So I’ve been thinking about how I have accumulated all these tools of different brands, specifically guns and saws, and about how I must maintain an inventory of nails for each gun, and how each feels/loads/cuts differently. I was thinking about standardizing my framing guns and circular saws to make life easier for both me and my crew. I.e., instead of telling someone, “Get me the Paslode framer and grab the 8d Paslode ring shanks under the Grip-Rite round heads,” I could just say, “Grab a gun and some 8d ring shanks.
As for framing guns, I was thinking either Paslode or Hitatchi. Say 3 stick’ers and 1 or 2 coils. Paslode guns and nails are predominant in my locale, but Hitatchi stuff and FRH nails are easy to come by, too.
As far as saws go, I already have two Maks, in addition to the one DW, one Bosch (POS) and the Ridgid. I like the Maks overall, and the guys seem to reach for them first.
My local gun dealer gives me a trade in allowance if I bring an old gun…he also repairs guns you buy from him for free, even though he charges MSRP for everything.
On a not so related note, I realized how many different kinds/sizes of nails I have in inventory. Given we frame houses and build decks. How many different nails do you carry, and do you use one size more often? For me it’s the 3x.131 Brite.
Jason Pharez Construction
Framing & Exterior Remodeling
Replies
I know exactly what you mean Jason.
This is what I've done.
For spikes (we use 3 1/4") I have Hitachi stick nailers, FRH. I stock about 4 cases of bright and one galvy in the trailer at all times.
For 8's I have Hitachi coil nailers. I stock about 4 cases of coils in the trailer.
For exterior trim I use the little Hitachi NV-65 coil nailers. I keep one case of plastic collated galvy coils and one case of plastic collated SS coils in the trailer. I like the plastic collated nails for trim, and it keeps a new guy from strapping the first floor of house with $400 worth of SS siding nails.
For hardware I have one of those Bostich conversion guns and stock a case each of bright and galvy in the trailer.
Each type of nail is fired by a distinctly different gun. I've found that most of the time three stick nailers and two coil guns keep the four of us plenty busy. If something is nailed with 8's, someone grabs a coil nailer. Spikes, a strip nailer. It keeps things pretty simple. I also like that all of our nail choices come in boxes that are distinctly different from one another. I hate it when a box of nails gets ripped open rather than bending over and reading the label to see what's in there. Makes me crazy. In fact I can't ever see a reason to have more than one case of a particular type of nail open at a time. Apparently I'm the minority in that line of thinking. With the different boxes, it only takes the new guy a week or two to figure out what box goes with what type of nail is called for.
And then theres the finish guns.........the only time someone else fetches me the right nails for the right gun is when I need the narrow crown stapler. They also don't seem to understand little racks of nails are about the same quantity of nails as the big racks of framing nails. I need to nail off some quarter round and someone comes back with enough nails in their fist to trim out a small house.
And do nails ever make it back into a box once they're pulled out of a box???? It's like there's an unwritten law that once you take a bunch of nails out of a case, you can't ever put them back in. You need to tuck them into a corner somewhere in the frame and nobody but me can see them. LOL
Hey..... you asked!
hehehe
I can see you now walking into the trailer spotting two boxes needlessly opened . Ripped on the side that faces the writing.
hehehe
ok ok Im goin to my corner , geez.
Tim
I can tell you where any of my tools are at any given time. Right down to Channellocks and utility knives. If I can't..... someone screwed up and is going to hear about it.
I just like....... order. Having 5 open cases of the same type of nail makes me very irritable. Very hard to bill a customer for X cases of nails used on their job when I have to count 1/2, 1/4, and 3/4 full boxes. Not that hard actually..... just harder than it's supposed to be.
All right...... so I'm a freak!View Image
http://www.outofservice.com/freak/
54
39!Does that make me a freak?Wife wants to confirm suspicions.
I was a 98, so I don't know what that means. The test was developed in the 70's, maybe I need to smoke some pot, and do the YMCA dance.
Hey, I was only a 19 !!! I'm not sure what that makes me.
I guess I'm just a conformist.
Oh well...
Don K.
EJG Homes Renovations - New Construction - Rentals
63
Great Test!
