I've been trying to use an 18 gauge brad nailer to put up some
baseboard and door moldings. The nails keep folding over 3/4 of the
way into the wood. The trim boards are 3/4" ash, so I'm thinking that
the wood is just too dense for the nails. I've tried all different
settings on the guns, shorter/longer nails, higher/lower pressure -
nothing seems to work.

Would a different gauge nail gun possibly work better? I'm ok with a
slightly larger nail head if it will increase my chances of keeping
the nails from bending over. Any suggestions?

It sounds more like a failure of the gun than wood being to hard. I've
not ever seen this. I would check the air pressure to be sure it is up
to spec (110 psi maybe?).

I've nailed walnut with 18ga brads and never had a problem.

On Aug 19, 11:32*am, Mike wrote:
I've been trying to use an 18 gauge brad nailer to put up some
baseboard and door moldings. The nails keep folding over 3/4 of the
way into the wood. The trim boards are 3/4" ash, so I'm thinking that
the wood is just too dense for the nails. I've tried all different
settings on the guns, shorter/longer nails, higher/lower pressure -
nothing seems to work.

Would a different gauge nail gun possibly work better? I'm ok with a
slightly larger nail head if it will increase my chances of keeping
the nails from bending over. Any suggestions?

Mike wrote:
I've been trying to use an 18 gauge brad nailer to put up some
baseboard and door moldings. The nails keep folding over 3/4 of the
way into the wood. The trim boards are 3/4" ash, so I'm thinking that
the wood is just too dense for the nails. I've tried all different
settings on the guns, shorter/longer nails, higher/lower pressure -
nothing seems to work.

Would a different gauge nail gun possibly work better? I'm ok with a
slightly larger nail head if it will increase my chances of keeping
the nails from bending over. Any suggestions?

Try deep cleaning and oiling the gun. Just slather it on.

Next option is to swap guns. I've got a HF 2" brad nailer that I've never
had a problem with. It can be had for as little as $20 when on sale.
http://search.harborfreight.com/cpis...rd=brad+nailer

If the above two suggestions don't work - and you've exhausted other
possibilities - you can step up to a "finish nailer."
http://search.harborfreight.com/cpis...=finish+nailer

Hint: Always do a Google for "Harbor Freight Coupon" they almost always have
a "20%-off largest item" tucked away somewhere.

On 08/19/2009 12:32 PM, Mike wrote:
I've been trying to use an 18 gauge brad nailer to put up some
baseboard and door moldings. The nails keep folding over 3/4 of the
way into the wood. The trim boards are 3/4" ash, so I'm thinking that
the wood is just too dense for the nails. I've tried all different
settings on the guns, shorter/longer nails, higher/lower pressure -
nothing seems to work.

Sounds like a problem with the gun. A thinner nail may not hold as well
and may follow the grain a bit when being driven, but there's no excuse
for the nail folding over.

My 18 gauge nailer has no problems with 2" nails.

Chris

Are you holding it firm onto the board ? If it bounces a little
or isn't hard on the pressure isn't working in the right angle.

Martin

Mike wrote:
I've been trying to use an 18 gauge brad nailer to put up some
baseboard and door moldings. The nails keep folding over 3/4 of the
way into the wood. The trim boards are 3/4" ash, so I'm thinking that
the wood is just too dense for the nails. I've tried all different
settings on the guns, shorter/longer nails, higher/lower pressure -
nothing seems to work.

Would a different gauge nail gun possibly work better? I'm ok with a
slightly larger nail head if it will increase my chances of keeping
the nails from bending over. Any suggestions?

Could be pore quality brad nails too...
But anyway I would probably look at a finish nailer with 15ga or 16ga nails.
Thye will hold your trim MUCH better and only a slightly larger nail hole to
fill...


--
Regards,

Dean Bielanowski
Editor, OnlineToolReviews.com
http://www.onlinetoolreviews.com
Over 180+ woodworking product reviews online!
======================================



Melbourne (Australia) | South Carolina (USA)
"Mike" wrote in message
...
I've been trying to use an 18 gauge brad nailer to put up some
baseboard and door moldings. The nails keep folding over 3/4 of the
way into the wood. The trim boards are 3/4" ash, so I'm thinking that
the wood is just too dense for the nails. I've tried all different
settings on the guns, shorter/longer nails, higher/lower pressure -
nothing seems to work.

Would a different gauge nail gun possibly work better? I'm ok with a
slightly larger nail head if it will increase my chances of keeping
the nails from bending over. Any suggestions?

Just my 0.02 here of course, but you gun might not cut it. All guns
are not alike. Not all of them have the same driving power, no matter
how you crank up your compressor. For example, ALL of my Bostitch
equipment will out drive my good buddy's Paslode equipment, and until
I got rid of them, the Bostitch guns would out drive my other buddy's
Senco stuff as well. But then again... my generic 15ga angle nailer
would out drive both the Paslode and Senco 15ga nailers.

