Pneumatic nail guns

This was in a previous thread, but... Harbor Freight sells nail guns with a 28 and a 32 degree angle for the clipped head nails. Lowes sells 30 degree nails for their Bostich, and others. All other dimensions are okay, except for the angle of the strips. Does anyone know if the 30 degree nail strips will work in a 28 degree or a 32 degree gun - and which way would be better? Ken.

Reply to
Anonymous
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Reply to
Tom Wait

Ken, i wondered along these lines a couple of years ago and from my experience, most nail media and guns have been standarized with the possible exception of round head roofing models.

any variation in "angle" of the strips may be related to round vs clipped nails. there s/b just those two non-interchangeable media being sold now. some nail lengths/types/diameter are still brand specific, talking framing guns/media here.

of course, the actual performance of the media may vary widely and depend on the gun and lot. there is no reason to buy Chinese nails, the US brands are cheap enough, unless they are indeed incompatible w/our standards.

my guess is that the HF guns will use domestic nails, --Loren

Reply to
Loren Coe

You will buy a box of either 2000 or 4000 (typically) framing nails for whatever framing nailer you use. If the specifications of the nails on the box do not name the nailer which you have or the length and angle for the nailer, do not get them at a home center such as Lowe's or HD.

Buy them where the framing contractors purchase their nails. They will sell you one box and it won't be any more expensive than the home center. Plus, it will actually work in your nailer. If they are like the supply center where I go, they will probably let you fire off a strip of nails to ensure that they function well in your nailer. Then you buy the rest of the box and start fastening. They want to sell you as many boxes of nails as you will buy, so it's in their interest to make you want to buy more.

Reply to
Thomas Kendrick

I have the 28 degree framing nailer from HF. HF uses paper to hold the nail strips. I got a box of whatever 28 degree nails that Lowes sells and they were held together by wire. My gun could not reliably feed those nails. Thus, I just bought a couple of 2000 count boxes of nails from HF - problem solved.

One note on the HF guns, they take some getting used to. As soon as the nose touches the wood, if the trigger is pulled, it fires. This doesn't sound bad, but the gun has recoil. Thus, if you're tired or aren't paying attention, you can fire two nails real easily due to squeezing the trigger, the gun bouncing up and coming back down while the trigger is still pulled and another nail being fired. There's a slang term for that type of mechanism, but don't recall what it is. Some nailers disengage the trigger after each shot and make you squeeze again before it will fire. All I'm saying is that the HF gun takes some getting used to.

--George

Reply to
George

Bounce-firing is the way many framing nailers operate. Accurate nail placement is not as important with a framer as with a finish nailer or stapler for trim. There are at least two ways to deal with it:

- Hold the trigger down and intentionally bounce the nose where the nail goes. Not a high bounce - maybe 1" from the surface.

- DO NOT hold the trigger down, push the gun firmly onto the surface with the other hand, then pull the trigger

Finish nailers and brad nailers usually have optional triggers available from the manufacturer to restrict the tool to one shot per trigger pull. They can also be bounce-fired using the suggestions above.

Find a scrap 4x4 and practice it a bit.

Reply to
Thomas Kendrick

I was considering the same HF gun not too long ago and ended up buying a Paslode pneumatic framing nailer instead. The trigger you refer to is called a bump trigger. I have used a Bostitch framing nailer with a bump trigger and my co-workers and I universally considered it a "deathtrap". My Paslode came with a bump trigger in a little package but I have no intention of ever putting it on. I prefer the semi-auto type much better. When it comes to the nail strips I think Bostitch is the only one that uses wire to hold them together. Senco and Paslode use the paper tape kind. In my experience a "paper tape" type nailer WILL NOT fire wire bonded nails but a "wire" type nailer will fire the paper tape kind. Also another tip, if you have the paper tape kind of nails, never ever if at all possible let them get wet or even very damp at all because it will gum up the gun very badly. I guess none of this really sheds light on the angle dilemna,sorry bout that, but I hope it might help someone somewhere. In my opinion having the right nails as far as paper or wire type will be more important than having the perfectly correct angle. You'd be surprised how crooked I can swing a hammer and still drive a nail.

