Nail guns?

Wingnut · Jul 18, 2001

oh boy ... nailguns ... my favorite subject.

WARNING ... NAIL GUNS ARE DANGEROUS!

I have a Porter Cable roofing gun, a Bostich round mag general purpose nailer, a hald dozen brad nailers and a couple of staplers ... so obviously I love compressors, nailguns and air!
My Bostich helped me single-handedly build my shop (32 x 24 garage) ... and then halped me understand that tools and inattention are dangerous. On the final day ... and the 4th last nail (on the exterior) ... I was on the roof finishing the last sheet of sheathing. The hose got a little tight on me, so I reached around (! was sitting down with my legs under me) and pulled the hose. I still had the gun in my other hand and suddenly heard a large bang! When I looked down a saw about 1/4" of a 3-1/2" spike sticking out of my leg about 2 inches above my knee.
My forst thought was "hmmm, I bet that's going to hurt" and my second thought was "dang, I'm up on the roof" and my third thought was "and I'll bet Carolyn's not going to come out of the house for quite awhile yet ...".
So ... I stood up and straightened my leg (bending the nail into an L) .. limped to the ladder ... let the gun down to the ground via the hose (not a recommended method ... but I wasn't in the mood for recommendations) ... and climbed down the ladder. Limped to the back door and rang the doorbell enough times to let her know I wan't pushing it by accident ... as I have been wont to do.
Nail and x-ray make great souvenirs and excellent reminders (as does the scar) of how fast and deep this puppy sets nails.

WARNING - NAIL GUNS ARE DANGEROUS ... AND SO IS INATTENTION ... AND FAMILARITY DOES BREED CONTEMPT!

too bad that common sense ain't

MarkV · Jul 19, 2001

Heehaw
I don't see many Duofast nailers in this area. Never used one, but it is good to hear you have had good luck with yours. I'll file that away for the future.

Glue Guy
I think Fine Homebuilding is a great magazine. Well written, good quality and they have a pretty good web site.

Wingnut
Ouch! Been there myself. Don't plan on doing it again.

MarkV

StoneHeartFarm · Jul 19, 2001

Cowboydoc

I think the great advantage the palm nailers have is the small size, which lets them get into really tight spots. What I'd LIKE to know, is how they would work with the 1-1/2" truss nails that are used with Hurricane (seismic) ties. It might be slower to drive the nails this way, but if it saves your shoulder a little time might be worth wasting. I drove over 1500 of those little buggers on my house project and I've still got a few hundred to go. I would much rather hand drive several glue coated 16d's than one of those truss nails. Just about took my shoulder out swinging the hammer to drive all those little nails. A palm nailer at that point would have been much appreciated. For Glueguy's application I think Hurricane ties are going to be a requirement. Here, they are more or less appreciated, but not required. So, we framed first and THEN I applied the ties.

Wingnut and the others are right about dangerous. All air nailers are dangerous. (So are all tools. I've cut myself more on my hand saws than I have on my power saws). My brother in law has nailed his hands several times, and I know a guy who's kid shot a nail straight through a 2x4 and hit him in the throat. (The kid was 35 and should have known better).

SHF

Ray_G · Jul 19, 2001

I have the paslode nail gun and have just finished building an 800 sq ft addition with it. I have both full head and clipped head nails for it. It has not failed me yet and I have dropped it many times already. For a homeowner it works well. The maintenance issue is a non issue because I did not do anything to me my gun until after I was finished. Additional cost is also not an issue because a fuel cartridge lasts ~ 4000 nails. Thats more than he will use building a garage ans they cost 7 bucks.
Go for the paslode you cannot beat the portability, no hoses to get tangled with, and they have pleanty of power. I recently added the deck and shot 3 " galvanized ribbed nails into PT lumber without any problems.

cowboydoc · Jul 19, 2001

SHF,
Yes you're right about palm nailer being nice for certian applications. What I meant was that you wouldn't want to use one all day and it is nothing like a nail gun.

StoneHeartFarm · Jul 19, 2001

Cowboydoc,

Think it would work for the truss nails? I'd rather use just about anything than a hammer all day long to drive them. Nastiest part of the whole project.

SHF

cowboydoc · Jul 19, 2001

Not sure about that. Those suckers are hard to nail! Couldn't hurt to try though. Go get one and see. If it doesn't do the job take it back. They are really cheap.

StoneHeartFarm · Jul 19, 2001

That's what I was thinking. Depot has them for about $139.00. Between what still has to be done on the house, plus the ties on the Pole Barn, anything that would save my shoulder would be appreciated. Don't want to wind up with a permanent injury. A few bucks for the tool vs a lifetime of pain? A few bucks wins everytime.

SHF

gerard · Jul 19, 2001

Check out Harbor Freight - they have the palm nailers for $49, $99 with a staorage case and some different attachments but $49 just for the bare unit.

Wingnut · Jul 20, 2001

if you're asking whether those palm guns would work on that app, SHF ... I guess it would depend on how room you have. I put hurricane straps on the rafters ... unfortunately well after I should have ... and I used the nail gun on most of the straps. With the compressor set pretty high, I had no problem blowing through the galvanized metal ... although about 1 in 6 would be obstinate and go sideways instead of through.
The palm nailer would definitely be doing it the hard way!

too bad that common sense ain't