The gun should have something on it somewhere (or in the book) that
tells you how many PSIs you can apply without blowing seals. Checking
the pressure is a great start, though.

Properly dried ash (think baseball bats) is very, very hard. If I
were you, as mentioned above my first thought would be to move up a
size to a 16ga straight nailer which leaves only a tiny bit larger
hole when the nail is set. It should handle the ash just fine.

Robert

It sounds more like a failure of the gun than wood being to hard. I've
not ever seen this. I would check the air pressure to be sure it is up
to spec (110 psi maybe?).

I have a buddy's well used Bostich gun and a new el-cheapo Harbor
Freight model, and both give me the same trouble. Adjusting the air
pressure will change how far the nails penetrate the wood- at 110 psi
the nails that go straight in are sunk more than 1/8" below the
surface of the wood.

I've nailed walnut with 18ga brads and never had a problem.

I can fire brads into other wood (2x's, pine, cherry, etc) with no
problem - it's just the ash that I have problems with.

I'll probably try to borrow a 16 ga nailer and give it a shot.

Mike wrote:
I've been trying to use an 18 gauge brad nailer to put up some
baseboard and door moldings. The nails keep folding over 3/4 of the
way into the wood. The trim boards are 3/4" ash, so I'm thinking that
the wood is just too dense for the nails. I've tried all different
settings on the guns, shorter/longer nails, higher/lower pressure -
nothing seems to work.

Would a different gauge nail gun possibly work better? I'm ok with a
slightly larger nail head if it will increase my chances of keeping
the nails from bending over. Any suggestions?

I'm with Robert ... some guns do, some don't. Add a hardwood like ash
and thinner fastener you get what you got. Go to a 16 gauge finish
nailer and you should solve the problem.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

That's not enough gun in my opinion.

A 15 gauge shooting 2.5" nails are what you
need for baseboard.

Mike wrote:
I've been trying to use an 18 gauge brad nailer to put up some
baseboard and door moldings. The nails keep folding over 3/4 of the
way into the wood.

"Mike" wrote in message
...
I've been trying to use an 18 gauge brad nailer to put up some
baseboard and door moldings. The nails keep folding over 3/4 of the
way into the wood. The trim boards are 3/4" ash, so I'm thinking that
the wood is just too dense for the nails. I've tried all different
settings on the guns, shorter/longer nails, higher/lower pressure -
nothing seems to work.

No the wood is not too dense, I shoot 23 gauge pins 1-3/8" into harder
woods.





Would a different gauge nail gun possibly work better? I'm ok with a
slightly larger nail head if it will increase my chances of keeping
the nails from bending over. Any suggestions?

Interesting. I've never worked with Ash. I think it is one of the
woods they use for baseball bats isn't it? Pretty hard I guess.

On Aug 20, 6:17*am, Mike wrote:
It sounds more like a failure of the gun than wood being to hard. I've
not ever seen this. I would check the air pressure to be sure it is up
to spec (110 psi maybe?).

I have a buddy's well used Bostich gun and a new el-cheapo Harbor
Freight model, and both give me the same trouble. Adjusting the air
pressure will change how far the nails penetrate the wood- at 110 psi
the nails that go straight in are sunk more than 1/8" below the
surface of the wood.

I've nailed walnut with 18ga brads and never had a problem.

I can fire brads into other wood (2x's, pine, cherry, etc) with no
problem - it's just the ash that I have problems with.

I'll probably try to borrow a 16 ga nailer and give it a shot.

Hey, lay off my Senco's. They are beloved in my eyes.

Aug 20, 12:36*am, "
wrote:
Just my 0.02 here of course, but you gun might not cut it. *All guns
are not alike. *Not all of them have the same driving power, no matter
how you crank up your compressor. *For example, ALL of my Bostitch
equipment will out drive my good buddy's Paslode equipment, and until
I got rid of them, the Bostitch guns would out drive my other buddy's
Senco stuff as well. *But then again... my generic 15ga angle nailer
would out drive both the Paslode and Senco 15ga nailers.

The gun should have something on it somewhere (or in the book) that
tells you how many PSIs you can apply without blowing seals. *Checking
the pressure is a great start, though.

Properly dried ash (think baseball bats) is very, very hard. *If I
were you, as mentioned above my first thought would be to move up a
size to a 16ga straight nailer which leaves only a tiny bit larger
hole when the nail is set. *It should handle the ash just fine.

Robert

"SonomaProducts.com" wrote:

Interesting. I've never worked with Ash. I think it is one of the
woods they use for baseball bats isn't it? Pretty hard I guess.

