I am helping a friend with a deck, and time is a major factor (he needs the deck complete to get a Certificate of Occupancy) and we can only really work on the project on weekends. (we both are teachers) I am wondering how much time a palm nailer can shave off time required to put up the joist hangers and attach brackets?
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Replies
If you are only going to use the palm nailer on one deck, hand nail it. They are not expensive but they won't save enough time on one deck to be worth it.
mike
On the other hand you could tell jrobbins that getting another tool is seldom a bad idea and never really wrong. With a bit of luck he will do the same for you when a particularly sweet and absolutely vital tool comes to mind and you need a second opinion to justify the 'investment in quality'
You're right, I realize now that he does not have any air tools or a compressor. I should have told him to buy every nail gun known to man, and at least two compressors.Hopefully then he could convince me to buy any tool that I wanted.
mike
what he said
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
enought to pay for itself very quickly
ok well I just read it was only for one project, I'd still go for it 80ish bucks for the lesser senco and it makes hangers so much faster and easier.
Edited 4/17/2004 9:40 pm ET by CAG
Buy a palm nailer. It is so very handy for nailing hangers when there's no room to swing the hammer. Or those 2-3 nails you forgot, and now you have to lay on your back with only 2 ft of clearance. Or maybe you have the beginnings of carpal tunnel, or tennis elbow, or tendonitis, or arthritis, or...
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
I bought a cheap one, cuz I don't use it much. For the teacher in question, a cheap nailer is probably a good buy. Think I bought it at HD or Lowes for $50-60. Note that they use more air than a nail gun...one palm nailer will keep a pancake compressor busy.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
If you buy one I promise you you will use it for a lot of other projects.. sure your intention is to use it once but I bet you won't only pound nails once. there are a lot of things a palm nailer can do besides putting on brackets..
Unless of course you are 78 years old and this is gonna be the last project you attempt..
buy one
have a palm nailer... we've used it a lot for hangers... but no more..
our framing gun is the Bostich n88RH... and with a push of a button, you can take off the framing nose and install the M2NC nose for contact nailing of all metal connectors.. this is so unbelievably simple and foolproof
i used the N88 for almost a year because it was a great framer... then they came out with the switchable nose..
Wednesday at Bostich Day at our lumber yard they had a special... trade in an old gun and get a discount on a new one.. i gave them a sidewall staple gun from '78 and bought another N88 with both noses for $197Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
ok I am in, It seems like a good idea, and I have a set of fat biking gloves with super padding.... I am 32 so I will be using it for a bit... the next question is even though most pancakes and twin stacks seem to meet the air needs of the sencos, I am wondering what the lightest compressor I can get away with that will last for a teacher first deck cabinet guy second....
I was thinking about one of the porter cables and getting a spiffy finish nailer out of the deal too...
Buy one, you'll use it again.
Real handy for sticking nails where you can't get a good swing, for those one foot on the ladder, one hand hanging from a rafter spots.
Joe H
I have a Paslode connector nailer too
Edited 4/18/2004 2:12 am ET by JoeH
Porter Cable combo gets my vote. You won't get a high quality compressor like a Rol-air and you might have to wait for the pump to catch up to you sometimes, but for your purposes it is a good deal.
Try these:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000DCBKX/qid=1082295820/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-2994785-7542519?v=glance&s=hi
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000AX4AQ/qid=1082296053/sr=1-26/ref=sr_1_26/102-2994785-7542519?v=glance&s=hi
Jon Blakemore
I bought the PC pancake & brad nailer combo about 5 yrs ago. The compressor was abused and overworked until I bought a bigger unit last year, but it still works fine. I use it whenever I need just a little air and don't want to roll the bigger unit into the house. It will handle one nailer of any size, and if you keep the tank drained it will last quite a while. I even used mine to spray sheetrock texture and some paint, but I had to wait for it to catch up frequently.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
I bought a cheap off brand chineese made compressor. it's perfect untill I get two guys nailing and then it won't keep up.. so what! it's light, relatively quiet, and cost me very little.. Since it's only 1/2 horse I can use it on an extension cord without worring about burning it up. (most air compressors really need heavy 10 gauge extension cords to carry the 13 to 15 amps they need, and then they are limited to no more than 50 feet) ps It was so cheap that if it failed after my first job I would have gotten my monery's worth out of it. it is now over 17 years old! I change the oil once a year no matter what!
frankly I wouldn't buy a Porter cable nail starter, while I see them often too often I see the guy using it reach for his hammer to finish the job..