62. Although I didn't answer the last group or two.jt8
"The test is to recognize the mistake, admit it and correct it. To have tried to do something and failed is vastly better than to have tried to do nothing and succeeded."-- Dr. Dale Turner
Diesel, if you stack all the same nails on top of one another, they'll only open one box.
I have a person designated as a nail person. He's actually pretty bad at it....
I guess maintaining an orderly supply of nails is hard.
blue
Sounds like someone's wife, doesn't he? :)
"Who opened two cartons of milk?!"
"Who forgot to close the bag of chips back up?"
"You know the socks go in the sock drawer, why can't you put them in there?"
jt8
"All men should strive to learn before they die What they are running from, and to, and why." -- James Thurber
You're fired.View Image
You're fired.
You can't fire me, I QUIT! Hmm.. wait a minute. If you fire me do I get workers comp? I could use some time sitting on my #### watching some of those 180 channels I subscribe to but never have much time to watch. jt8
"All men should strive to learn before they die What they are running from, and to, and why." -- James Thurber
Who lost the twist tie off the bread?
Give the damn thing a spin and turn it under laying it in the drawer. hahahaha
But not Diesel. <G>
Tim
If we ever get to meet....
I'm heading straight to your truck and re-arranging all your tools on you. Then I'm gonna open all your boxes of fasteners, dump 'em into a 5 gal pail, mix 'em up, and put a handful back in each of the boxes.
Just a little fair warning. ;)View Image
You are cruel.You're making me feel like that Monk character in TV.I hate when the guys I work with take my stuff. They call my van 'Home Depot on Wheels.' They know enough to go get the tools, but never know where to put them back. Just sit them on the ground in a pile next to the van.That includes ladders on the roof rack. 'I didn't know how you wanted it put back.'But the remote lock on the new (used) van is coming in handy.HAhaha.
Remote locks are great.
I have remote locks for the tools boxes on my utility body. Sometimes I'll see one of the guys heading to the truck for something and hit the lock right when they get to the truck. I think it's hysterical.... not sure how they feel about it though. ;)
I've also got an alarm in my trailer. The key thingie has a "panic" button you can hit to set off the alarm. That might be my favorite. Sometimes I hit it on someone just for looking too long.View Image
'The key thingie has a "panic" button you can hit to set off the alarm.'The key thingie? You sound like my wife!When I bought this van, I almost wet myself just THINKING about the first time I could lock the doors as someone reached to open it.I know how you feel.I just bought the Makita Lithium Ion combo. You can bet the van will be locked when I work with the crew!
I just bought the Makita Lithium Ion combo
damn, I'm jealous. I haven't bought a new tool in months. I was going to buy a festool set up, but decided not too.
Trust me, it was not an easy purchase. Too much debt to justify spending the money. But got some help. Hope it serves me well, and helps in making money.20% off and a HD gift card helped.Not sure I'm into the Festool, but am starting to think about a Multimaster. Too much $$$ right now.Son's eye DR. comes first. Costs more than any tool I've ever purchased.
I hear you about the Dr.s bills. I just had two porcelain crowns installed in the grill. Dentist hit me for a little over $2200 bucks. Shoulda just jammed a couple of white Chiclets in my mouth and not smiled so much. I've never experienced so much expensive pain as I have in a dentist's chair.
Think I might sign up for a colonoscopy for fun next time.View Image
Oh, the beauty of being self employeed. Does your wife have benefits? It's the main reason I'm considering marriage(other than true love and all that crap)
Yup. I've got (Penn State just scored) pretty good medical with BlueCross/Blue shield, prescription coverage, vision, and $1000/year dental. First time in my life ever having health insurance. I still don't use it much, but I figured I'd get some dental work done before the grand expired at the end of the year. That grand basically covers two cleanings a year and not much else, but it helps.
My wife has been a waitress at Legal Sea Foods for 12 years and has a pretty good benefits package along with 401K. It's an upscale joint so she does ok with the tips. After 12 years she pretty much makes her own schedule and takes Sat. and Sun. off. It's a pretty good gig. If and when she gets pregnant she'll get a maternity leave and then will probably still work a few shifts a week just so we can keep the benefits.
I'm also looking into joining our local Chamber of Commerce for the group benefits as well. Might be worth looking into.View Image
There are few local small business organizations with benefit packages, but I haven't really investigated them. My girlfriend of 2+years is a occupational therapist(similar to physical therapist) at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center(fancy name for hospital), so she's got an impressive benefits package.
