costly error, bostich vs. porter cable

allen levine

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new york city burbs
I was finishing the roof framework of a small shed Im building for my snowblower, and I was using 1 and one quarter inch brads in the process.
I have a porter cable nailer, and ran out of brads.
To make a long story short, I put in bostich brand brads, looked alike, I didnt take notice, boom, the gun stopped working correctly.
Brought it in to repair to see what the damage is.
Careless error. IM sure it will be costly also.
 
I used to use (cringe...) the cheapo pennies a pack Harbor Freight 18 gage brads in my PC... never siezed up, but after many misfires and jams, decided I was being penny-wise and pound foolish. I mean... how much do I use the thing, and thus how much am I saving over a years time? Not often enough, thus maybe a few bucks a year? Only PC brads in my PC brad nailer now.
 
I use Bostich nails all the time in my both my my Dewalt and Pc brad nailers all the time without any trouble

Its kind of goofy Rob...some PC Nailers you can switch them around, but some you can't. Last year I bought a new PC compressor brad nailer, staple gun and finish nailer combo set from Home Depot. The PC nails for the finish nailer are a bear to find. In fact after doing the same thing Allen did, I went on a hunt and found you can only buy Porter Cable Nails for my Porter Cable Nailer from Home Depot, and even then you have to match numbers VERY CAREFULLY. Its been awhile but I think there is a B on the last set of numbers on my gun, and the finish nails must have this B, or as Allen and I found out, no bang for your buck.

Its so tough to find the nails for this Finish Nailer Combo Set I bought, after checking at 3 different Home Depot's, when I did find the nails, I bought something like 20,000 nails (buying the store out) just so I could be sure I would have the nails in the future.

Long story short, I would not recommend buying a Compressor combination from a Borg. Its just too tough to find the right nails for it.
 
I use Bostich nails all the time in my both my my Dewalt and Pc brad nailers all the time without any trouble

I think it was the movie, A Bronx Tale, a character named Mush, said"if it wasnt for bad luck Id have no luck at all."

I ran over to the Depot the night I damaged my nailer, I needed a can of spray paint, and I wanted it for early the next morning, so at 9 pm, they are the only ones open.
I use alot of the one and 1/4 inch brads, never find anything but 1000 packs, and that night, they had cases of the 5000 pack.
guess its hitting the store at the right time.

robert, I have the pancake compressor kit with the 3 guns. I bellieve for some reason the newer guns are more picky.
My buddies older gun, doesnt seem so strict, and I also noticed its heavier than the newer version.
 
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Are the guns in the set you got on sale at Home Depot new or reconditioned? I seemed to remember they reconditioned, and wonder if that might be why they are "picky"...:huh:

:dunno:

They are "picky" because the heads on the combo finish nailers have to have a larger head. The standard models have regular looking nails, but as viewed from the top, the combo kit nailers have a wider head that looks like a big T.

This causes things, a standard nail "fits" in the slide of the combo nailer, but jams as soon as the hammer hits it. In other words it looks like standard nails will work, but they won't. They are also pretty big heads,so if you are doing finish work (and hence the whole idea of a finish nailer or brad nailer) they are quite big and are pretty noticeable.

I would not recommend getting a compressor, combo kit from BORG for all the reasons mentioned; at least for woodworking purposes. In my case I was building my house and needed a small compressor and staple gun to apply cedar shingles (15,000 of them to be exact). It worked good for that, with no mis-firings or anything.

  1. Nails are hard to find
  2. Nail heads are too big
  3. Nails must be purchased at Home Depot
 
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not the end of the world, I got the call today, 60 bucks to replace the driving head.( I actually saw a slight nick on it before I brought it to him)


Eh, I uncovered the sports car today, been sitting around since last november, filled it up and took it out for a spin, 75 degrees today. Life is better.
Finished first coat of paint on my snowblower shed, but for Code purposes, Im calling it a dog house.
 
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