both/and" kinda deal.

 

[Deere Dude]

After building a house about 20 years ago using a hammer because I was to cheap to buy a nail-gun because they were expensive then, I noticed from all the hammering, parts of my body were going numb. So I had to slow way down which I hated to do.
We built another house about 5 years ago and I found some HF framing nailers cheap enough so I bought a couple and the building process went a lot smoother and the body didn't hurt from hammering all day long.
I still hammer but very limited in duration.

 

[JimRB]

When my house was framed there was a carpenter and his crew. The crew practically was day labor even though it was his regular crew. No one seemed to be efficient besides the lead carpenter. I suppose a carpenter knows how to use a hammer, a chisel, a handsaw, file to sharpen handsaw, plumb bob and a framing square with numbers on it. A day laborer might know how to squeeze a trigger.

Last time I was patching my roof it was easier to unroll 200 feet of air hose to use the roofing nail gun. I started with hand nailing but my time was better spent getting out the nail gun. I happen to be somewhere between a day laborer and a carpenter closer to the carpenter level but still a long way from carpenter.

 

[g0rd0]

I too have a frameing nail gun, bradnailer and stapler (all 3 are compressor driven) along with a small assortment of hammers.
For small jobs lets face it the frameing nailer is BIG AND HEAVEY and it has a lot of hose to unwind and put away, so it is faster and easyer to use a hammer, but, when putting up a new garage or shed it cant be beat.
The brad nailer and stapler well lets say that I should have aquired them sooner. I use them a lot. They only need a small compressor and are quite portable and fast. Not to mention that there are no hammer marks on the project.
When it came time to put on ceader shingles I used the stapler with 1&1/4" galvenised staples. Fantastic!:thumbsup:
So, by all means get some of the new fancey smancey tools they are great additions. Just remember DONOT remove or ****** any safty device that are on them the er's are bussy enough without haveing to deal with low velosity gun shot wounds (wich is exactly what you are dealing with)