Which type, then brand of framing nailer?

[tman1020]

The Dewalt's sink the nails very well and they have a nice adjustment for depth that requires no tools. Mine will drive 3 1/4" nails into solid LVL headers and recess the head a bit. I can frame all day on 2) 20 volt 4 amp batteries. They are a touch heavier than the pass loads I have, but not bad. It will drive the nails much better and faster than the pasloads do and it doesn't stink like propane while doing it.

Airguns are nice if you're running a crew for a big framing job. Outside of that I'll take my cordless 20 Volt every time. All my batteries are interchangeable with my saws and drills from the kit. And with a power inverter in your cigarette lighter you can recharge the batteries you're not using so you never need power. As long as you have 4 or 5 batteries.

 

[CDN Farm Boy]

The repair shops and the rental industry is where you learn the truth as they live in the real world.
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That's half of it and production framing crews is the other half. I don't pay much attention to what the rental shops around here have so I can't comment on them. 50% of the crews I cross run the Paslode and 50% run everything else. Of the Paslode, 80% of them are using cordless

 

[newbury]

The Dewalt's sink the nails very well and they have a nice adjustment for depth that requires no tools. Mine will drive 3 1/4" nails into solid LVL headers and recess the head a bit. I can frame all day on 2) 20 volt 4 amp batteries. They are a touch heavier than the pass loads I have, but not bad. It will drive the nails much better and faster than the pasloads do and it doesn't stink like propane while doing it.

Airguns are nice if you're running a crew for a big framing job. Outside of that I'll take my cordless 20 Volt every time. All my batteries are interchangeable with my saws and drills from the kit. And with a power inverter in your cigarette lighter you can recharge the batteries you're not using so you never need power. As long as you have 4 or 5 batteries.

I wish you would stop writing about that DeWalt I just went through the torment this morning of "should I order the nailer or the reciprocating saw?" and ordered the saw for my "tool of the month". Screw the shed, I won't be nailing it.

 

[KubotainNH]

I read into the opening post by Newbury that this will be used sporadically for DIY use not daily. My thinking is a battery will be dead and may not take a charge if you don't touch the tool for a year or 2. That would be a useless tool and they don't give those units away. The air ones are reasonable and as long as you have the air (which the op says he does) then you are good to go. Same with spending extra on pro guns, if this is not for pro usage why spend the extra for a pro gun? :2cents:

 

[tman1020]

I wish you would stop writing about that DeWalt I just went through the torment this morning of "should I order the nailer or the reciprocating saw?" and ordered the saw for my "tool of the month". Screw the shed, I won't be nailing it.

I hear you. I was on the fence a while to and thought it was a bit pricey at first but I don't spend any an propane now so I'm actually saving. Plus now u know what to get next month.

 

[dragoneggs]

My story is a bit different but frustrating for sure. Heard great things about the Paslode but saw the Dewalt 20v nailer at HD. Bought it... and tried nailing some dry 2x4s together and couldn't get it to drive all the way. Returned it for another one and it did the same thing. So, settled for the Paslode and believe it or not... it did the same thing. On all three, with the max drive setting, wouldn't set the nails completely. Ranging from 1/4in to 1/2in stick out. Now I know it was dry wood but I wanted to remodel and it meant a lot of nailing into old 2x4 framing. So I gave up. So to this day I don't have a framing nailer. I do have a hitachi pneumatic finish nailer that I love. I just wanted to move away from air. Especially after hearing such good things about the cordless varieties. :confused3:

 

[s219]

My story is a bit different but frustrating for sure. Heard great things about the Paslode but saw the Dewalt 20v nailer at HD. Bought it... and tried nailing some dry 2x4s together and couldn't get it to drive all the way. Returned it for another one and it did the same thing. So, settled for the Paslode and believe it or not... it did the same thing. On all three, with the max drive setting, wouldn't set the nails completely. Ranging from 1/4in to 1/2in stick out. Now I know it was dry wood but I wanted to remodel and it meant a lot of nailing into old 2x4 framing. So I gave up. So to this day I don't have a framing nailer. I do have a hitachi pneumatic finish nailer that I love. I just wanted to move away from air. Especially after hearing such good things about the cordless varieties. :confused3:

Interesting -- was the wood particularly hard for any reason? I guess the good thing about an air gun is that you can tweak things with air pressure. I normally run my framing guns at 95psi on the nose, but sometimes need to dial back to 90 psi for soft wood, or go up a little for hard wood. Gun has a max rating of 120 psi, but I have never gone over 100 psi.

