Thread: Air Nail Guns/bradders/staplers

Hi Keith,

I have a Pasload lite line bradder that handles up to 30mm brads. I find it great and easy to use. I use mine for attaching moulding, assembling jigs until the glue sets etc mainly in Jarrah. I did use it to temporaily tack a couple of melamine cabinets together while I put the screws in. Much easier this way then clamping each corner while putting in the screws. Can't comment on the stapler but if I start any projects that require covering I will buy one without hesitating.

The bradder nail gun was one of the best $200.00 I spent.

Cheers,

Buz.

Hi,
Wander over to the HIRE section of Bunnies, and you'll notice that they are offering Paslodes, not the models on their shelves.

They do have their limits though....I hired one to fix weatherboards to ancient air-dried scantling (Eucalypt) and in one they couldn't drive the nails home (65mm wires) that was only one joist in 8 though.

Good luck
Bill

I have the 'Super Cheap' nail gun and it is exactly the same, pine, ply, melamine, mdf, chipboard are all ok even using 50mm nails but go near any thing hard and the nails just bend. If you try and skew nail into hard wood the nails just turn away.

It is still a great tool and makes many jobs easier and faster.

If you want to nail into hard wood then pre-drill and pick up a hammer.

To do it with nail gun then you need the expensive, hundreds of dollars, equipment and the top shelf nails.

I have a max air bradder which i`ve had for years . Will drive brads into anything. Also have a battery powered dewalt bradder which is even more powerful than the max..This thing will countersink 50mm brads into hardwood studs. Also handy not to carry any hose or compressor. Tradetools have their own brand or air guns which are great as well. Stick to name brands when buying airtools and you wont have any dramas. stef

http://www.tradetools.com.au/Product...Category=SXL60

Thanks for the link to Trade Tools, Sol. They seem to have a range of decent usuable tools at 'sensible' prices eg these: http://www.tradetools.com.au/ProdVie...oduct=FSKZ1117 for $30 when bunnies'll charge $10 each! And for the sort of work I do, particularly fitting doors, etc, I use spade bits a lot.

I'll be going along to the Valley store with my next lot of pocket money!

What machine you need depends on what you ask of it.
It realy comes down to the size nail.
If you were using a hammer would that size nail do the job.
Dont expect a "C1" series brad to work on hardwood fence pailings.... thats just rediculous even "C" series is way too light.
But people seem to expect these light brad nailers to do rediculous things.

I have a "C1" series porter cable which replaced a previous machine.
C1 is probaly the lightest commonly used brad and is great for light cracase work and small trim... if its a good machine & adjusted right you will hardly see the hole. 10mm to 32mm ( may be a bit longer bot not commonly)

C series is quite a bit beefier and common in cabinet shops, OK (sort of) for light household trimming like archetraves and skirts but still on the small side.

I baught a trade tools "T" nailer some time ago ( as have a couple of mates) not the cheepest one the $160-170 one. What a great tool for the money.
will thump a 50mm nail thru a dry hardwood pailing into a hardwood batten no problem as long as you hand on and give it enough air preasure.
"t" series is a much larger brad style nail and is very popular for general builder type trimming like archetraves and skirts. Some will band down flooring and fence pickets with them too. But there are better machines for that.
I think mine takes up to 65mm

Then you get into the bigger stuff.

If you stay away from the realy cheap stuff there are some good worthy and well priced tools out there.

but three things remain constant regardless of brand and price.
1/ always buy good quality brand name nails. all machines work better with good nails. Some of the cheap nails will make any machine carry on like a pork chop.
2/ feed the machine good quality clean air at sufficient preasure
3/ you must oil the tool religeously (unless its an oil less) and only use a good quality air tool oil.

cheers

Originally Posted by rhancock

Thanks for the link to Trade Tools, Sol. They seem to have a range of decent usuable tools at 'sensible' prices eg these: http://www.tradetools.com.au/ProdVie...oduct=FSKZ1117 for $30 when bunnies'll charge $10 each! And for the sort of work I do, particularly fitting doors, etc, I use spade bits a lot.

I'll be going along to the Valley store with my next lot of pocket money!

Don't forget, you get what you pay for! At $1.73 per bit - not allowing anything for the extension or the case, do you really think they will last as long as an Irwin (etc) bit?

If you "use spade bits a lot" I would think that you'd want to buy bits that last.

Watch out for advertising gimicks! Like "Titanium coated" Titainum is not a cheap material, yet the producers of these spade bits can afford to plate even the SHAFT of the spade bit with TITANIUM! What is the point of titanium coating on a spade bit shaft! THINK about what you could be buying!

There are trade tools and then there are TOOLS for TRADESMEN!

I have:

- Supercheap Auto Brad Nailer - never had any hassles with it and mine will drive into hardwood fine on brads up to 40mm or so in length. Have punched many into jarrah before with no problem
- Scorpion Upholstery Stapler (from Autobarn) - Again no problems. The missus uses this one mostly
- Porter Cable NS150A Stapler - I use this one for cabinetry and cabinet backing. Excellent stapler and works perfectly.
- Senco 41XP 15ga Finish Nailer - Oil-less finish nailer with angled magazine. Had two nail jams in its lifetime (prolly due to dodgy nail strip), but the design makes these about a 5 second removal. Has performed excellently over many years. A1+ tool.
- Porter Cable COIL250 Coil Nailer - Let's just say it worked sweet until my brother in law borrowed it and pretty much trashed it He probably never put one drop of oil in it for 3 months either I've managed to get it back to working order, but before he had it, it worked fine for fencing and the like.
- Porter Cable FR350A Framing Nailer - Top tool! Drives just about any length nail into anything! Plenty of grunt and all the kickback of a Magnum 44 (if you don't have a firm grip). Works great!

Hope that helps.

I have several pnematic nail guns. They are run at about 110 PSI. (I don't have a clue how to convert that to metric.) These nail guns are a super cheap, from China (Harbor Frieght) that shoots 18 gauge nails and staples. Another 18 gauge or brad nail gun, 2 X 4 is the brand name and a couple of Porter Cable, 16 gauge finishing and 23 gauge pin nailer.

I have yet to have one of these jam. Occasionally one will not drive the nails home and below the surface. The cause is that the work is not on something solid, like the garage floor or work bench.

As the nail strikes the surface of the work, the nail attempts to change the inertia of the work. If the work is sitting on a rug or similar soft surface the inertia is transfered and the work moves leaving the nail proud. If the nail gun is not held firmly against the work, the inertia is transfered back to the nail gun and the nail is left proud.

If you put the nails in backwards, all bets are off.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I have returned both guns and stepped up one stage to a 16g Finish Nail Gun and will see how it goes.