Which Major Brand Flooring Nailer Did Harbor Freight Copy?
jimmiem
| Posted in Tools for Home Building on
I bought HF Flooring Nailer Model 97586 and so far it has fired 4000+ cleats with no misfires or jambs. I contacted Harbor Freight to get some new o-rings and seals for it and was told that HF does not stock maintenance parts for the tool. I read a blog where somebody said that they thought HF copied a Bostitch Flooring Nailer. Another blog said that a major manufacturer’s parts fit the HF but did not say which manufacturer. I checked the Bostitch parts list but the o-ring sizes and seals were not the same dimemsions as those listed in the HF manual that came with the tool. Anybody have any info on how I can get parts that will fit?
Replies
jim
Check Spotnails or Senco or Pasload..........or any flooring tool maker. You might get lucky.
Did you call the store - or the parts number listed in the manual that came with your $120 stapler? It's been my experience that HF has plenty of parts available.
You can find the manual at the HF web site.
It might surprise you to find that the Chinese can actually design their own crap, and find no need to simply copy our crap.
It's also possible there's more to fixing it than changing a few O-rings, and it might be time to spend another $120.
HF Flooring Nailer Parts
I have spoken to folks in HF Customer Service and Tech Support and have also had email correspondence with HF Tech Support. I was told by a Tech Support rep that HF did not have maintenance parts for this tool. It was suggested that I check EBAY and Craig's List to see if I could find the parts there. The rep's other suggestion was to take the tool to a repair shop but HF did not have a list of repair shops. From what I have read the wear parts of HF tools are not as durable as major manufacturers so I was thinking that if could up-grade those parts the tool would last longer. I did buy the extended warranty so if it fails as opposed to just leaking oil I can just get a new tool. Some have suggested that I cut back on the amount of oil as that may be the cause of the leak. My plan was to just do the hardwood flooring in my own house and the tool would never be used again, but a couple of relatives have liked the results and have asked for help (do it for me) in installing hardwood in their houses......so I figured if I could be able to maintain the tool long term for short $ I'd be ahead of the game. I know the cost of this tool isn't a lot but I'm old school and would rather fix than replace if it makes sense. And it looks like the Campbell Hausfeld o-rings are the same dimensions as the HF.
McMaster Carr has about any size O ring ever made. Just measure the parts and order the o rings you think will work.
Heck, any decent hardware store has a good selection of plain O-rings.
HF Flooring Nailer Parts
There are also seals which are included in the manufacturers' o-ring/seal replacement kits. The o-ring sizes in the Campbell Hausfeld o-ring replacement kit seem to be an exact match. I have all the HF o-ring sizes and the Campbell sizes are the same. I'll check out McMaster Carr too. Thank You.
You only need a few drops of oil for each full day's use.
As for O-rings, they are a generic part and you don't need the O-rings from a similar flooring nailer. If you google metric O-ring sizes you'll find the ones that correspond to what you need. I have no doubt that there is an inch spec O-ring that would work, but it's definitely made for metric O-rings. Just about any aftermarket O-ring will be of a higher or equal quality than what harbor freight uses. McMaster Carr has most hard to find generic parts for just about everything.
If something bigger breaks you can always take it to a tool repair outfit and they will know what parts will interchange since harbor freight is so popular and their stuff breaks so often. You can also call the customer service number of any one of the online tool parts outfits and they can probably refference the parts you need and send them to you - this might be your best bet since they can also answer any questions and walk you through this a bit.
Good luck!
Harbor Freight Flooring Nailer
I'm not sure that the number of nails that I use in a day would be considered a full day's use as I don't typically spend 8 hours a day and also don't work that quickly. That being the case would you recommend that I oil every other day or oil based on numbers of nails driven?
o-rings?
If you've only cycled the tool 4000 times it shouldn't need any rubber parts.... but then it is a low end air tool.
And as for the oil I would give it 3-4 drops twice a day if it was getting hard use. It seems that some of the clone nailers need to be drenched in oil to work at all though according to reviews.
Homeowner i was working for earlier this year bought a clone from amazon and it wouldn't dependably cycle unless oiled every other fastener reload. It wouldn't do staples at all, only cleats. I forget the name brand unfortunately....
Harbor Freight Flooring Nailer
How would you define 'hard use'? I'm a DIYer and don't use any tool all day every day. Also, I'm sure that I don't go anywhere nearly as fast as a pro would so how should I oil under my 'slow and easy use' conditions? I've had several comments that the oil leaks may be due to over-oiling. In inquiring about replacement rubber parts I was getting ready in case they need replacing sooner rather than later.