Old oak wood... and air nailers

[holstein05]

O.K... I understand how hard it is to drive a nail in an old piece of oak.

Nonetheless, I have a lot of it on hand, and would love to biuld a shop out of it. I have the time, but very limited resources, so this is something I really want to do.

If I have to, I can pre-drill, and hand nail. BUT, I'd rather look into an air nailer investment. Do they make nailers that would drive through 2X oak wood?

If the answer is yes, any specific nailers to look for?

Don't laugh at my project... it's the best this poor man can do right now.

 

[Raddad]

Look for high powered nailers made for LVL beams. Most major manufacturers make one.

 

[BTDT]

I think someone makes one that uses rimfire cartridges to shoot nails into concrete. One of those should work.

 

[EddieWalker]

Most framing nail guns have an adjustment that you can turn to increase or decrease how far you put the nail into the wood. On harder wood, you just increast the amount of presure.

I've never worked with old, thick oak, so I don't know for sure, but I'd guess that just about any name brand, quality nail gun should be able to nail it without any trouble. Just to be on the safe side, buy it from a store that accepts returns, and not off ebay.

Mine is a older Hilti, and it's much heavier than modern, newer nail guns, but it will also put a nail through a brick, metal brackets and every type of wood I've used it on.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[CurlyDave]

Before I spent anything on an air nailer, I would look into the value of the entire lot of old oak.

If you could sell it for more than the cost of new fir to build the shop, you would be ahead of the game. I know the air nailer would work on that. I bet a custom furniture maker would be pleased to buy it.

If not, you haven't lost anything but time, which you say you have a lot of.

 

[DieselPower]

My Stanley Bostitch framing nailer will shoot nails through oak all day. When I did some repairs on the old barn out back a year ago it got a good workout. Most of the original barn was made of oak and chestnut that is over 100 years old so it's dry and hard as a rock. I just had to set the depth adjustment a little deaper and turn up the air preasure a little more but it worked like a charm. Sure beat bending nails over all day with a hammer.

 

[WayneB]

O.K... I understand how hard it is to drive a nail in an old piece of oak.

Nonetheless, I have a lot of it on hand, and would love to build a shop out of it. I have the time, but very limited resources, so this is something I really want to do.

Don't laugh at my project... it's the best this poor man can do right now.

Is the oak rough cut? What sizes are you talking about (Thickness and width).

Red Oak around here sells for anywhere from $1.80 to $6.70 a bdft. Pine starts at around $0.65 a bdft and goes up depending upon what you are buying.

I would suggest you try to sell the Oak.

Highland hardwoods is not your typical wood place as they handle mostly top end wood for flooring and finish work. It will give you a feeling for different wood retail pricing.

http://www.highlandhardwoods.com/price_lists/Retail.pdf

Not knowing what the oak looks like it is difficult to price it out, but if you have enough to build a shop I am sure there is a market for it.

Wayne

 

[holstein05]

Thanks to you all for the replies. honestly, I never considered there may be a market for this wood. I'll look into the pricing.

As far as nailers go, thank you for the re-assurance that indeed they will do the job..

I guess one of the next steps is to find people who may be interested in the oak.

Thanks again! This site has been more than my monies worth once again!

 

[Bedlam]

Eddie, just curious, is your pic of you on a hovercraft of some sort?At least thats what it looks like to me, and I cant get it bigger to tell.
Al

 

[MarkV]

I don’t think that a framing nailer will have any problem in your old oak. It does not sound like you have experience with pneumatic nailer’s so keep in mind they are nothing but a gun that uses nails for bullets and air for powder. Give them the respect you would a loaded gun and they are a great tool. Let your guard down and they will hurt you.

When you shop for a nailer make sure repairs and fasteners are available locally. Gun weight is also important. Those things get real heavy after a few hours.

MarkV