Anyone have the 15 gauge Harbor Freight gun? Or other recommendations?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=97554

Thanks.

Davej wrote:
Anyone have the 15 gauge Harbor Freight gun? Or other recommendations?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=97554

Thanks.

What are you going to "finish?"

I've got one of these:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46309

About less than 1/2 the price and it does stuff like trim, molding, and the
like quite well. It countersinks the head about 1/16" and the results are
almost invisible.

Brads are much thinner than nails but they must have invisible barbs or glue
or something. Once in place they are incredibly tenacious!

Anyway, I'm completely pleased with mine.

On Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:35:18 -0800 (PST), Davej
wrote:

Anyone have the 15 gauge Harbor Freight gun? Or other recommendations?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=97554

Thanks.

No- but for $30 more I'd buy this N62 on Ebay- New, $109, free
shipping;
item 200306621428

Here's a used one with warranty for$51 including shipping;
330305728785

Depending on where you live Craigslist might have some deals- [not
where I live, but I know somebody will suggest it]

For $20-30 I'd grab a HF nailer, but I hesitate to go over $50 on
their chinatools. [I own a couple of the brad nailers that I picked
up when they were about $10- they work most of the time.]

Jim

"Davej" wrote in message
...
Anyone have the 15 gauge Harbor Freight gun? Or other recommendations?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=97554

Thanks.

Most of their stuff is fine for the casual user.

I would be a little concerned about:
a.. Air consumption: 8 CFM @ 90 PSI

That seem a bit high to me.


I bought a Senco off EBay, new for a few $ more.

Noisy as heck but works like a champ.



--
Colbyt
Please come visit www.househomerepair.com

"Davej" wrote in message
...
Anyone have the 15 gauge Harbor Freight gun? Or other recommendations?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=97554

Thanks.


Try Tool-King's reconditioned tools for some deals. I've bought several and
never had an issue. Here's the Bostitch that I got
http://www.toolking.com/category/too...d-nailers.aspx

Of course, it's a little more than it was a year or so ago but I feel that
it's a bargain and you won't have to wonder if the boat from China will have
repair parts the next trip over the pond - just kidding. I have some HF
stuff and haven't had an issue with the majority of them.

On Feb 11, 5:10 pm, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
On Feb 11, 2009, Davej wrote:

Anyone have the 15 gauge Harbor Freight gun? Or other
recommendations?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=97554

Thanks.

No- but for $30 more I'd buy this N62 on Ebay- New, $109, free
shipping; item 200306621428

Here's a used one with warranty for$51 including shipping;
330305728785
[...]


Ok, so go with a name brand? Bostitch, Senco, or Hitachi?

"Davej" wrote in message
...
Anyone have the 15 gauge Harbor Freight gun? Or other recommendations?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=97554

Thanks.

Bought a brand new DeWalt 18ga. pin nailer at a pawn shop recently. I like
it. $30.

Steve

On Feb 11, 5:07 pm, "HeyBub" wrote:
Davej wrote:
Anyone have the 15 gauge Harbor Freight gun? Or other recommendations?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=97554

Thanks.

What are you going to "finish?"

Base trim and crown molding are the main projects... the hope is the
gun will produce neater results than hammering.

On Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:55:05 -0800 (PST), Davej
wrote:

-snip-
Ok, so go with a name brand? Bostitch, Senco, or Hitachi?

I would. It isn't a whole lot more & if it breaks you can get parts
and fix it. I can only comment on the Bostitch. I've got a
used N62 & I like how it is built.

My brother-in-law swears by his senco. BTW, his is a cartridge gun.
No compressor needed, but the cartridges are expensive and only
stocked by a couple local stores. I'd stick with a pneumatic as
the compressor is really free because even if you don't have one, when
you get it you'll wonder how you lived without it. [same with the
nailer-- if/when you need to drive and set nails again you'll
wonder how you survived the 'old days'/]

Jim

Davej wrote:
On Feb 11, 5:07 pm, "HeyBub" wrote:
Davej wrote:
Anyone have the 15 gauge Harbor Freight gun? Or other
recommendations?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=97554

Thanks.

What are you going to "finish?"

Base trim and crown molding are the main projects... the hope is the
gun will produce neater results than hammering.

Oh yeah, the cheap one certainly will. The nails holes are almost invisible!
Plus, the gun counter-sinks them about 1/16".

It seems to me that the nails rely on the grip of the wood against either
their microscopic toothed edges or some sort of built-in glue on the nail.
That is, the "heads" are minimal. Here's how I conclude that:

If you have to remove something bradded by this tool, you CAN pry the
material off - but the nail/brad remains in the base stock! This leaves a
hole about the diameter of a straight-pin in the removed material. You then
have to get a 3' crow-bar and cheater to pull the goddamn nail out of the
foundation stock!

I've found that it's easier to use dikes to simply cut the piece of metal.

Another use for the tool is securing something that is glued. I recently had
to glue a vertical strip to a bit of cabinet particle board where it was
impossible to configure a clamp. Slather the glue, place the reinforcing
material in position, then pop it with a couple of brads. Now I don't care
if it takes a week for the glue to harden.

