nailing pine balustrade

[mic-d]

I've been hand nailing pine balustrades, you know the primed 68x19 stuff, with gal nails, but I can't help wondering what gun they use to knock up this stuff so fast AND comply with BCA on use of hot-dipped gal nails?
Some I've had to repair looks like a finish nailer or t-nailer was used - nails had rusted.

Cheers
Michael

[journeyman Mick]

Michael,
I've had to replace more than a few that were fixed with electroplated brad nails. I guess you could use a coil nailer and fix them with gal flat heads but I prefer the look of hand nailed gal bullet heads. Unfortunately no one seems to have come up with a gun that will shoot bullet head nails.

Mick

[pawnhead]

You could use SS nails in a gun but they cost a bomb.

[mic-d]

Looks like I'm sticking with the handnailing then.

Cheers
Michael

BTW Mic, do you pre-assemble the panel and lift it into place, or construct it between the posts.

[sol381]

i`ve only ever doen them with a bradder. 38mmm -45mm does the trick. The guns are small and cvan get right up there under the handrail. Nails also countersink so no need to punch. Takes a millionth of the time.

[pawnhead]

i`ve only ever doen them with a bradder. 38mmm -45mm does the trick. The guns are small and cvan get right up there under the handrail. Nails also countersink so no need to punch. Takes a millionth of the time.

They're probably the ones that sol381and mic-d have been following behind you and replacing when they've rusted out.

[journeyman Mick]

.............BTW Mic, do you pre-assemble the panel and lift it into place, or construct it between the posts.

Michael,
I usually house the rails into the posts, one end deeper than the other so I can spring it into the deeper end first and then slide it back into the other post before skew nailing to fix. Doesn't lend itself to doing entire panels. I've never even thought of assembling the panel first, I guess you could if the rails were fixed with bolts or brackets. I'll keep it in mind if I ever go back to that sort of work.

Mick

[mic-d]

Michael,
I usually house the rails into the posts, one end deeper than the other so I can spring it into the deeper end first and then slide it back into the other post before skew nailing to fix. Doesn't lend itself to doing entire panels. I've never even thought of assembling the panel first, I guess you could if the rails were fixed with bolts or brackets. I'll keep it in mind if I ever go back to that sort of work.

Mick

With the ladies waist/breadloaf style, I've been hanging them on the false tenons you can buy specifically for the job and skew nailing too, then assembling the lower rail(s) and balusters in situ. But the other day I had a revelation that you could cut the rails to size and make the panel up on a nice horizontal surface, that makes it easy to do the nailing and then just mount the whole shindig. The false tenons makes this easy. What a pity I just nailed off all the top rails of this latest job

Cheers
Michael

[journeyman Mick]

With the ladies waist/breadloaf style, I've been hanging them on the false tenons you can buy specifically for the job and skew nailing too, then assembling the lower rail(s) and balusters in situ. But the other day I had a revelation that you could cut the rails to size and make the panel up on a nice horizontal surface, that makes it easy to do the nailing and then just mount the whole shindig. The false tenons makes this easy. What a pity I just nailed off all the top rails of this latest job

Cheers
Michael

Michael,
never seen the false tenon, but it sounds like it could save a lot of work in situations where you have square cut posts. Most of the stuff I did was on round and irregular poles so letting them into the the poles was the best way to get a strong and neat job.

Mick

[mic-d]

The false tenons are a piece of 32mm dowel, 50mm long, with half cut down to a square section which fits in the groove of the handrail. I used to make my own from 25mm dowel, but why bother now I know I can by them
Cheers
Michael

[Ben (TM)]

The false tenons are a piece of 32mm dowel, 50mm long, with half cut down to a square section which fits in the groove of the handrail. I used to make my own from 25mm dowel, but why bother now I know I can by them
Cheers
Michael

Hey Michael - where do you get these false tenons of which you speak?

[mic-d]

Not sure down your way, but up here in Brissie they came from Finlaysons.


BTW, the last deck I did have finally come up with a system that is fast and trouble free. Laid out a jig on a sheet of ply and handnailed the bottom rail with gal nails and gun nailed the top rail above the drip line with a DA nailer.

Cheers
Michael

[UteMad]

You'll find most guys use electra gal C or ND or T nails depending on which gun they have....If punched puttyed and painted they are fine away from the water the prob is painters don't fill the heads... In a perfect world they'd be done with S/S Nd's which are around 300 bucks per 2500 which is 10 time electra gal.... I got a few boxes a few months back and scored them for 110 each but that'll never happen again

You could do them with a S/S coil gun i spose but head is a tad big

cheers utemad

[Ben (TM)]

Not sure down your way, but up here in Brissie they came from Finlaysons.


BTW, the last deck I did have finally come up with a system that is fast and trouble free. Laid out a jig on a sheet of ply and handnailed the bottom rail with gal nails and gun nailed the top rail above the drip line with a DA nailer.

Cheers
Michael

Thanks Michael - Finlaysons do mail order, so I might get 'em to send some down. I've never seen them down here. Not too hard to make I guess.

When attaching your balusters, to your bottom rail, do you just skew the nails through them?

[mic-d]

Thanks Michael - Finlaysons do mail order, so I might get 'em to send some down. I've never seen them down here. Not too hard to make I guess.

When attaching your balusters, to your bottom rail, do you just skew the nails through them?

Yep, just skew nailed.
A word of warning about the tenons. The square section of the dowel is not cut symmetrical in the dowel - just be aware of that.

Cheers
Michael