Hi there,
Quick question about which nailer to buy. I’m currently remodeling our bathroom and have reach the point of adding new trim. The trim we like is 3/4 of an inch thick. I’m guessing I need a 2 inch finish nail to penetrate through the trim, drywal and wood but I’m unsure if I need something bigger like a 2 1/2 inch.
I dont have a compressor and was thinking of getting a cordless nailer. What are your thoughts/opinions? Does anyone recomend anything?
Thanks in advance
Replies
You don't need a nailer for that. Use a hammer. But if you really want a cordless nailer for trim that size, check out a Dewalt DC618.
Another thing to consider is using trim screws instead of nails.
fruz
If it was me-
and I've got a slew of nailers both frame and finish..........
But if I didn't have one and wanted hoseless-I'd go for the 2-1/2" nailer-
because, you now have a choice-up to 2-1/2 but able to use 2".
no?
Buy a combo kit
Both Porter Cable and Bostitch sell three guns with compressor and hose kits.
Both are reliable, and have equally noisey compressors.
They are reasonably inexpensive through online vendors, the big boxes, or even your local hardware store when they go on sale. Typically Home Desperate or Lower Expecatations.
But if you really wont use them much you really might be better off getting an old fashioned nail set, and hand nailing.
Years ago I bought the purple 2" 18ga Harbor Fright brad nailer for a project like this and ran it off a 20# CO2 tank
and a "balloon" regulator (~65PSI or so). It worked great.
Now I have air and a large assortment of nailers and other air tools but the HF gun just won't die.
Harbor Freight? (Hijack Warning!)
Well, Gfretwell ... now you have me thinking.
I have a major remodel going, and I'll bee putting up three interior walls, maybe making some minor adjustments to an outside wall ... and I've been wrestling with the 'what to get' dilemma.
Going 'conventional, $500 will get me a decent compressor, and ONE decent nail gun; by the time I'm done, I'll probably want at least three nail guns. Drawback? I need to store that compressor, where it probably won't be used for years- if ever- again. Storage is death to compressors.
Going 'cordless' will set me back $500 per gun- and I don't think there's a cordless nailer suitable for roofing.
Then there's the HF option. Compressor, and all three nail guns, for about $300. Yet, I've been plagued by doubts. Is the compressor any good (I can assume it's noisy)? Will it last even one job? Will the nail guns actually drive nails- or will they simply be jam factories? Etc.
You've got me considering the HF stuff for this one job.
HF and "fine" homebuilding? Sure, why not? "Fine" is more determined by the craftsman than the tool - and if you're a DIY, you really have little use for a 'lifetime' tool.
On any given day it's possible to shop the local pawn shops and come up with at least one named brand pancake compressor for $50 and 18g brad nailers for $40 and 16g finish guns for about $75. The last finish gun I wore out took 40k nails - weekend carpenters won't ever wear out a half dead pawn shop gun.