Buy the cheap Harbor Freight tool, a box of 2" brads, and a box of the
1-1/4" brads. I am certain you'll be pleased.

Let us know the results.

On Feb 12, 6:42 am, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
[...]
My brother-in-law swears by his senco. BTW, his is a cartridge gun.
No compressor needed, but the cartridges are expensive and only
stocked by a couple local stores. I'd stick with a pneumatic as
the compressor is really free because even if you don't have one, when
you get it you'll wonder how you lived without it. [same with the
nailer-- if/when you need to drive and set nails again you'll
wonder how you survived the 'old days'/]

Well, I'm still not sold on the idea of nailers but I'm willing to
give one a try. Are all the decent ones air? I have a cheezy
compressor but don't really have any air tools.

Maybe I ought to start another thread -- what tools are much better as
the air versions?

On Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:39:50 -0800 (PST), Davej
wrote:

-snip-
Well, I'm still not sold on the idea of nailers but I'm willing to
give one a try. Are all the decent ones air? I have a cheezy
compressor but don't really have any air tools.

I think even the cheesiest of compressors will run a nailer. I've
shot a couple hundred brads out of my cheap HF bradnailer off my
10gallon tank with no compressor attached.


Maybe I ought to start another thread -- what tools are much better as
the air versions?

'better' needs to be qualified. If you spend every day working on
roofs, off ladders, or in 2nd floor bedrooms, then a cartridge type
might be handy. But for mucking about a shop, outside, or an
occasional trip to upstairs it is nice to have a steady supply of air
to run a tool or two.

And even my cheap $100 HF compressor has paid for itself yearly in the
other handy things that it does.

Jim

Davej wrote:

Anyone have the 15 gauge Harbor Freight gun? Or other recommendations?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=97554

Thanks.
I'll stick with my PC's Although I did buy the 16 penny nailer and it works
pretty good. It's very heavy though and when using it which is not very
often (framing nailer) my arm is sore after only 1 hour of use.
--
"You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"
Running Mandriva release 2008.0 free-i586 using KDE on i586
Website Address http://rentmyhusband.co.nr/

On Feb 12, 8:01 am, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
On Thu, 12 Feb 2009, Davej wrote:
[...]
Maybe I ought to start another thread -- what tools are much better as
the air versions?

'better' needs to be qualified. If you spend every day working on
roofs, off ladders, or in 2nd floor bedrooms, then a cartridge type
might be handy. But for mucking about a shop, outside, or an
occasional trip to upstairs it is nice to have a steady supply of air
to run a tool or two. [...]

Ok, but these nailers are the first tool I've come to, other than
paint guns, where air is virtually the only choice.

On Thu, 12 Feb 2009 05:39:50 -0800 (PST), Davej
wrote:

On Feb 12, 6:42 am, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
[...]
My brother-in-law swears by his senco. BTW, his is a cartridge gun.
No compressor needed, but the cartridges are expensive and only
stocked by a couple local stores. I'd stick with a pneumatic as
the compressor is really free because even if you don't have one, when
you get it you'll wonder how you lived without it. [same with the
nailer-- if/when you need to drive and set nails again you'll
wonder how you survived the 'old days'/]

Well, I'm still not sold on the idea of nailers but I'm willing to
give one a try. Are all the decent ones air? I have a cheezy
compressor but don't really have any air tools.

Maybe I ought to start another thread -- what tools are much better as
the air versions?


Most nailers work just fine on a compressor with a small tank, since
they use a very small volume per minute. The nailer really came in
handy when installing crown molding. I got a finish nailer that uses
the more popular more availble nails. Senco and Senco nails are
expensive, but I'd certainly avoid the off-brands or low-end stuff.

On Feb 12, 11:32 am, wrote:
On Feb 12, "HeyBub" wrote:

Buy the cheap Harbor Freight tool, a box of 2" brads, and a box of the
1-1/4" brads. I am certain you'll be pleased.

Just be careful not to buy the cheapest HF nailer (the red one). I
have the blue one and it seems to be pretty good but I threw the red
one away. My real nailers (a roofer and a framer) are Hitachi


Ok, but are these things going to break the first time I hit a nail?
For the base trim I've been aiming for the sill 2x4 (against the
subfloor) and hit nails fairly often.

Davej wrote:
On Feb 12, 11:32 am, wrote:
On Feb 12, "HeyBub" wrote:

Buy the cheap Harbor Freight tool, a box of 2" brads, and a box of the
1-1/4" brads. I am certain you'll be pleased.
Just be careful not to buy the cheapest HF nailer (the red one). I
have the blue one and it seems to be pretty good but I threw the red
one away. My real nailers (a roofer and a framer) are Hitachi


Ok, but are these things going to break the first time I hit a nail?
For the base trim I've been aiming for the sill 2x4 (against the
subfloor) and hit nails fairly often.

Be _dxxxn_ sure you're wearing eye protection, then...the biggest
concern I'd have would be ricochet if were to dead-center on a 16d, say.

No specific experience w/ the HF nailers; I bought refurb'ed Bostitch
for all owing primarily to plentiful choices of ammunition for them and
reasonable cost.

