framing nail guns

[2nstonge]

I had a guy moonlighting with me on a big deck I was building this summer. He works for a big production builder in the area and he got frustrated with my Paslode - too 'slow' compared to the bump & run nailers they use to frame with. Then he showed me the scars on each hand from working too fast with the bump & run nailers and his free hand being in the wrong place and getting a nail shot into it. Not just one scar, several! I work for myself, and I'm usually alone, I don't mind a slight decrease in productivity if it means getting thru the day without a trip to the ER.

-Norm

 

[JasonL]

As a professional framer I thought I'd add my 2 cents. I agree with most of whats been said. We used to use Bostich coil framing nailers. We started having problems and found out they aren't made like they used to be. Now we use Max coil nailers because thats who used to make the Bostich ones. We use coil nailers because they hold more nails. Of course all of our nailers are set to bump mode for speed. I can attest to the fact that a nail in the hand hurts! (twice) For the occasional user, any gun you find comfortable will work. We go through an average of 3 boxes (large) of nails a day, and we have to have the guns rebuilt occasionally. The Paslode fuel cell guns are a nice idea, but I can't recommend them for production work. Jason

 

[JimR]

I have a Porter Cable framing gun also. It has worked flawlessly for me.

 

[DMF]

I have a Paslode framing gun and I think it works great. It runs by the compressor though, not a fuel cell. I do have a PC finish gun which I managed to fire a nail through my finger when I was putting T&G Pine on my ceiling when I was building our home. Went right through my knuckle and didn't hit anything. Of course it was a day when I actually had some help. My wife was pregnent at the time and (due to minor complications) she wasn't able to help much. That day I had my best friend doing some wiring for me, my sister in law was doing some painting, my friend from work was doing some trim work, etc. I had just gotten them going on their projects and had climbed up into the scaffolding to work on the pine ceiling. I was pulling the board (first one I touched that day) tight and didn't pay attention to the angle I was shooting. At first I thought a hornet had stung me but my finger hung up a little when I tried to pull it away. Then I saw blood on either side of my knuckle. I didn't want to lose the day so I toughed it out. I was picking up long after everyone had left around 11 pm when my wife called to see when I was coming home. I told her I was going to the ER first and explained what happened. They took an x-ray and like I mentioned the nail hadn't hit anything but my knuckle was pretty swollen (working all day didn't help I'd guess). They gave me a tetnis (sp?) shot and I was home by midnight.
The nurse told me that the last nail gun accident she attended was a guy who had accidently shot himself in, uhm... his, shall we say, sack. That hurts just saying it! She said that he was OK as well but I bet his swelling was more uncomfortable than mine! /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[MotorSeven]

Farmer,

I started out with a large Senco framer in the early 80's that i bought in a pawn shop for $50. I built a house, then did fences and decks as a side job. Had to have the O rings done several times but really got a lot of use out of the thing. I ended up buying a PC framer 4-5 years ago because the nails jus got too expensive. The PC nails are stocked at Home Desperate and are half the price of the old clipped Senco's. The nice thing is the lighter weight of the PC...it is noticable when you put 6 nails to a picket and nail a thousand pickets! The ole Senco gave my "tennis elbow" fits, due to it's heavy weight. I have also added a Senco finish nailer, PC brad nailer and a Paslode roofing stapler. The stapler is also great for doing field fence. All in all the PC has held up great, and hasn't need any O rings (yet...knock on wood).
They all beat a hammer hands down. BTW, before the Senco, i rented a Hitachi Framer....the thing was so fast i put a 3" nail thu my left index finger.....Be CAREFULL when nailing something that is not against something firm. The first nail can hit a free standing boad such as a stake for a string line and bounce the board off the nose of the gun. When it comes back into contact with the nose and your trigger finger is still on the trigger, you will shoot another nail....most likely somwhere other than when you intended. Also be carefull when toe-nailing...they can riccocet off and fly wild. EYE protection is a real good idea /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
One more thing, keep your kids away from you when using the gun. We have a habit of keeping the finger on the trigger when doing multiple nailings, and you never know when a young'un is going to walk up behind you and possibly bump into the nose of the gun.
.....ok, i'm stepping down from the soap box /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

RD

RD

 

[hazmat]

With all these nasty stories about nailing yourself instead of the wood - I thought I'd mention sequential trip triggers. On most (if not all) guns you can configure them to require you to engage the nose, then pull the trigger to fire a nail. It won't fire another nail untill you dis-engage the nose and repeat the sequence... This is in contrast to the bump trip - where you can hold the trigger down and you get a nail each time you engage the nose with the workpiece.

My Bostich guns have come with 2 triggers (black bump & gray sequential) and you install the one you want. I think some guns have a switch of some sort that allows you to choose w/o changing parts.

Either way - if you ain't getting paid to pound nails, I recommend the sequential trip - it is slower, but safer.

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

OK, all these stories about nailing oneself got me to thinking, which is never a good thing. As proof of that, I offer this link: Google image search - "Nail x-ray"

And here's a link to one of the search results that I call "A really, really bad day at the office", with the alternate title "Jane, how do you stop this crazy thing!!!". It looked like it had to be a homicide, but it turned out to be an accident!

Excedrin headache #37

Feel free to share your own personal favorites, and let's be careful out there!

 

[CT_Tree_Guy]

Here's one more - check out the story, this guy didn't even know he had a nail in him until 6 days later!!

16-penny toothpick

Sequential trip triggers, eh? I might just look into that. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[heehaw]

i agree with you, in fact i bought the rigid 18v tool kit, just because of the warranty: even the batteries are warrantied for life: some folks don't think much of that type of warranty, but i have a 51 chevy truck, i bought life time monroe shocks for it in 1975, i bought a lifetime battery, from jc penny, in 1980, just replaced it recently, free of charge..the warranty is only good as long as the company stays in business, so i hope a bunch more of you buy the rigid tools too.
heehaw