Bostich makes the finish nail gun I use and in the last three years it's never failed to set the nail fully, evan when using long nails into oak!
I like cheap when things work, I hate it when I'm constantly reminded of the reason it was cheap in the first place..
For one deck hand nail the hangers you wont save much time. I did by a Makaita AG 125 when I started using 100 to 500 hangers per job. Most standered stick framers will only shoot 1" / 2" rated nails. With the makaita you can put all the nails in each hanger no mater what the size with out switching guns or strips of nails, or coming back. It also has a longer nose so you can get in to corners that I cant get to with a palm nailer. It also saves on fingers trying to get a nail through that truss plate when needed.
Absolutely buy one. They are one of those tools that at the time seems an extravagance to get but you will eventually wonder how you ever got along without. I do mostly renovation-restoration and so am in many tight spaces where swinging a hammer is impossible and that's where it is put to use. Mine I think is a Senco and comes with a head to do finish nails as well as common.
> I screwed up one of my hands for a month after using a palm nailer.
> The impact against the bones in one's palm w/out protection can be a
> mite painful.
Uh, unless you're auditioning for The Passion, turn it around so the nails point AWAY from your palm. (;-))
Man!
You are gonna burn in heck for that one!!Mr T
Happiness is a cold wet nose
Life is is never to busy to stop and pet the Doggies!!
saves lots of time and theyre inexpensive and and and......what good toy.... I mean tool isn't worth buying.
Trust me, you'll find other uses for it.
BE inspired by a tool,
andy
My life is my passion!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
two words, Impact driver, screw your deck, nails are weak.
I ran into your predicament once before, we couldn't put up our leger until the brick was on, whick took forever. So, to get our home owner there occupancy permit, we removed the pins in the lock set, locked it with a screw driver, and re-assembled it. The inspector thought that was off the hizzy!
I was reading all the simpson strongtie paperwork and it seemed to hint that I should be using nails or else! ( I always prefer to use screws whenever possible)
Is there something I should know? can I shoot in stainless screws instead? that would make me oh so happy...
Jeff
I think he mis-understood, and was thinkiong that you were going to nail the deck boards in place. Not many screws are rated for joist hangers...cept some specific Piffin screws, but the right ones are difficult to find.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
forgive my ignorance, but what is a Piffin screw... never heard of it!
Click on the Advanced Search button near the top of the left hand frame and search for the exact phrase piffin screw. Select ordering by oldest first.
depends on how many folks you need to crucify.
i have one- it is great! too damn noisy but great.
one time shot buy the palm nailer-
build for a living buy the bostich
i have both- use both.
Spoil yourself, you deserve it!
I love the palm nailer (Senco A-9). It's great for working in tight places. I also use it for hangers. It's a lot faster than hand hammering, but nowhere near as fast as a self-feeding gun with the pilot that puts the nails in the holes. The big difference is that you have to hand feed each nail with the palm nailer.
Either tool would have lots of future uses, but for maximum speed, go with a Bostich that does both hangers and regular framing nails.
If you do go with a palm nailer, try to figure out some fast way of feeding it, maybe a little pouch of nails that you could strap to your wrist.
-- J.S.
> Either tool would have lots of future uses, but for maximum speed, go > with a Bostich that does both hangers and regular framing nails.
OK, I searched the Bostich web site with the model number, the user manual for the RH88 gun, and the new bostich catalog and I can find no reference to the this detachable nose accessory for use with hangers.
jet.... here it is....
http://www.bostitch.com/default.asp?CATEGORY=BOS%5FFRAM%5FNAILER&TYPE=PRODUCT&PARTNUMBER=N88RH-MCN-2&SDesc=High+Power+Framing+System
we have two of them... the nose changes in seconds with a push of a button...this is slickMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Thanks. Absolutely nothing in their brochure. ??? Is the MCN tip available separately? I was in a tool store today and they had a nifty dedicated coil gun for just over $200 that shot 1-1/2" truss nails, and did it with the nail tip exposed for positive placement in the truss hole.
I agree with the above.
I got my Senco Palmer with my Framing gun as a package deal...didn't think I'd ever use the palmer...but in building my house, wound up using it for the following purposes:
1. TJI hangers that require 16D nails (not N-10's). Can't imagine doing this any other way with my TJI 550 Pros on 12" centers...but had to wear ear protection!
2. Toe nailing studs or blocking when the next stud is too close to get my gun in
3. Putting up the 2X sheetrock nailers I forgot to do when framing up the walls.
I notice that Harbor Freight (Chineese) Tool advertises them for some rediculously cheap price....but not sure how well they work.
Bruce