There's no real substitute for the purpose when there is a purpose and
particularly if time is of any concern -- other than that, there's
always the fact that there's nothing you can do w/ a nailer that can't
be hand nailed, albeit even if it may take pilot holes or other special
efforts to accomplish.

--

Phisherman wrote:


Most nailers work just fine on a compressor with a small tank, since
they use a very small volume per minute. The nailer really came in
handy when installing crown molding. I got a finish nailer that uses
the more popular more availble nails. Senco and Senco nails are
expensive,

but I'd certainly avoid the off-brands or low-end stuff.

Why?

Davej wrote:
On Feb 12, 11:32 am, wrote:
On Feb 12, "HeyBub" wrote:

Buy the cheap Harbor Freight tool, a box of 2" brads, and a box of
the 1-1/4" brads. I am certain you'll be pleased.

Just be careful not to buy the cheapest HF nailer (the red one). I
have the blue one and it seems to be pretty good but I threw the red
one away. My real nailers (a roofer and a framer) are Hitachi


Ok, but are these things going to break the first time I hit a nail?
For the base trim I've been aiming for the sill 2x4 (against the
subfloor) and hit nails fairly often.

I can't imagine any of them breaking. They'll probably bend the heck out of
the brad/nail and might jam, but they can't really break.

If you study the schematic, you'll see how they work. They release a wad of
compressed air against a spring-return piston. This piston thumps (not
pushes) the next nail in line out the mouth of the gun.

If the nail won't go the distance - perhaps because it hit an obstacle - the
nail ends up protruding from the target! It's not like the piston drives the
nail the whole distance - it just gives the nail a hefty kick out the door.

Look at it like this: If you have a nailer that can drive both a 2" brad and
a 1-1/4" brad (like I suggested), without any adjustment when you change
ammunition, it's obvious the "plunger" on the gun isn't traveling a full two
inches, else it drive the shorter nail 3/4" below the surface!

"evodawg" wrote in message
...
Davej wrote:

Anyone have the 15 gauge Harbor Freight gun? Or other recommendations?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=97554

Thanks.
I'll stick with my PC's Although I did buy the 16 penny nailer and it
works
pretty good. It's very heavy though and when using it which is not very
often (framing nailer) my arm is sore after only 1 hour of use.
--
"You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"
Running Mandriva release 2008.0 free-i586 using KDE on i586
Website Address http://rentmyhusband.co.nr/

I bought a small Husky twin tank compressor , a framing gun , a finish gun ,
hose , nails , oil , ect.(complete kit) for 287 bucks at Homedepot
online...Works GREAT for what I use it for..... Need to get a better hose
though...

Davej wrote:
On Feb 12, 11:32 am, wrote:
On Feb 12, "HeyBub" wrote:

Buy the cheap Harbor Freight tool, a box of 2" brads, and a box
of the 1-1/4" brads. I am certain you'll be pleased.

Just be careful not to buy the cheapest HF nailer (the red one). I
have the blue one and it seems to be pretty good but I threw the
red one away. My real nailers (a roofer and a framer) are Hitachi


Ok, but are these things going to break the first time I hit a nail?
For the base trim I've been aiming for the sill 2x4 (against the
subfloor) and hit nails fairly often.

I can't imagine any of them breaking. They'll probably bend the heck
out of the brad/nail and might jam, but they can't really break.

If you study the schematic, you'll see how they work. They release a
wad of compressed air against a spring-return piston. This piston
thumps (not pushes) the next nail in line out the mouth of the gun.

If the nail won't go the distance - perhaps because it hit an
obstacle - the nail ends up protruding from the target! It's not like
the piston drives the nail the whole distance - it just gives the
nail a hefty kick out the door.

I've had nails hit something, make a U-turn, and come back out at
me--sometimes with enough force to fly a ways. Sometimes the something
they hit is just a really hard knot.

Wear safety glasses.

--
Steve Bell
New Life Home Improvement
Arlington, TX USA

On Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:55:05 -0800 (PST), Davej
wrote:

-snip-
Ok, so go with a name brand? Bostitch, Senco, or Hitachi?

I would. It isn't a whole lot more & if it breaks you can get parts
and fix it. I can only comment on the Bostitch. I've got a
used N62 & I like how it is built.

My brother-in-law swears by his senco. BTW, his is a cartridge gun.
No compressor needed, but the cartridges are expensive and only
stocked by a couple local stores. I'd stick with a pneumatic as
the compressor is really free because even if you don't have one, when
you get it you'll wonder how you lived without it. [same with the
nailer-- if/when you need to drive and set nails again you'll
wonder how you survived the 'old days'/]

My buddy has a cartridge gun, and he has to cock it for every shot. I
wish I had a cartridge gun for those jobs where I just need to shoot a
couple of nails, so I wouldn't have to drag out the compressor, but I
would never use my buddy's gun for production work. I can shoot 10
nails in 5 seconds with my gun with a hose, but his takes about 5
seconds per nail. Maybe there are self-priming guns.

I've seen the little CO2 cannisters you wear on your belt. I might get
one of those.

--
Steve Bell
New Life Home Improvement
Arlington, TX USA