I am shopping for a pneumatic hardwood floor nailer and am wondering whether or not the type that uses the traditional nail or cleat (the kind with the jagged edges) or the staple type (Bostich) is better. They both look about the same but I am wondering which one does a better job over the long haul. I am leaning to the cleat type but someone suggested to me that the staple offers more holding area. I do not do a lot of floors but am tired of renting the manual nailers when I do! Any feedback or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
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I use both a Power Nailer manual and a Porter Cable pneumatic....both use the same cleat nails. I've never had a problem using the cleats and when I've had a nail that didn't seat all the way or a plank that I had to remove for some reason, there was no question about the good holding power of the cleats.
I was tempted recently to get a stapler, because I was laying bamboo flooring for the first time and was concerned about splitting with the cleats. The flooring was 5/8" and the cleat nails worked fine. I then loaned thew pneumatic to a friend who proceeded to put down 3/8" bamboo with the cleats and all was good!
BTW, the only problem with the PC pneumatic is that I have to duct tape a shim to the shoe to adjust the nail location....the nailer is set up for 3/4" with no factory or owners manual reference for shim plates for different flooring thicknesses, whereas the Power Nailer has shim plates available for various flooring thicknesses.
The bostich stapler does a good job. Depth/power of drive seems easily regulated with compressor. We had decent luck buying a reconditioned rental from a tool supplier.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
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