About like white oak except closer grained.

If you want to play with some truly tough stuff, try hickory.

Lew

"Mike" wrote in message
...
I've been trying to use an 18 gauge brad nailer to put up some
baseboard and door moldings. The nails keep folding over 3/4 of the
way into the wood. The trim boards are 3/4" ash, so I'm thinking that
the wood is just too dense for the nails. I've tried all different
settings on the guns, shorter/longer nails, higher/lower pressure -
nothing seems to work.

Would a different gauge nail gun possibly work better? I'm ok with a
slightly larger nail head if it will increase my chances of keeping
the nails from bending over. Any suggestions?

Does the gun work on yellow pine?. If it doesn't. you might assume the gun
or brads are faulty. I think probably your brads are to small and maybe you
need a finish nail gun.

IMO, brads are really insufficient for base boards. Someone is going to say
they've used brads, but I wouldn't do it. :-)

On Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:32:16 -0700 (PDT), Mike wrote:

I've been trying to use an 18 gauge brad nailer to put up some
baseboard and door moldings. The nails keep folding over 3/4 of the
way into the wood. The trim boards are 3/4" ash, so I'm thinking that
the wood is just too dense for the nails. I've tried all different
settings on the guns, shorter/longer nails, higher/lower pressure -
nothing seems to work.

Would a different gauge nail gun possibly work better? I'm ok with a
slightly larger nail head if it will increase my chances of keeping
the nails from bending over. Any suggestions?


I just used an 18 gauge nail gun (Porter Cable) to install 7 door
frames and 80 feet of baseboard. I used 2" (Porter Cable brand)
nails. The job went amazingly fast. As per instruction, I add 2
drops of oil before use. Maybe clean the gun and check air pressure.

Phisherman wrote:
....
I just used an 18 gauge nail gun (Porter Cable) to install 7 door
frames and 80 feet of baseboard. ...

What material? Methinks not 3/4" ash w/ 18 ga...

--

"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:32:16 -0700 (PDT), Mike wrote:

I've been trying to use an 18 gauge brad nailer to put up some
baseboard and door moldings. The nails keep folding over 3/4 of the
way into the wood. The trim boards are 3/4" ash, so I'm thinking that
the wood is just too dense for the nails. I've tried all different
settings on the guns, shorter/longer nails, higher/lower pressure -
nothing seems to work.

Would a different gauge nail gun possibly work better? I'm ok with a
slightly larger nail head if it will increase my chances of keeping
the nails from bending over. Any suggestions?


I just used an 18 gauge nail gun (Porter Cable) to install 7 door
frames and 80 feet of baseboard. I used 2" (Porter Cable brand)
nails. The job went amazingly fast. As per instruction, I add 2
drops of oil before use. Maybe clean the gun and check air pressure.

My PC finish nail gun uses 16 ga nails up to 2 1/2" long. My PC brad nailer
uses 18 ga brads up to 1 1/2" long (?). My experience is that the 2 1/2" 16
ga nails are adequate for base board and door casing.

On Aug 20, 12:25 pm, "SonomaProducts.com" wrote:

Hey, lay off my Senco's. They are beloved in my eyes.

Ooops... sorry! ;^)

You know, the old Sencos were absolute horses, as were Duo Fast guns.
I actually have a wide crown Senco roofing stapler that is about 30
years old that works as well as when it was made! It is now relegated
to putting on that 3/16" compressed mylar coated exterior insulation.
It has probably shot 500,000 staples to this point, and been rebuilt
so many times I don't remember.

I got it when coil nails were a fortune for roofing guns, and staples
were cheap cheap cheap. When coil nails dropped in price, and staples
for roofing became unacceptable we changed to coil nails. Think about
this... an average 20 square roof uses between 7200 - 7500 fasteners
on a three tab installation. We hit a string of 25 - 30 square houses
during a hail storm bonanza, and that gun probably shot down about 35
- 40 squares a week for about 8 - 10 months, without a rebuild.

Although it has only worked that hard off and on, it has been on duty
for 30 years. I don't have another gun that has made it this far.
They told me the last time I had seals put in it that the very next
hard part that broke would be the end of the gun. They haven't made
"The Mustang" in 15 years and their old boneyard is now empty.

I even remember when Senco made the best framer and roofing nailers
around.

I think the only thing that save Bostitch from doom was the fact that
after they moved their manufacturing overseas, their quality was so
bad on their big guns that they moved the big gun manufacture back
here. As little as a couple of years ago some of the big guns
(framers, coil guns, etc.,) were made in the USA. I think now they
are mixed in manufacture and part source.

Ahhhh.... the old days. ALL the nail guns were good guns when they
were made in the USA.

I'm betting your nailers have a few road miles and years on them, no?

