I’m looking for advice on which framing nailer I should purchase for part time use in remodeling. I don’t know anything about them at this point, having only used finish nailers in the past. I want something that will be good for toe nailing and versatile enough for general light duty framing. Do I want round head or clipped? Air or cordless? Which brand? Thanks for your help.
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PC 350 this is a Porter Cable round head framing nailer. Shoots nails from 2' to 3 1/2"
This is a reliable nail gun, not the best but fine for what you need. About $ 250.00 and nails are commonly available.One thing to remember if you have not used a framing nailer, directions on the PC nailer tell you to hold the gun firmly.Hold it the same way as your finish guns, If you hold the gun too firmly it will double shoot. All framing nailers I have used are like this.Once in awhile I still double shoot, usually when I am on a ladder and reaching too far to nail.This makes me push and hold the gun too firmly.Jams are infrequent on this gun.You may have problems when using ring shank nails, these nails sometimes bend on the last nail in the clip.I try to keep the magazine at least 1/3 full all the time when nailing with ring shanks.
Go Senco or Hitachi full round head. I had the Porter Cable nailer and what you save on the price you'll spend in double shot nails. IMHO the P.C. nailer is dangerous and should not be sold. Cheap tools will ultimately be the most expensive, lost time to an emergency room visit sucks.
I agree with the poster that reccomends the Hitachi. I've had extremely good performance from a NR83. I've worked around a lot of people using other guns, and used many more myself. The Hitachi has been the most trouble free of all of them.
Issue #145 of Fine Homebuilding rated 30 models of framing nailers, best advise I can give is to get it and read it. A world of good advise. I know that before I buy my next nailer I'll be reading it again.
Once you've desided which one to buy make sure your local supplier has a good and large assortment of nails or else quick access to a supply. Nothing more frustrating than having to wait weeks to get the right nails.
I work on most of the brands out there and as far as reliabilty ease of use and ones that fall off roofs real good, the Hatachi NR83A is the leader of the pack, course if you want more convience less hassle and not have to lug around an air compressor then the ONLY one to have is the Paslode. The Paslode would be my first choise, but they don't like falling off roofs at all. Makita has one out and I have done some test runs with it and worked on one of them and it is just a NR83A in a differant package, strong and built to last. The rest of them includeing senco are not even in the running.
Thanks for all the input. Only one of you mentioned anything about the cordless option. I own a compressor, but the thought of not having to drag it around for small jobs is appealing. What are the drawbacks to the cordless option besides price? Do they run off of a gas cartridge? How long does a cartridge last?
i would suggest using hitachi nail guns. for one, they have less plastic than the others and they are easy to repair. all of my framing guns are hitachi and my favorite is the 83A full head nailer. i consider these guns virtually idiot proof. also, i found that nails are cheaper and more plentiful in my area.