Brett

Reply to
Brett

Also, where your attachment strips on the nails are related to the tracks inside your feed rail are important to prevent jamming, even if the angles are the same between different brand nails.

RJ

Reply to
Backlash

i don't know about "bounce" mode, but my 2yr old Senco came with the "automatic trigger", meaning that it will fire nails rapidly whenever the bail is pushed _and_ the trigger is pulled. you, as an amateur, do NOT want this, you will never master it.

fortunately, Senco offers a modified (semi-auto) trigger free of charge. get it, use it, problem solved. some guns have a "selection" feature, dunno what that is or if the HF guns use it. watch those toes with an automatic nailer, --Loren

Reply to
Loren Coe

Senco will send you a restrictive (single fire) trigger free for their framing nailer if you don't want the bounce fire (or, it may be the other way around, I got mine a couple years ago and don't remember now). I really don't like bounce fire, it's too easy to shoot a nail somewhere you didn't want it to go (e.g. your leg). Roofers like 'em, but I really can't see the need for it in framing.

This is a safety issue, contact HF and ask for a restrictive trigger. They should send you one for the asking. It's cheaper to send you a trigger than to deal with a lawsuit.

When you use one, make sure nobody's in line with it. I've had occasions where I've hit a bit of weak wood and shot a nail THROUGH the wood and across the room. Now it's probably not going fast enough after splintering a 2x4 to do a lot of damage, but it's bound to be annoying.

Paul

Reply to
Paul Amaranth

Apparently you've never looked down the plate of 50ft of unailed wall studs or had a quarter acre of subfloor sheathing to nail off. You learn to appreciate bounce fire guns real quick if you use them to make a dollar. I've been framing houses for a dozen or so years and no nails in my leg yet (knock on wood!). Personally I'd find the restrictive trigger a total pain in the ass, but I can see how others opinions would differ.

Don't know much about the Harbor Freight guns, but I do know the restrictive trigger is becoming de facto standard for all new guns in the near future. It appears as if the makers are voluntarily sending out all new guns with the restrictive trigger in place. You'll have to convert it to bounce fire yourself. They've spent a fair amount of money advertising the "benefits" of the restrictive trigger. Must be some liability issues that put their panties in a bind.

Most nails lose a fair amount of steam in the first few feet of freeflight. Still, best not to have any of your soft tissues in the path if you can help it.

Dick

Reply to
Dick Streff

I was using a bounce nailer putting some blocking between studs, about chest high. I ws nailing the left side, so I had the gun in my left hand and was holding the block with my right. Just before bouncing it I thought "My hand probably shouldn't be there". Well, I don't aim as well with my left hand as I do with my right and the gun hit the edge of the stud. The nail ricocheted off and went right into my hand. The immediate feeling was impact, not penetration. But as I looked at my right hand, there was a nail sticking in it. Well, through it, actually

- between the index and middle fingers.

Pulled it out and put a band aid on the hole. _Very_ little bleeding. I was _really_ lucky - think about it, the hand has bones, tendons, nerves, arteries and the the nail missed everything! The hand was a little sore/stiff for a day or so, that's it.

You can believe that I'm a lot more careful when I'm bounce nailing. I'm also very aware of others close by who are bouncing. Especially since I'm talking about a Habitat project where nobody is a professional. Most of the guys pick up the gun and say "How do you work this?". Makes one a little nervous.

Stay safe, Bob

Reply to
Bob Engelhardt

I was thinking of getting either the 28 or 32 degree gun from HF, but since I only saw the 30 degree nails at Lowes, that's what generated my original question. I didn't see any 28 degree nails at Lowes, but all the other dimensions stated for the HF guns matched up, diameter, length, etc., except for the 30 degree. Don't know if they were bound by wire or paper, tho.... Ken.

Reply to
Anonymous

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