Edited 1/3/2006 9:07 pm ET by dustinf
>>Legal Sea FoodsI love that place, this coming from a guy who ate at the Oyster Bar at Grand Central every Friday for a couple of years. Last time I went up to Boston (Clemens was still pitching) you could get Legal Sea Food chowder at the truck stops on the way up.
Yeah... good grub. Legal Sea Food's chowder... served at the past four Presidential inagurations. For whatever that's worth. I go in there and eat at the bar on Monday's when it's slow sometimes. Watch a game and get to chat with my wife a bit. They comp my check at least 50% every time I go in there. Pretty good company.View Image
Diesel I like how you organize things.
Like I said, right now, we have 3 FRH guns, 2 CH guns, the siding gun, a framing stapler, and a PP gun. Oh yeah and a coil gun. It would be nice to just say get the coil nailer or the framing gun and that's that.
I've got a free day today...I'll dig around and see what I can find out.
Thanks.Jason Pharez Construction
Framing & Exterior Remodeling
No pain there, just the prep trips to bathroom. I remember being rolled in, doc gave me the good stuff in two doses. Woke up with cute nurse telling me I could pass gas, told her try to stop me. Maybe you are used to the discount "here bite on this bullet " version.
Reminds me of my last physical-June'02.
In between the hernia surgery and the gall blatter removal.Knowing I'm going to 'assume the position', as soon as he walks in, I ask to see his hands.'Why?', as he shows them. I say I was hoping they would be smaller.He chuckles.As he is checking my tonsils from behind he tells me he is going to touch my prostate and I will feel the urge to urinate. I inform him that I already feel the urge to beat the SH*T out of him.All said and done, 'There, that wasn't so bad.'Nope. Just like summer camp, but without the ice cream.I love telling that story. But I'm in no hurry to scedule the next one.
Yeah, he probably pushes all the air out of the bag first...carefully twist ties it..and then puts it in one of those wood bread boxes (with the little flowers carved on it).
Sheeze, you'd think he was a finish carp or something.. You'd expect a framer to leave the bag open with the next couple slices falling onto the counter or floor. :)jt8
"All men should strive to learn before they die What they are running from, and to, and why." -- James Thurber
I needed a few 1 3/8 Underlayment nails last Thursday.
I went to company warehouse and picked up a box. When I got back to job, I open the box. Inside I find 4 finish,1" roofing, 1" underlay, and 1 3/8 underlay.
Through the whole thing in garbage can and took a trip to Lowes.
In my case I wish they would leave the extras for the broom.
Did I get side tracked and forget to comment on the actual thread topic? Anyway, sounds like a good plan. Less clutter in the truck/trailer and less $$ spent on different fasteners. Just as long as you don't have the extra items along because they do something that the others can't.
If the tools are in reasonable shape and the trade-in isn't that great, you could always try to sell them. Seems like the used tools I've looked at tend to run about 50% of new price (if they don't look like total dog crap).
For instance, I've been watching Hitachi coil framers on eBay. Other than the occasional deal (missed one for $91), they tend to run $180-250 for used.
jt8
"All men should strive to learn before they die What they are running from, and to, and why." -- James Thurber
OK, so I broke down and bought two Hitatchi stick'ers and one NV83 coil gun, all with DOD adjustment. Thanks Brian and Tim!
Didn't trade any of the old guns in--apparently the trade-in only applies to Paslode, not Hitatchi. Oh well, I'll sell them in the paper probably.
I also was eyeing a Rol-Air wheelbarrow for $650....For $100 more I could have a gas-powered Ridgid, though.
Hey, anyone know where I can buy those nifty NR83 rafter hooks Tim's always gloating about?
Thanks!Jason Pharez Construction
Framing & Exterior Remodeling
http://www.renohardware.net/yzcart/yzcart.php?page=face.php3&NAV=item_info&PAGE=item_info&sku=080-40011&sid=VW8K1RX0DG3HLBS
Thanks! I'll try to get some ordered this weekend!
I've got two good framing jobs lined up, so we're gonna try the new toys out Monday. I'll let ya'll know if I have good luck with 'em!Jason Pharez Construction
Framing & Exterior Remodeling