It’s a tough balancing act to improve the accessories on a 15-ga. nailer without making it a gimmick. Based on the testing I’ve done so far on this $180 nailer, Bostitch seems to have pulled it off.

A magnesium body and plastic magazine combine to make Bostitch’s new N62FNK-2 a featherweight tool that won’t tire your arms or tug on your belt. A push-button air blower is quickly becoming a favorite feature for its ability to clear dust before placing or fastening a piece of trim or final row of flooring, and a pair of baffled ports quietly exhaust air near the swivel hose fitting, not into your face.

Other than a loose-spinning depth-of-drive dial close enough to the trigger to make me worry about accidental adjustment, the cockpit of this tool is well designed with a roomy handle and comfortable grip. An LED illuminates dim corners, although like the depth dial, its on/off button on top of the tool is ripe for unintentional activation.

In addition to a built-in pencil sharpener, the bottom-load magazine has a plastic arm that hinges out to help installers measure 16-in. centers when fastening trim. With its combination of a selectable bump-fire mode, oil-free operation, and a capacity of 130 nails—enough to fasten about 90 lin. ft. of baseboard before stopping to reload—this nailer is a production machine. Accessibility to the nose of the tool for clearing nail jams is the best I’ve seen—able to be opened fully, and without tools, in less than 2 seconds.

Bottom line: This tool outshines competitors in several categories and is now offered in a model compatible with DA-style nails (common to Paslode, Hitachi, and other nailers), but none of that matters if the vital functions aren’t up to snuff. A previous Bostitch 15-ga. model earned a bad reputation for its weak drive pin, which was prohibitively expensive to replace if broken. Often this problem showed up after months of heavy use, so we plan to do extended testing of this tool to see if the problem has been addressed. If you own one, let us know how it’s holding up. Add your own review at FineHomebuilding.com/toolguide.

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