My first plunge into pneumatic nailers involved buying a bunch of
el-cheapo Harbor Freight nailers -- they work well if you don't mind
not infrequent misfiring (say 1 in 10-20), don't mind that the depth of
penetration is not uniform, and if you don't care about the shoe marring
the surface of the wood . I actually, don't mean the above as a
negative comment because such flaws are to be expected for a $20 tool.

HOWEVER, I am now looking to upgrade but since I am only a "hobbyist", I
am looking for reasonable quality at reasonable prices.

Rockler has a pair of Porter-Cable 18 gauge (BN200A) and 23 gauge (PIN
100) nailers on sale for $150. The separate price even on Amazon is
about $220. Both tools seem to get very positive reviews on Amazon (4+
stars). The only disadvantage I can see is that the BN200A has been
replaced by the BN200B.

So,
- Has anybody had any experience with those models?
- Is it a bad, OK, good, or fantastic deal for $149.99?

Thanks

On Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:33:39 -0500, blueman wrote:

Rockler has a pair of Porter-Cable 18 gauge (BN200A) and 23 gauge (PIN
100) nailers on sale for $150. The separate price even on Amazon is
about $220. Both tools seem to get very positive reviews on Amazon (4+
stars). The only disadvantage I can see is that the BN200A has been
replaced by the BN200B.

So,
- Has anybody had any experience with those models?
- Is it a bad, OK, good, or fantastic deal for $149.99?

Thanks


I have the 18 gauge and it has never mis-fired or given me any other
problem in the few years I've had it. I'd go for it.

On Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:33:39 -0500, blueman wrote:

My first plunge into pneumatic nailers involved buying a bunch of
el-cheapo Harbor Freight nailers -- they work well if you don't mind
not infrequent misfiring (say 1 in 10-20), don't mind that the depth of
penetration is not uniform, and if you don't care about the shoe marring
the surface of the wood . I actually, don't mean the above as a
negative comment because such flaws are to be expected for a $20 tool.

HOWEVER, I am now looking to upgrade but since I am only a "hobbyist", I
am looking for reasonable quality at reasonable prices.

Rockler has a pair of Porter-Cable 18 gauge (BN200A) and 23 gauge (PIN
100) nailers on sale for $150. The separate price even on Amazon is
about $220. Both tools seem to get very positive reviews on Amazon (4+
stars). The only disadvantage I can see is that the BN200A has been
replaced by the BN200B.

So,
- Has anybody had any experience with those models?
- Is it a bad, OK, good, or fantastic deal for $149.99?

Thanks


I have both. well had..... lost the 18 ga. a year or so ago [left it
on a job] but they both work fine for me. they are not top of the line
but they seem to be well built. the 23 ga will mar your work if you
aren't carfull. they both will so you gotta do your part.

skeez

blueman wrote:

My first plunge into pneumatic nailers involved buying a bunch of
el-cheapo Harbor Freight nailers -- they work well if you don't mind
not infrequent misfiring (say 1 in 10-20), don't mind that the depth of
penetration is not uniform, and if you don't care about the shoe marring
the surface of the wood . I actually, don't mean the above as a
negative comment because such flaws are to be expected for a $20 tool.

HOWEVER, I am now looking to upgrade but since I am only a "hobbyist", I
am looking for reasonable quality at reasonable prices.

Rockler has a pair of Porter-Cable 18 gauge (BN200A) and 23 gauge (PIN
100) nailers on sale for $150. The separate price even on Amazon is
about $220. Both tools seem to get very positive reviews on Amazon (4+
stars). The only disadvantage I can see is that the BN200A has been
replaced by the BN200B.

So,
- Has anybody had any experience with those models?
- Is it a bad, OK, good, or fantastic deal for $149.99?

Thanks
Have both and have no complaints. Always work, just keep them lubricated
and cleaned and they should work for many years. Believe the ones for sale
at Rockler are rebuilt, but I have had good luck with older PC rebuilds.
--
You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK !
Mandriva 2010 using KDE 4.3
Website: www.rentmyhusband.biz

On Feb 5, 12:33*am, blueman wrote:
My first plunge into pneumatic nailers involved buying a bunch of
el-cheapo Harbor Freight nailers -- they work well if you don't mind
not infrequent misfiring (say 1 in 10-20), don't mind that the depth of
penetration is not uniform, and if you don't care about the shoe marring
the surface of the wood . I actually, don't mean the above as a
negative comment because such flaws are to be expected for a $20 tool.

HOWEVER, I am now looking to upgrade but since I am only a "hobbyist", I
am looking for reasonable quality at reasonable prices.

Rockler has a pair of Porter-Cable 18 gauge (BN200A) and 23 gauge (PIN
100) nailers on sale for $150. The separate price even on Amazon is
about $220. Both tools seem to get very positive reviews on Amazon (4+
stars). The only disadvantage I can see is that the BN200A has been
replaced by the BN200B.

So,
- Has anybody had any experience with those models?
- Is it a bad, OK, good, or fantastic deal for $149.99?

Thanks

I have owned a BN200A for about 10 years with no complaints. In
addition to normal shop projects it has helped finish a 1600 SF
basement and now another new house including several cabinet
projects. Thousands of nails and VERY infrequent misfires. Most
misfires have been with the 2" nails going into hardwood.

I would recommend the 200A. No history with the other.

RonB

On 2/5/2010 8:49 AM, RonB wrote:

I would recommend the 200A. No history with the other.

