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Pin Nailer

1K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  John Smith_inFL 
#1 ·
I do apologize if this subject has been brought up one more time :vs_laugh:. Right now I am getting over the pneumonia and since I am down for a bit I decided to see about some tools I dont have especially a pin nailer. I have a brad nailer but no pin nailer and I am starting to want some of my projects with plywood to look a little better when I trim the open edges. And some of my future projects involving trim to look nice.

I see alot of pin nailers online and first off I am on a fix income so maybe something in the $20-$40 dollar range and uses 1/2-1 inch pins. So does anyone uses a pin nailer in that price range?
 
#2 ·
Watch CPO an online tool outfit they will have remans for a good price, I got an 1 3/8 Porter Cable for $49 I think it was, their reman tools come with new tool warranty and all I have gotten looked like they were brand new


If you can I would hold out for at least an 1 3/8 nailer, if you work with 4/4 wood it gives better strength to the joint, and those little pins are surprisingly tough, I have messed up and did it wrong and the pins will break before they will pull out, I love the little gun, don't even need to fill the hole it is so small, great for crown moulding
 
#4 ·
#5 ·
I am still using a 23 gauge pin nailer that we bought at Harbor Freight. I looked at Harbor Freight's website, and the one they show is much more expensive than what we paid for ours.

You need an air compressor to use it. I always put four drops of tool oil down the air hose connector at the end of the pin nailer before using it.

The Harbor Freight pin nailer continues to work well over the years, but gets light use.

Annoyances:
* The pin nail size setting is labelled in mm, like "6" "12", "18", "25", but pin nails are sold in fractions of an inch.
* I has been a few years, but I am pretty sure I had to supply the air hose connector and teflon tape.

Advice:
I bought several different lengths of pin nails when I got the nail gun. I am glad I did.
 
#7 ·
Marlin,
A huge secret about pin nailers.

DO NOT BUY THE PIN NAILS FROM HARBOR FREIGHT.

Their pin nails are soft and tend to follow the grain. I was using the HF 1¼ inch pin nails in red oak. I had one turn a full 180° and come back out next to where it went in.

I use Porter Cable brand pin nails exclusively and I'm delighted with their performance.

Also while you're at HD, go to their bins of pneumatic couplers and buy a "Universal" coupler for the end of your hose. Put a few drops of AIR TOOL oil in the back end before you put it on the hose. The oil will help to keep from leaking for years. The Universal style of coupler will connect to Automotive or Industrial nipple tools. The Universal couplers seem to be more durable than either.

Also with the air tool oil in the gun, put the 4 or 5 drops of AIR TOOL oil in before connecting the air hose and after using a strip of pins. The oil tends to keep nail guns from jamming. HD carries Ingersoll Rand brand. Harbor Freight caries Sta-Lube brand which is about $1 less. But it is made / bottled in America.
 
#8 ·
Yea I learned that lesson early when I bought their 3 1/2 framing nailer several years ago when I did the remodel on my house. Bought the nailer and a box of nails and man every strip I had a dozen jams. I went to home depot and bought a box of bosticks to see if that was a problem and only had a few jams thru that whole box. So no more nails or brads from home depot unless it is driven by a hammer :)
 
#11 ·
Several years ago I picked up a pin nailer/18ga nailer combo at Home Depot for 50 bucks.


I figured what have I got to loose? 5 years later never an issue with either one.



I think 1/2 the air tools I've bought from HF have ended up in the trash they can just fell apart. Don't do that anymore.
 
#12 ·
I have been using pin nailers daily for about fifteen years. We use them all day, 5 days a week, doing cabinet trim work. I have tried most every reputable name brand, and my two favorite are Grex and Bostitch. You will be hard pressed to find a dependable tool in that price range. My advice has always been, invest in good tools. Well worth saving for, one of my favorite nail guns.
 
#14 · (Edited)
My advice has always been, invest in good tools.
That's always been my position, too. Invest in good tools, take care of them, and, except for the battery-powered ones, they'll probably outlive you.

Lucked into a screamin' deal on a Hitachi 23 ga. pin nailer at Lowe's a few months back. Nearly half off. I guess they must've been clearing out stuff that still had the "Hitachi" name on it. Didn't need it, just then, but I knew I would somewhere down the road and it was a deal too good to pass up.

A huge secret about pin nailers.

DO NOT BUY THE PIN NAILS FROM HARBOR FREIGHT.

Their pin nails are soft and tend to follow the grain.
Aren't pins inclined to follow the grain, anyway?
 
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