Usually at 95 psi on pressure treated wood, it will put a ring-shank nail in with about 1/8" head recess.

 

[dragoneggs]

Interesting -- was the wood particularly hard for any reason? I guess the good thing about an air gun is that you can tweak things with air pressure. I normally run my framing guns at 95psi on the nose, but sometimes need to dial back to 90 psi for soft wood, or go up a little for hard wood. Gun has a max rating of 120 psi, but I have never gone over 100 psi.

Usually at 95 psi on pressure treated wood, it will put a ring-shank nail in with about 1/8" head recess.

Nope, just normal hem/fir 2x4 that has been inside for years. Nails if I recall were ring shanked and the only thing available at HD. I want to try them again, especially the 20v as I already have a few other tools using the batteries. Also tried in PT wood with same results. I tried these units several months ago and if I recall the Dewalt only had a 'high/low' switch for adjustment and the instructions said to set based on the length of nail being used. I also think they were 3 1/4in as well. Again very disappointed based on everything I have read on them.

 

[newbury]

Nope, just normal hem/fir 2x4 that has been inside for years. Nails if I recall were ring shanked and the only thing available at HD. I want to try them again, especially the 20v as I already have a few other tools using the batteries. Also tried in PT wood with same results. I tried these units several months ago and if I recall the Dewalt only had a 'high/low' switch for adjustment and the instructions said to set based on the length of nail being used. I also think they were 3 1/4in as well. Again very disappointed based on everything I have read on them.

<snip>and tried nailing some dry 2x4s together and couldn't get it to drive all the way. Returned it for another one and it did the same thing. So, settled for the Paslode and believe it or not... it did the same thing. On all three, with the max drive setting, wouldn't set the nails completely. Ranging from 1/4in to 1/2in stick out. Now I know it was dry wood but I wanted to remodel and it meant a lot of nailing into old 2x4 framing. <snip>

Thanks for the data point!
One of my thoughts for the shed was to get a lot of the lumber from a local reclaimed wood place. Lot's of old DRY reclaimed lumber at cheap prices. That defintely would be a downer if I didn't get full penetration.

My wrist still remembers the first deck I built. I was on travel A LOT, about 2 or more weeks/month. I bought all the PT wood in like May 1985 and didn't get to nail it until about September. It went from "wet" PT 2x6's to "HARD DRY" 2X6's in the summer sun. I had to buy a 5lb sledge to nail in my hot dipped galvanized annular ring nails, a 20 oz hammer just bounced off.

 

[dragoneggs]

Thanks for the data point!
One of my thoughts for the shed was to get a lot of the lumber from a local reclaimed wood place. Lot's of old DRY reclaimed lumber at cheap prices. That defintely would be a downer if I didn't get full penetration.

My wrist still remembers the first deck I built. I was on travel A LOT, about 2 or more weeks/month. I bought all the PT wood in like May 1985 and didn't get to nail it until about September. It went from "wet" PT 2x6's to "HARD DRY" 2X6's in the summer sun. I had to buy a 5lb sledge to nail in my hot dipped galvanized annular ring nails, a 20 oz hammer just bounced off.

I don't want to poo poo these things but I just have to wonder if you are nailing in fresh (wet) lumber you don't see the problem. Pneumatic are sort of infinitely adjustable... the Dewalt 20v and Paslode are not. That said, I want these cordless so bad to work for me.