Robert

wrote

Although it has only worked that hard off and on, it has been on duty
for 30 years. I don't have another gun that has made it this far.
They told me the last time I had seals put in it that the very next
hard part that broke would be the end of the gun. They haven't made
"The Mustang" in 15 years and their old boneyard is now empty.

*sniff* wiping tear from eye

Ah hope when the old gal dies, you give 'er a proper burial.

On Aug 21, 12:37 am, "Lee Michaels"
wrote:

*sniff* wiping tear from eye

Ah hope when the old gal dies, you give 'er a proper burial.

Go ahead... laugh you insensitive *******!

Just kiddin'.

You would laugh at this, though. I have an old Milwaukee saw that I
bought in '76. It was the only heavy duty saw I had for a long time
(the old silver Rockwells didn't cut really hard job site use) and I
used it for everything from cutting forms for concrete to cutting fine
paneling.

Later when I started a framing business, I used it when I framed
houses, and it cut miles of decking, 2x materials, siding, etc. This
was before premade wall sections, so it cut all the framing members as
well. That saw literally supported me as my sole cutter for a couple
of years, along with my first Milwaukee 3/8" VS drill purchased along
the same time.

The saw cannot be rebuilt again. There are no more parts.
HOWEVER.... I never forget an old friend or a good business partner.
It is on a special shelf in the shop with its bent shoe, broken
trigger and frayed cord to remind me that it was the only real hard
working tool I had when I started my own business.

It also reminds me to remember how much you can do with a lot less
than you think. It inspires me.

It was forced into retirement against its will about ten years ago
when the cord (literally) caught fire behind the case handle and it
shocked the living crap out of me.

I won't get rid of it, though. In a strange way, I like having it
around. Go figure.

Robert

wrote:

It also reminds me to remember how much you can do with a lot less
than you think. It inspires me.

That's a lesson that can only be learned after a long apprenticeship
or by having grown up during the Great Depression.

Lew

wrote

I won't get rid of it, though. In a strange way, I like having it
around. Go figure.

I know the feeling. I have a lucky tape measure.

A total freak accident involving klutzes in my shop without my permission
during a difficult tablesaw cut resulted in a horendous kickback with a
piece of very sharp wood. It would have impaled me for sure. It hit my tape
measure on my belt. It scored the Stanley label and put a nice little dent
across the face of the tape measure. Everytime I put that thing on my belt,
it feels a little safer for me.

It is getting old and the tape is worn. But it feels good just to wear it.

In article ace50dca-d152-451d-aa53-fa70061d5287
@x25g2000prf.googlegroups.com, says...

Interesting. I've never worked with Ash. I think it is one of the
woods they use for baseball bats isn't it? Pretty hard I guess.

Some old book I read used the descriptor "whippy" for ash wood.

On Aug 19, 1:32*pm, Mike wrote:
I've been trying to use an 18 gauge brad nailer to put up some
baseboard and door moldings. The nails keep folding over 3/4 of the
way into the wood. The trim boards are 3/4" ash, so I'm thinking that
the wood is just too dense for the nails. I've tried all different
settings on the guns, shorter/longer nails, higher/lower pressure -
nothing seems to work.

Would a different gauge nail gun possibly work better? I'm ok with a
slightly larger nail head if it will increase my chances of keeping
the nails from bending over. Any suggestions?

My first thought is the 18 gauge gun might be a little small, but I
have driven a lot of 18's in various hardwoods with only an occasional
fold. I would still doubt that the smaller brads will hold over the
long run. An 18 gauge would probably fix the problem.

I finished a basement years ago with lighter trim and an 18 ga gun.
Worked ok but I noticed over time that some of the trim was pulling
away in places.

BTW - What kind of gun?

On Aug 22, 5:54*pm, RonB wrote:
On Aug 19, 1:32*pm, Mike wrote:

I've been trying to use an 18 gauge brad nailer to put up some
baseboard and door moldings. The nails keep folding over 3/4 of the
way into the wood. The trim boards are 3/4" ash, so I'm thinking that
the wood is just too dense for the nails. I've tried all different
settings on the guns, shorter/longer nails, higher/lower pressure -
nothing seems to work.

Would a different gauge nail gun possibly work better? I'm ok with a
slightly larger nail head if it will increase my chances of keeping
the nails from bending over. Any suggestions?

My first thought is the 18 gauge gun might be a little small, but I
have driven a lot of 18's in various hardwoods with only an occasional
fold. *I would still doubt that the smaller brads will hold over the
long run. *An 18 gauge would probably fix the problem.

I finished a basement years ago with lighter trim and an 18 ga gun.
Worked ok but I noticed over time that some of the trim was pulling
away in places.

BTW - What kind of gun?

Sorry - Meant to say a 15 or 16 gage would probably fix the problem.