Fence Going up... Compressor & Air Nailer Question

[Bird]

When we were building my brother's house, he bought a Paslode pneumatic nail gun that used full round head nails and it worked great, but I'm also one who much prefers screws. It's a little slower, but like you said, they hold better and last longer and if you ever want to take it apart, I'd rather unscrew the screws than try to pry the nails out.

 

[Cowboyjg]

What you selected is fine. Most of the suggestions are based on personal preferances and are not wrong either. I use most all of the examples noted in the previous posts in my day to day business. Each has it's own benefits relative to the task at hand.

Some notes from my perspective:

Porter cable makes great saws.....Nail gun piston heads tend to be too soft and need repair more often. same for Bostich Framers. Finish nailers are a different story.

I prefer coil nailers over stick nailers. They get in more awkward places and need less reloading.

There are auto-feed screw guns if that's the way you want to go. I use one for decking. Some come short, some long.

Rol-air for your gas powered compressor. Great history with them. Almost never need repair if cared for properly. It's not a tractor and can't take weather like one.

Galvanized nails and screws are available which ever you choose.

Have fun with your project.

 

[_RaT_]

<font color="blue"> If I had to use them everyday for work I'd go with clipped head nailer as well. </font>

As long as your building code allows them, thats fine. For fences, my clipped head nailer is fine. For shear, full head nails are mandatory in many places. If having a large amount of nails in the gun is important, get a coil nailer. Nails cost more, are a pain to carry around, take up far more room, but I like using the coil nailer. If your interested in a high quality clipped head nailer, I have a nice one for sale.

 

[meledward23]

At this point the idea that appeals to me the most is to forget all of this and go with screws. I like screws better for most my projects anyway.

However the real downside to screws is I could convince the wife I need these two items to rebuild some of here pastures. If I dont do it now I may never get her permission in the future... /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif


Thanks all

 

[_RaT_]

Screws are good, but much slower to do then air nailing. Often times I find that the fence material falls apart well before the nails or screws give. Just remember, there are good screws and there are lousy screws.

 

[Dale_Alan]

Sugggestion: Use a nailer to tack the fence together then use screws to suck it up tight and hold it for a looooong time. Wish I had done that when I built. Now I need to redo my entire fence with screws. By the way I used good galvanized ring shank nails ant they are all pulling out.
Dale

 

[Freds]

I've used Paslode framing nailers and they're pretty nice, but heavy. It wasn't mine and I don't know what the cost of the propane cylinders were, plus it seemed like we were always going for a fresh battery... I don't know, they're nice, but I wouldn't buy one.
Because of this, I like nailguns that work off of compressors because they are lighter and *simpler*.

I've put up the cheap pine privacy fencing with 3" deck screws and it holds well in strong winds, no re-hammering needed, but when I had some hammering to do on the slats I noticed that some of the screws had sheared /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif. It must have been from the hammering because other sections were fine. Also, a year in the weather and you're lucky to be able to find the screws if they're countersunk and the wood swells a bit. You can find them, but it's not easy and after removing a section a few times to get my tractor into that area I replaced the screws with nails. It's just easier to take the section out and put back for me.

Give me an electric screwgun anyday if you are going to run a bunch of screws where more than a little torque is needed. All you need is one cord plugged into a generator. Or better yet, a welder/generator /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif. You'll need the cord anyway for all the batteries you'll have to keep recharging for a battery screwgun.

BUT, one thing about screws is they are harder to put in. You got one thumb with the board hooked on it. You got the rest of the fingers clamped around the post steadying it. You got the other hand holding the tool... It takes a bit of muscle to get the screw going (provided it doesn't fall out) and keep pressure so the board doesn't back away from the post a little bit when the screw gets in that far....

SO, for that reason, I like your first thoughts, a compressor and a nailgun. Maybe you can get an electric compressor that you can plug into a gas generator/welder that will meet your needs too, and be handier for anything closer to home.

Just my ramblin' thoughts.

 

[_RaT_]

I'm with you Fred. I've put in thousands of feet of fence. For fences I still use nails, no ring shank, no problem with pull outs. The Paslode airless is much to slow. Screws are fine, but again, very slow. I use screws for decks exclusively, for 1X fence boards, its a 6 or 8 penny nail with electro coated nails. Last forever and simply have no problems with pull outs. Don't mention staples though, thats an issue with me. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Freds]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( no problem with pull outs )</font>
I've never had a problem either, but then I don't think I've put a nail straight in, in a while. If I'm putting a few nails into a board they are all at different angles from each other. Someone told me a long time ago that there's less chance of splitting the wood and they are harder to work loose.

Of course... you could always put the board on the other side of the post, too... /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[meledward23]

My whole fence line is pull outs.....

Of course it is 20 years old and the horses kick it every day.

I need to repair big sections of it where the horses that are really ornery kick the bejezus out of it.

Screws may be slow, but I think I am boing to give them a shot.

I have on section of fence, my arena, that is 18 years old. The wood is still good but the nails wont hold any more. I was thinking about secureing it with Cariage bolts. Comments?