I am not a professional carpenter. I am renovating my house, however, and will probably be renovating another one in a few years. I have an 18 gauge brad nailer that I use for woodworking and other tasks. Would it make more sense to buy a 15 ga. or a 16 gauge finish nailer next? I will be buying a pneumatic nailer instead of cordless. I am leaning toward an angle nailer, and these appear to be almost all 15 gauge. I see that Paslode makes a pneumatic 16 ga. nailer, however. Does anyone have any suggestions here?
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15 ga is good for extra holding power espically since you already have a 18 for times you want smaller stuff -- Although I use a 16 ga pasloade for most eveything and thats what I like.
Whatever you choose go angled
Ive heard some say you cant hang doors with a 16ga but I always put long screws through the hinges anyways so whats the difference. I really dont see where a 15ga would be suprior 16ga leaves a little smaller hole too
I have the complete lineup of different gauge nailers and I find that for most of the work I do, I use the 18 ga. and the 15 ga.
I like the angled magazines much better than the straight ones.
You certainly can find uses for the 16 ga. but I would buy the 15 ga. first.
I have 15, 16, 18, and 23ga the 16 gets used the least and I probably wouldn't replace it if it disappeared.
The awful thing is that beauty is mysterious as well as terrible. God and the devil are fighting there, and the battlefield is the heart of man.
- Fyodor Dostoyevski
I have 15ga, 16ga, and 18ga brad nailers.
Actually, I always perferred the 16 ga.
It's a lot stronger than the 18ga, makes a slightly larger hole than the 18ga, but a much smaller hole than the 15 ga., and is only slightly less strong than the 15ga.
The 16ga brad nailer was the first brad gun I ever owned. It works great for door and window trim, actually on any kind of trim; nomatter how small. It holds small boxes and picture frames together quite well. It does well on light duty structural elements of all kinds.
The 18ga brad gun is nice, and although I see a lot of guys using it to nail up interior window and door trim, I would not recommend this practice as it really doesn't hold nearly as well as a15ga or a 16ga brad. To me, you can get by nailing up this type of trim with a 16ga as long as you are using fairly long (2inch) brads. You most certainly can get the job done with a 15ga.
As for the 18ga vs 16ga holding power debate, try it out...nail up a piece of trim with an 18ga, and another piece using a 16ga...now push or hit each piece with your hand...the 18ga piece will definately move a little out of position...the 16ga piece should remain firmly in position.
The 15ga brad nail is more like a regular common finish nail (6d or 8d) in that it has a small head. Use the 15ga where you normally would use a large finish nail. They hold great. Are very much suitable for nailing up trim as well as bigger items; but they leave a larger hole and definately require patching so to go unnoticed.
I use my 15ga mostly in light structural situations...especially for exterior applications.
The 16ga nail is headless, and although I sometimes fill in the hole, many times I leave it alone and it pretty much goes unnoticed.
You can use a 16ga for nailing up interior paneling from 1/4 inch thick to 3/4 inch thick with no structural problems...a 18ga can't handle this operation, and a 15ga can, but again, the holes are a problem.
If I could only choose 1 gun and have to give the others up, I may be in the minority here, but I definately would part with my 18ga and 15ga. I bought my 15ga awhile back after reading so much about others using it and the benefits therof; but time after time I find myself reaching for the 16ga gun more than the 15ga. The 16ga seems to handle all my needs, and when in doubt, I normally advance up to using a trim screw; which IMHO is stronger than any brad nail by far. The trim screw leaves about the same size hole as a 15ga nail anyway, but holds way better.
My guns are all air powered. You are talking about going with a cartridge powered gun such as a Paslode? If I were investing that kind of money, then In your case I would probably go with the 15ga. since you know it can work structurally in all brad nail type situations...just be prepared to putty up the nail holes when it comes time for finishing.
You know there are a lot of packaged deals by both Bostich and Senco on regular air-powered brad guns whereby you can purchase all three for about $250. Some packages also includes a small crown stapler; and these do come in handy at times.
If really undecided, I suggest you rent a 16ga and a 15ga brad gun for a day and try them both out and see which one you like best.
As for air powered guns, I perfer the Bostich over the Senco ( I own both), but my 15ga Hitachi is the best over both Bostich and Senco.
Although I own no cartridge fire brad guns, I have a cartridge fire framing nailer by Paslode which I bought used. It functions well, but indoors you get that gas smell...so I prefer a regular hose type gun....Max makes a nice one.
Hope this helps.
Davo
After 25 years with finish nailers I'll give you my 2 cents.
A 15 gauge is a better fit with the 18 you already own. It will give you the best range of nailing / holding.
buic
I'm a DIY type, been so for well over 30 years. I use my 15ga Bostitch a lot for trim, especially outside. I would probably consider another brand if doing it over because Bostitch nails are a different angle from all the other 15ga nails. Although they are different, they are widely available, just harder to find. I got a crazy deal (like pennies on the dollar) on aluminum nails, and use them outside. The electro-galvanized nails may be OK, but I've seen a lot of nails rusted down to nothing outside.
I don't have a 16ga, and don't intend to get one, but I would have considered one if I didn't have several brad nailers and a lifetime supply of brads already, especially since the 15ga makes pretty big marks on the trim, which is bad on stain grade work.
The angled nailer is easier to get in place than a straight one for the most part.
In case you didn't notice, I'm a Bostitch (also Hitachi) fan.
Here's a pretty good deal on the angled Bostitch 16ga on ebay. I have bought from this seller before, no problems at all. I also bought my 15ga on ebay from a carpenter who was selling off all his oiled guns, which is another thing to consider, oiled or oiless.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180245529170
Edited 5/25/2008 7:34 am ET by MarkH
15 ga. angled. 16 ga. is too light for door casings. Good luck with the remodeling.
your trying to say that a 16ga paslode with 2 1/2" nails cant do door casings?
Thats just not true, maybe you talking about a 16ga brad?
Ithink the 16ga finish nails are ideal, they hold just as good for 99% of the applications as a15ga would, usually I find if I need more holding power from my finish nalis Im probalbly doing something wrong --twisted board ect..-- and should probably do something different anyways
16ga paslode nalis are widely available and leave a nicer hole
I guess you can do door casings with 16 ga. I prefer 15 ga. Maybe your Paslode are better than the 16ga Hilti nails I use. I think the hole is due to the anvil/driver more than the actual nailhead.
yea, all in all if hes gonna buy pnumatic anyway he might as well look for the best value and commonally available nails and forget all the rest of the bs he wasnt gonna use it all day everyday anyways, theres plenty of options that will serve him well
16 gauge is too light for door casing? You can hang an interior door with 16 gauge nails. Especially if it’s not solid door. 16 gauge through a properly shimmed jamb and 18 gauge on the casing and that door is rock solid.