No luck with using the shortest nails. I tried toe-nailing using 1"
nails on a 2x4. The result was exactly the same as when I use 1.25"
nails, meaning that the nail head sticks out by 1/16".

By the way, the nails are Senco nails. I suppose their nails must work
well with their own nailers.

Nailing the same 1" nails straight on a piece of wood can counter-sink
the nail down to 1/8". Seem like there is something wrong with
shooting a nail at an angle that cause the nail not be able to
penetrate into the wood completely.

Seem like the suggestion of using pocket screws is becoming more and
more like a much better idea than trying to toe nail. Or I need to
make some 90-degree brace-angles and use it with clamps to align two
pieces of woods together. Anyway, the idea of toe nailing seems to be
fading away fast -- at least for me.

Jay Chan


wrote:
Thanks for everyone who has replied.

Seem like the small air compressor is not the one that causes me
trouble when I try to toe-nail because 120 PSI should be enough.

I don't remember what size nails that I used. I believe it is one size
above the shortest one. I will check it out when I get back home, and
I will try toe-nailing with the shortest nails; unfortunately, I have a
feeling that this is not practical because the shortest nails will not
have enough holding power to hold the horizontal and vertical pieces
together.

I probably want to focus back on the nailer itself, and I will check if
the telfon tape is blocking the air flow or not. The nailer is very
clean because I have not had enough chance to use it a lot. Therefore,
I doubt that there will be something blocking the air flow.

Let me ask everyone who has Senco FinishPro-18 a question:
Let's say you put 1.25" 18-gauge nails in the nailer, and adjust the
depth-of-drive to as deep as possible. And then you shoot one nail onto
a piece of softwood (pine), such as a 2x4. How deep is the nail below
the surface of the wood? When I tried this last night, the nail is
something like 1/16" below the surface. I want to hear how other
people experience are. Thanks.

Jay Chan