Thinking about a pin nailer

Dom DiCara

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I have been using a Bostitch Brad gun for a while, and have no problems with it at all. Except for the fact that the recessed holes need to be addressed before finishing.

I am finishing 2 desks for my wife right now and am getting tired of filling, staining and sanding holes. I always use 1 3/8 brads and see that pin nailers do handle that size. I always glue the nail anyway, and then clamp overnight usually, so strength of the nail itself is not an issue.

Question.....which one would you recommend, and are there any intricacies about the tool that I should know about? Is it worth it?

Thanks
 
Most of the more economical pin nailers only handle up to 1" pins, but the Grex, while much more expensive, can handle the longer ones.

The Grex has a very goo reputation for reliability, but it does cost about twice as much as even the Senco. Harbor Freight has one that'll handle 1" pins, and they sometimes have it on sale for as little as $29.95 - and it's gotten pretty good reviews, too!

FWIW, I have the Senco, and I like it!
 
I've only shot about twenty pins, but I love my Harbor Freight gun and the HF pins. I haven't, though, bothered to try and hide them since they were on shop gadgets.

I thought I saw a technique somewhere that said to wet the fibers around the pin and they'll swell and hide the pin. No personal experience, though. And the unit is a pin only (at least that's what I remember*), so that might not meet your requirements.

*I have the three gun in a box setup, so I might be confused. The pin nailer isn't on their website anymore.
 
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You're gonna love having a pin nailer, Dom. With a bit of practice, you can literally nail a toothpick to a board. I've got a cheap .23 gauge nailer I got on eBay (equivalent to the ones Harbor Freight sells) and it has served me well the times I've used it. It jams every once in a while, but that's easy to fix and I figure it's the price I pay for having a cheap tool. I use it seldom enough to warrant stepping up to a better one.

If I was using a pin nailer more often, I'd probably be looking at one of the better brands like Senco or Grex. (I really like my Grex pneumatic sander.)
 
So I can gather from all of this great response that the pins are weaker, but the holes left are unnoticeable?

Thanks to everyone....me thinks a HF trip is coming up:D
 
I recently bought a pin nailer from Spot Nails. I've only done one install this afternoon actually,with it but I really liked it. It was $100 delivered to my shop by the guy that runs this area. Good gun, good price and I have lots of Spot Nails guns already so it's just one of the boys now.
 
I had the HF unit and it worked well for a while - perhaps a hundred or so pins. Then it jammed and something broke (don't remember exactly what) so it got tossed. No biggie since I got in sale for $19.99. However, when it came time to replace it I picked this one up at Woodcraft on sale. I've not used it a lot, but it seems much better built than the HF model for only a few bucks more- I think I paid $40 or so. There are about 20 reviews on the Woodcraft site for this tool and no one rated it less than 4 stars.
 
That pretty much sums it up. The holes aren't quite invisible, but they're dang hard to see, especially after a bit of sanding.

Thanks Vaughn and everyone else......tried to find one online at HF, and none is listed.....HMMM....I'll give a call to the store in Daytona tomorrow
 
So I can gather from all of this great response that the pins are weaker, but the holes left are unnoticeable?

Thanks to everyone....me thinks a HF trip is coming up:D


The holes still have to be filled.

For the most part a micro pinner is borderline useless. For the things it is needed for, it is a lifesaver. Tiny moldings, and cross pinning miters they're great.
 
I've got a Bostitch pin nailer and have had no troubles with it. I got it when Bostitch first came out with them. Mine only shoots 1 3/16. Absolutely has paid for itself many times over. Never had a jam. Also, this gun has an air regulator on the other side of the gun (a non-intrusive little lever) so you can control depth of the nail at the gun.

I think most of them come set up like mine, double trigger, so you don't have to touch the nose to the workpiece possibly causing a dent from recoil.

Happy choosing!

Brian
 

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I've got a Bostitch pin nailer and have had no troubles with it. I got it when Bostitch first came out with them. Mine only shoots 1 3/16. Absolutely has paid for itself many times over. Never had a jam. Also, this gun has an air regulator on the other side of the gun (a non-intrusive little lever) so you can control depth of the nail at the gun.

I think most of them come set up like mine, double trigger, so you don't have to touch the nose to the workpiece possibly causing a dent from recoil.

Happy choosing!

Brian

Brian.....I am using 3 different Bostitch air nailers and have never had an issue with any of them......explain the double trigger though....a little confused about that. all 3 of mine the end has to be recessed on the workpiece, then pull the trigger.

Thanks
 
The holes still have to be filled.

For the most part a micro pinner is borderline useless. For the things it is needed for, it is a lifesaver. Tiny moldings, and cross pinning miters they're great.

Thanks Karl...which is what I am going to be using it for. I have a 6 piece bedroom set to get going on next, and it is an exact copy of an 18th Century Italian set....needless to say...the amount of small trim is extraordinary on 4 of the pieces.
 
Dom,

The nailer's tip is so small it leaves a ding if you press it to the wood. Also recoil will leave a ding. To prevent that, there is not the usual safety. Instead there is a double trigger. One has to be depressed before the 'action' trigger fires the pin.
 
Dom,

The nailer's tip is so small it leaves a ding if you press it to the wood. Also recoil will leave a ding. To prevent that, there is not the usual safety. Instead there is a double trigger. One has to be depressed before the 'action' trigger fires the pin.

gotcha ....and Thanks
 
I've got this one. It's a lovely, luscious thing. Don't know how I ever lived without it!

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Thanks,

Bill
 
I think most of them come set up like mine, double trigger, so you don't have to touch the nose to the workpiece possibly causing a dent from recoil.


I don't remember if my Senco was set up that way or not. If there was a safety and a single action trigger I disabled it. The only guns I leave the safety on is staplers, and my bigger finish gun that I use for trimming. If I had framing gun, I'd leave it on that as well.

I do know that I ground the tip down so it would set the nail deeper.
 
I have a grex. I remember the first time or two trying to get used to the double trigger. I was paying so much attention to where my fingers were grabbing the triggers, I shot a pin in crooked, and sure enough the sucker caught my other thum.

besides my own stupidity, I find a pin nailer very useful and leaving very little marks on the wood. I never owned a different one, so I couldnt tell you much of a comparison, but I think the grex is right at the top performance wise, and since I muck everything up with glue, the one or two jams Ive had are simple for even a dummy like me to clear. 30 seconds to clear out a jammed pin.(I always have glued up fingers and load pins in)
 
I find it funny what so many call a brad nailer, I call a pin nailer, or pinner. To me the 23ga is a micro pinner. I wonder if its a regional thing, cause its been the same with everyone I've worked with.


Another thought I've had with the micro pinners is shooting one clean into flesh. not when it rims out, that hurts, but if you were to accidently press the tip straight into flesh and accidently squeeze one off. I got a feeling you'd have a lot of cutting ahead of you to find that little bugger.
 
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