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Hitachi nailer problem NR83AA

| Posted in Tools for Home Building on May 17, 2004 11:49am

As I was tacking down some sheathing the nailer jammed at what appears to be a halfway position between fully retracted and fully extended.

Was using 8D senco nails at 80lbs. Gun is like a week old. The malfunction may have been at the end of a strip. Any ideas? I thought I’d ask before I took a pin press to the end of the ram.

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  1. User avater
    dieselpig | May 18, 2004 12:52am | #1

    For real "good" jams like you've got a take the gun apart.  Ramming the pin back home is usually a terrible idea.  80lbs is right on the edge for a framing nailer.  I run mine around 110-120 lbs.  Low pressure will contribute to jams.

    EDIT:  Just re-read your post.  If there is a nail caught in there then take it apart.  Otherwise, crank up the pressure and dry fire it a couple of times and it should reset.



    Edited 5/17/2004 5:55 pm ET by dieselpig

    1. MajorWool | May 18, 2004 08:35am | #2

      Thanks. Took it up to 110 and still nothing. Will likely take it back to the Despot and get a replacement. Really don't want to wait to get it fixed locally and I'm hesitant to repair/disassemble myself since it is so new. It was fun while it lasted. ;-) At least it coincided with storms moving in so I had to stop anyway.

      1. Sancho | May 19, 2004 04:51pm | #3

        I was looking to buy a nailer myselfso I did some research at amazon where they have all the reviews. They said with the PC it would jam if you used 2 stips of nails in it at the same time. I just use one and havent had a prob. I wonder if the same prob exist with the hitatchi? 

        Darkworksite4:

        El americano pasado hacia fuera ase la bandera

        1. MajorWool | May 19, 2004 09:39pm | #4

          I couldn't get the Hitachi looked at quickly by the local multibrand* warranty center, so I took it back to HD. At the front there was some issue of doing a return because the gun was part of a gun-compressor kit, and they'd need the compressor as well ??? (Why not just pull the gun out of a kit). Anywho, I took it back to rental where they service their own tools. Rental guy took a pin punch and hammer and couldn't move the ram, so he disassembled the bottom of the gun and pulled the piston assembly out. Said it was adequately lubed. Then he put the bottom bracket in a vise and rapped the ram with a 3 lb sledge. Didn't budge. Not bent at all, just frozen solid in the guide channel. He suspected it might have been a metal burr that got caught and froze it all up. Didn't think a piece of plastic would freeze it up so tight.

          So he put all the parts in a box, walked up front with me, pulled a new gun out of a kit, we walked over to returns, told the cashier the remaining kit plus *my* gun was a return to vendor, and said I was free to go with the new gun. Sometimes keeping management out of the decision making process is the fastest way to get things done.

          I believe this happened at the beginning of a stick of 8D sheathing nails. I could count the remaining nails to be sure. Two sticks earlier, I was reinforcing some T&G ceiling boards with some 6D nails, and it is possible that some of the roofing debris on top of the T&G fell through and into the nose of the gun. But why it would wait 50-60 nails to become a problem is mysterious. As I said, this was a very new gun with maybe a half dozen sticks of nails through it. I may run just one stick for awhile until things get in a groove. I was careful to make sure the second stick was on top of the first where they met.

          * I know makita, bosch, and PC/Delta have their own dedicated service centers in town. That may be a factor in future tool purchases.

        2. JohnSprung | May 20, 2004 03:37am | #5

          > it would jam if you used 2 stips of nails in it at the same time.

          Had exactly that problem using some other kind of nails in a Stanley Bostich.  The problem wasn't head overlap, it was the extra paper and glop at the ends of the sticks.  I found that pre-trimming them with a razor knife solved that. 

          Of course the practical way to deal with that was to sit down at a bench and do a whole box worth of pre-trimming.

          -- J.S.

          1. Sancho | May 20, 2004 05:14pm | #6

            Thanks I was framing yesterday and started having that problem. I had about 2-3 nails left in the stick and it would jam I got lots more to do tomorrow so Ill try trimming the stick and see how that goes. Wow Bostich had the same prob I dont feel bad now.. 

            Darkworksite4:

            El americano pasado hacia fuera ase la bandera

          2. JohnSprung | May 21, 2004 12:52am | #7

            Thanks, Ron.  Let us know if it works for you, too.

            -- J.S.

          3. MisterT | May 21, 2004 01:55pm | #8

            Ron when you get down to 2-3 nails left the feed spring maynot have enough 'umph' left to advance the next nail into firing position.

            See if you can tighten up the tension on the feed spring.

            Or reload before you get that far.

            The last few nails is a stick always cause the majority of jams because they are not attached to enough other nails to maintain the collation angle.

            they wiggle alittle bit out out alignment and the spring can't push them into place, BAM! JAM!

            Use Gooder nails.

            MF (mutha fugga) are junk!!

            FHB sould do an article on the quality of off brand collated nails.

            I suspect there are alot of carpenters out there who could benefit from some in depth research here.

            Nail guns are expensive and vital tools.

            Downtime and repairs are expensive and frustrating.

            Mr T

            Happiness is a cold wet nose

            Life is is never to busy to stop and pet the Doggies!!

          4. Sancho | May 25, 2004 05:56am | #9

            I did that this last time kept feeding the sticks and it seemed to work. 

            Darkworksite4:

            El americano pasado hacia fuera ase la bandera

  2. Pinkard | May 29, 2004 02:11am | #10

    I have got three of those guns and they all do it when nailing into hard woods or when using 8D nails.  I had the driver blades replaced, this helped for a couple of days, I had the magazines replaced, this didn't help.   I decided that this was the nature of the gun and bought paslode.  I use these for spares now.

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