Thread: Aldi Air Nail/Stapler Gun

I bought one a few years ago when it was in the clearance bin for $15 and use it for stapling and attaching mouldings etc in softwoods. For the price I paid, very positive experience!

Initially it had problems feeding nails, this was caused by a slight mismatch in the profile of the end plate where it meets the grooves in the “magazine”. To cure it involved simply removing the cover and dressing the end plate with a square section needle file until the nails fed through it freely; ten minutes work start to finish.

I used to use one in a furniture making job years ago and it did well tacking pieces of hardwood (redgum, spotted gum) in place for glue ups.
I bought one just as long ago but haven't used it yet...I have a distinct lack of an air compressor ...but for the price I'd say it's worth trying out.

I have one, faultless operation

With these combination units do they leave an imprint of the staple plunger in the wood when you fire a nail? I have a friend who has one and when he shoots a nail he is left with an ugly dent in the timber the width of the firing pin. I haven't looked at it to see if there is any adjustment to stop it happening. (It's not one of the Aldi guns)

My Aldi one has an adjustable nose so that you can control the gap between the staple plunger and your workpiece. The plunger is about 8mm wide (same as the staples) and when using it for stapling mine is set so that the staple crown is hard up against the surface. When firing brads the same setting rams the brad below the surface so that I end up with the ugly dent, however I don’t mind it because I want the brad head below the surface. I only use the bradder on materials that are going to be painted afterwards so I just scrape in a blob of Spakfiller afterwards.

One important safety tip; assume that every brad/staple you fire will hit something buried in the material and ricochet off at a random angle. This means if you’re using a 40mm long brad keep anything useful like fingers at least 40mm away in every conceivable direction. This way, when it DOES somehow do a U-turn after penetrating only 1/4” into the material you don’t find yourself too attached to your workpiece; gently weeping.

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

My Aldi one has an adjustable nose so that you can control the gap between the staple plunger and your workpiece. The plunger is about 8mm wide (same as the staples) and when using it for stapling mine is set so that the staple crown is hard up against the surface. When firing brads the same setting rams the brad below the surface so that I end up with the ugly dent, however I don’t mind it because I want the brad head below the surface. I only use the bradder on materials that are going to be painted afterwards so I just scrape in a blob of Spakfiller afterwards.

One important safety tip; assume that every brad/staple you fire will hit something buried in the material and ricochet off at a random angle. This means if you’re using a 40mm long brad keep anything useful like fingers at least 40mm away in every conceivable direction. This way, when it DOES somehow do a U-turn after penetrating only 1/4” into the material you don’t find yourself too attached to your workpiece; gently weeping.

Thanks so much for your advice Tiff. With the nails going anywhere?? Do you think that this is due to the actual quality of the nails or just nature of the beast?


Northern Beaches Sydney

Just the nature of the beast; brads are very thin and are easily deflected, the longer they are the easier they bend. It only takes a hidden knot or similar to redirect it on a new path.

I learned this putting up moulding along window and door frames. There was one section where the moulding was slightly warped and I needed to hold it in place with my fingers over the corner pulling it and my thumb behind it and pushing. When the brad went in, turned 90 degrees and popped out again between two fingers that’s when I decided to keep everything out of range. And to always have access to clean underwear. It wasn’t a one-in-a-brazillion fluke either, I’ve seen brads change direction a couple more times since.

Originally Posted by Chief Tiff

Just the nature of the beast; brads are very thin and are easily deflected, the longer they are the easier they bend. It only takes a hidden knot or similar to redirect it on a new path.

I learned this putting up moulding along window and door frames. There was one section where the moulding was slightly warped and I needed to hold it in place with my fingers over the corner pulling it and my thumb behind it and pushing. When the brad went in, turned 90 degrees and popped out again between two fingers that’s when I decided to keep everything out of range. And to always have access to clean underwear. It wasn’t a one-in-a-brazillion fluke either, I’ve seen brads change direction a couple more times since.

Thanks so much for your advice!!



Northern Beaches Sydney

The clean undies are for wrapping your digit to stop blood spoiling the finish of your work.

Also recommend the normal PPE of eye protection and hearing protection.

i'm agree with Tiff I have not been as lucky and found out the hard way to stay clear of any possible deflection by the brads they have a mind of their own so take care.

I've seen a 75mm framing nail do a 90 degree turn out of pine.
So always allow for the worst...

Russ

Interesting timing this thread, I'm currently do a job for the neighbour (timber deck and closing in sub floor area) with mixed species hardwood. Nail gun was playing up a treat today, half driving nails(50mm) and creating various abstract art formations of the nails, finally sorted the problem. The drive pin was worn on the magazine side of the pin which had the effect of driving the nails in an arc, ground down the drive pin to remove tapered point, all good and not a single wayward nail or mangled one now. it wasn't an Aldi gun, was Paslode angled brader