Porter Cable Brad Gun Failure....and Rant.

[N80]

Got a two different Porter Cable brad guns and a compressor about 10 years ago. Light use only. The smaller brad gun has stopped working. When you pull the trigger there is a slight puff out the exhaust port but it does not drive the brad. There is no hissing or evidence of air leakage. I went to YouTube and there are plenty of DIY repair videos. Everything looked pretty good inside mine (except that most of it looks like plastic junk). For failures with no obvious air leakage there is a plastic ring on the piston that tends to fail. Mine appeared to have spread a little and was leaving a little gap. I figure that might be the issue so I went on line to find one. No problem. Except, Porter Cable charges about $8 for the ring and $10 for shipping. It is about as big around as my thumbnail and comes in an envelope. After a little searching I was able to find another source and got one for $12 total. Still outrageous.

Installed it. Lubed everything up properly. Got one halfway decent strike (brad went halfway in) and then same as before. Pull the trigger, slight puff, nothing else. But, I also noticed that the striker did not return to the 'cocked' position.

So, I have a few options:

1) Someone here knows exactly what the problem is and tell's me how to fix it for very little additional money.
2) Get the refurb kit from P-C. It comes with the piston tube and various o-rings etc. They want about $65 for it.
3) Toss it in the trash and never buy P-C tools again. Or I might light it on fire and never buy P-C tools again. That would make me feel better.

So, if there are any ideas I'd love to hear them.

As an aside, my son is in the wholesale hardware business and he says that Porter Cable isn't what it used to be and their tool quality has taken a nose dive. When I was getting out on my own and learning to do stuff on my own I tried to buy good tools. Always thought P-C was the top of the heap. Not too impressed at this point.

So the next question is: What brand would you buy right now if you were purchasing a small brad gun if price was no object?

 

[Citydude]

I had a Porter Cable finish gun and the plastic barrel blew apart. One thing I found out after some net surfing was to oil them frequently. I think that's why mine blew up I also looked on line for a repair kit from Porter Cable and decided that I needed a change.

I bought an Hitachi finish nail gun that I really like however it doesn't like the cheaper Grip Right nails so it does require Hitachi nails which are pretty pricey.

 

[DFB]

I have two Porter Cable guns a framing nailer and a crown stapler. They were gifted to me and when I got them the crown stapler would fire once and then no more. The pin it seemed wasn't retracting. and air was hissing If I remember right.

I first wondered if something was worn out because I truly didn't know how much use they had. But I took it all apart and inspected everything and things looked good

Eventually located a clog in the exhaust port after using penetrating oil and compressed air to clean things a piece of crap like wax came shooting out and everything worked fine after that

 

[EddieWalker]

Used to be a great brand, but they went to China. Hitachi is probably the top brand right now, but I've had good luck with the Rigid brand at Home Depot too.

 

[N80]

Thanks guys. DFB, I'll try cleaning everything out on the exhaust side but it all looks pretty clean...since it never got used much. Eddie, I have a Rigid drill, not sure what the spec is, but super high torque (drives 18" screws into log cabin logs, etc) and it is excellent. Almost identical to my DeWalt. I was going to purchase another identical DeWalt and the Home Depot guy talked me into the Rigid. It cost less and had a better warranty and other than the color it is just like the DeWalt. Also, after doing considerable research I bought a Kobalt 18v cordless impact wrench. It reviewed better than the DeWalt and the Snap-On and has a regular trigger rather than a rocker switch. I do not like rocker switches. It has been excellent and very useful from working on the vehicles to building deer stands. After that I bought a Cobalt 18v cordless drill since it uses the same batteries. It has also been excellent.

All of which is to say, I'm not sure you just go by a name anymore. Sad really. Name should be everything.

 

[DFB]

Ya if that drive pin is not retracting itself the air is not cycling thru it would seem to me.

Would be surprised you would needing to buy a new tool but only unless you want too

Eddie Walker gave you good recommendation


There are a lot finish nailers on the market today and sometimes even cheap one can be ok I have NUMAX 16 ga straight finish nailer I bought for less than $50 and have run over 2500 2 inch nails thru with a hitch. From what I understand they are made in same place as the Freeman tools like sold at HD. And though very similar to each other the Freemans have a different grade of o rings and do carry a better warranty.

I have had an 18 ga HF combo stapler/brad nailer for years now that's also been ok for me. I have used it a lot too. I don't normally recommend HF for tools but if someone had very limited budget some people have been good with those inexpensive finish brad and 2 n 1 nailers they sell.


Overall just the PC stapler has had a problem, was gummed up and more than likely from just sitting and lack of use and oiling. The PC framer hasn't been a problem but it also get used more.


Just recently got a cordless 16 ga angled magazine Milwaukee cordless finish nail gun. Sweet tool, I like it a lot. No more carrying my pancake compressor to some jobs now. All 4 models the 18ga. the 2 versions of 16ga. and the 15 ga have been on sale for up to $160 off original list so only like $40 more than a Ryobi kit/ Better batteries better warranty and better tool all the way around.

Kobalt though having a slightly limited lineup seems to be pretty decent stuff. Seen some RTR videos on that brand. He always gives high reviews on Kobalt.

I have several of the Milwaukee cordless impact wrenches too including the High Torque.

 

[N80]

Would be surprised you would needing to buy a new tool but only unless you want too

No, I love new tools and stuff but I hate throwing stuff away and hate our 'disposable' culture as well. But I also hate dealing with poorly engineered and cheaply made stuff. So its a catch-22. So, I'll continue to tinker around with it until I break it, fix it or give up out of frustration.

 

[LittleBill21]

i learned long ago to oil every air tool i use. They gets oiled every time i use them, seems to work well for my cheap nailers.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I bought a pair of Bostich brad and staple guns about 25 years ago. I haven't used the brad gun much but have run several boxes of staples thru the staple gun. It will drive 1.5" staples down solid in pine wood all day long. I cant recall ever oiling it either.

 

[N80]

I oiled mine periodically. When I opened this one up everything was well lubricated and nothing was sticky. Not to say that I'm perfect about routine maintenance but that doesn't seem to be the problem with this one. The larger one has gotten much more use and still works fine. However, on both of them the c-clips and various other clips that hold the trigger pin and other pins in place tend to come off. I've used safety wire to retain the. As mentioned, these came in a kit with the compressor. Really great price (I thought at the time) but I think it was because they are Chinese junk.