Thread: Need advice on Nail Gun Nails or Pre Drilling Merbau Decking

You must be a sadist if you want to do what a nail gun automatically does for you.
The only consideration you have to worry about is the nail gun firing the nails too farinto the timber.If the pressure is set properly the nails will finish just below flush and to avoid splitting do not get too close to the edge or ends of the timber.The ring shank nails have been out for years as bostich and senco have been using them.
If you are lucky enough to loan the nail gun to do this job then it will be far easier than predrilling every nailhole then hammering a nail through each one, if you count how many holes you have to drill and how many nails you have to hit your tennis elbow will thank you.

------------------
Jim
Turn it up

Hi Barry,

I've been there and done that.

I used the Paslode Framing Nail Gun with the rubber finishing tip and the 50 mm Ring Shank Nails.

I nailed 25 1.8 m lengths of Merbou to Treated pine joists.

The first 10 were perfect.

Out of the next 15, 9 split. Which was 60%.

9 out of 25 is 36%.

I believe the 25 x 1.8 lengths is enough to ensure enough variation to prove a constant percentage.

Either way I calculate it the percentage of splits is far too high.

I've now decided that I'll be pre-drilling about 3000 nails. And hammering the 65mm twisted shank nails by hand.

I'll be using a 3.85 drill bit to accomodate a 3.5 shaft. The shaft fitting loosly into the pre drilled hole, when hammered into the treated pine, will hold the nail to the
pine. The nail head being larger than the 3.85 hold will hold the decking.

I also understand that when hammering the twisted shank will actually turn.

OH my acking tennis elbow!

It hurts just thinking about it.

------------------
Thanks,
Barry G. Sumpter
Proud Tritoneer




[This message has been edited by barrysumpter (edited 11 December 2001).]

a coil nail gun should work better than a framing gun

some good advice

5 years later

Goon mate you'll be needin' to change your name to "J.C.".
Lazarus was dead less than a week.

cheers

Barry

If you're not too far along yet on your decking, I have a suggestion. I helped a friend with a deck this summer and this is what he used:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?p...DB&filter=deck

You cut a slot with a biscuit joiner in the flooring above the joists. These things fit into the slots and are screwed into the joists. Turned out it cost less using these than regular decking screws.

One big advantage is that you don't have holes through your flooring material and it spaces the gap automatically.

Paul

Us ethe dome headed ring shanked nails if your joists are pine but use twist chank if the joists are hardwood. Make sure that the head of the nail doesnt penetrate too far below the surface.

Don't forget why you need to pre-drill. When you drive a nail into wood it pushes the wood fibres apart. Softwoods can take this as the fibres are less dense, however when you try it on a hardwood, there is little room for the fibres to be pushed into, something has to get out of the way, thus a split forms to allow the space for the nail. If you pre-drill, you are putting the minimum forces on the fibres, no split, if your pilot hole is too small, you may still get splits.

Setting the nail gun so that it does not drive the nail home will make no difference; you are still placing pressure on the wood fibres to make room for the nail. Exaggerate things to get an idea of whether it will work. Try and drive a 10mm in diameter nail into your decking, I'm tipping it will split. Now pre-drill a 9.5mm hole and then try and drive the 10mm nail and you should not get a split, if you do however, just increase the size of your pilot hole till you don't.

Cheers, Steve

Barry,

dunno if it's too late for you, but ya Tennis elbow is going to hate me.

Decking just cannot be done by machine, for great results, longevity and best in-use serviceability you have to do it by hand. No other way in my experience and everyone else I speak to on the subject.

Had one customer, who thought they would help me out by insisting I use a nail gun to lay their deck. 4 nail guns (coils and framing) 3 square metres of decking, 6 different style of nails later, I ripped up the decking and finished the thing with ring shank gal nails by hand. (ring shank, annular shank, twist shank, timber lok are all one in the same, just a slighty different variation) I only pre-drill at joins and nail away in the timber.

Be aware whatever fastener you use DO NOT OVERDRIVE IT, with the ring shank nails, you will have part of the head protruding from the face of the decking, if you drive it so no head is showing, then you will be replacing your decking early. If th ehead is overdriven this allows water to sit in the small well around the nail and promotes it to rot prematurely.

Hope this helps - keep us updated.

Are you guys fair dinkum :confused:

its a late joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

maybe they could help me with the Millenium bug. I'm a bit worried about it.

Originally Posted by Sigidi

Decking just cannot be done by machine, for great results, longevity and best in-use serviceability you have to do it by hand. No other way in my experience and everyone else I speak to on the subject.

Originally Posted by barrysumpter

I've now decided that I'll be pre-drilling about 3000 nails. And hammering the 65mm twisted shank nails by hand.

... this is the way we (well, mostly he) did it.

Our deck is 20m x 5m in Ulin (bit like merbau, but stronger and oilier) and it was all drilled and hand nailed. It took ages, but ended up with very few (2 or 3 plank ends) splits.

It's been down about 3 years now and the only issue we have is that with the dry weather, most of the nail heads have ridden up about a mill. And they are not easy to get back down.

Well the original author of the thread did it 5 years ago.

Don't you guys read other people's posts? Bloody hell - read what other people write before dropping in your own 2 cents (which were discontinued even earlier), and you'd see THIS POST IS 5 YEARS OLD :mad: