On Fri, 02 Jun 2006 13:53:38 GMT, "Leon"
wrote:


"Ken Muldrew" wrote in message
...
"Leon" wrote:

Something else to consider for occasional use, a Palm Nailer. It is a bit
slower but takes "any" sized nail, is cheaper, and uses bulk nails.

Is it really more convenient than a hammer (which again takes any
sized nail, is cheaper, and uses bulk nails)?

I'd say 4 to 5 times faster driving a nail. Almost as fast as you can push
and you don't get tired. I drives them in the time it takes to take 1 swing
with a hammer, all things being equal.


I like my Estwing nailer

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=228013

This puppy drove 12" ring-shank polebarn spikes into "ironwood"
(species unidentifed, but very hard) posts all day when I built a barn
for my dad, and is still pretty, without giving me tennis elbow.

It'll put in a 16d in one good swing- I bet that's at least as fast as
your palm nailer, and doesn't require a compressor.

So for occasional use? This is my vote- a hammer is more versitile,
it doesn't care if you set it in the dirt (even a Paslode doesn't
appreciate that much, then all that time you saved gets lost in
cleaning the gun in the field) and it rides on your belt. Add the
long handle on the Estwing and the ripping claw, and it's thing of
beauty- not only does it drive nails like a champ, but it can demo as
fast as a crowbar and a 3lb maul with a short handle.

And the #1 reason for hand nailing- especially for occasional DIY use,
(at least in my book) is that a hand nail and hammer will pull a frame
together a whole lot better than a gun. The nails are thicker and
have more holding power, and one guy (or two who are not pros) raising
a wall is likely to rack the frame at least a little and put a lot of
stress on the joints. With a nail gun, they just pull loose- with
hand spikes, they've got a lot more gumption.

I know it's a throwback attitude, but I build almost everything with a
hammer, and it is really just as fast as messing with compressors, air
lines, and boxes with goofy nails on coils or strips. Even after
using a nail gun fairly extensively for a while at work, I still
prefer the ring of a nicely struck nail, and happily drive spikes all
day with ol' reliable on my independant projects.

Though I will concede that roofing, trim and pin nailers are worth
their respective weights in gold. Hard to argue that after the first
time I laid hands on each of them.