Ditto. Mine is at least as old as yours, with lots of hard use and
accidental abuse.

I've rebuilt it once with parts from DelatServiceNet, the trigger has
been held on with a bent nail at the pivot point for the last few years,
but it still takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

While they may have been originally Asian Rim in manufacture, I wonder
if the model is the same, or has been "china'ed" to its detriment?

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

Evodawg writes:
blueman wrote:

My first plunge into pneumatic nailers involved buying a bunch of
el-cheapo Harbor Freight nailers -- they work well if you don't mind
not infrequent misfiring (say 1 in 10-20), don't mind that the depth of
penetration is not uniform, and if you don't care about the shoe marring
the surface of the wood . I actually, don't mean the above as a
negative comment because such flaws are to be expected for a $20 tool.

HOWEVER, I am now looking to upgrade but since I am only a "hobbyist", I
am looking for reasonable quality at reasonable prices.

Rockler has a pair of Porter-Cable 18 gauge (BN200A) and 23 gauge (PIN
100) nailers on sale for $150. The separate price even on Amazon is
about $220. Both tools seem to get very positive reviews on Amazon (4+
stars). The only disadvantage I can see is that the BN200A has been
replaced by the BN200B.

So,
- Has anybody had any experience with those models?
- Is it a bad, OK, good, or fantastic deal for $149.99?

Thanks
Have both and have no complaints. Always work, just keep them lubricated
and cleaned and they should work for many years. Believe the ones for sale
at Rockler are rebuilt, but I have had good luck with older PC rebuilds.

This deal appears not to be a rebuild -- or at least the ad doesn't
mention that (while other adds typically mention rebuilt).

blueman wrote:

Evodawg writes:
blueman wrote:

My first plunge into pneumatic nailers involved buying a bunch of
el-cheapo Harbor Freight nailers -- they work well if you don't mind
not infrequent misfiring (say 1 in 10-20), don't mind that the depth
of
penetration is not uniform, and if you don't care about the shoe
marring
the surface of the wood . I actually, don't mean the above as a
negative comment because such flaws are to be expected for a $20 tool.

HOWEVER, I am now looking to upgrade but since I am only a "hobbyist",
I
am looking for reasonable quality at reasonable prices.

Rockler has a pair of Porter-Cable 18 gauge (BN200A) and 23 gauge (PIN
100) nailers on sale for $150. The separate price even on Amazon is
about $220. Both tools seem to get very positive reviews on Amazon (4+
stars). The only disadvantage I can see is that the BN200A has been
replaced by the BN200B.

So,
- Has anybody had any experience with those models?
- Is it a bad, OK, good, or fantastic deal for $149.99?

Thanks
Have both and have no complaints. Always work, just keep them
lubricated
and cleaned and they should work for many years. Believe the ones for
sale at Rockler are rebuilt, but I have had good luck with older PC
rebuilds.

This deal appears not to be a rebuild -- or at least the ad doesn't
mention that (while other adds typically mention rebuilt).
My mistake
--
You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK !
Mandriva 2010 using KDE 4.3
Website: www.rentmyhusband.biz

On Fri, 5 Feb 2010 06:49:57 -0800 (PST), RonB wrote:


I have owned a BN200A for about 10 years with no complaints. In
addition to normal shop projects it has helped finish a 1600 SF
basement and now another new house including several cabinet
projects. Thousands of nails and VERY infrequent misfires. Most
misfires have been with the 2" nails going into hardwood.

I would recommend the 200A. No history with the other.

RonB

I've had once since Allison visited us in 2001. Bought it to put in all the new baseboard. Love
it. I've run a few thousand brads through it, many 2", and I'd buy another. BTW, I also have the
HF $15 on sale brad gun from about the same time. Outside of only taking 1-3.8 brads, and using a
credit card under it at times to prevent dents, it has been a very reliable gun. No experience with
the combo brad/staple gun they now sell.

Last summer I was looking for a good pin nailer, and borrowed a friends PC 23ga to try it out. Even
with air pressure over 100psi I could not get the heads below the surface with anything above 3/4
inch long. Some of these were shot into plywood and they still were proud of the surface. I ended
up buying a Grex. Buy the best and only cry once. Zero regrets for the Grex. Same friend now
comes over and borrows it when shooting pins, and that PC gathers dust. My opinion of the PC pin
nailer is that if it was bigger, it would make a decent boat anchor. I have 3 PC guns (18g, 15g,
staple) and am very happy with them. Their pin nailer is a dog.

BTW, stay off the Rockler/WWJ mailing list or they will send you books and DVD's you didn't order
then hound you to pay for them. Rockler/WWJ first pulled this stunt about 4 years ago, and did it
again last summer. They have not gotten a nickel of my money for almost 4 years and never will
again. There are ethical companies that sell the same products.

Regards,
Roy

"Roy" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 5 Feb 2010 06:49:57 -0800 (PST), RonB wrote:

BTW, stay off the Rockler/WWJ mailing list or they will send you books and
DVD's you didn't order
then hound you to pay for them. Rockler/WWJ first pulled this stunt about
4 years ago, and did it
again last summer. They have not gotten a nickel of my money for almost 4
years and never will
again. There are ethical companies that sell the same products.

Been getting Rockler's sale flyers for at least ten years. That's all they
have ever sent me. They must like you.

"Roy" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 5 Feb 2010 06:49:57 -0800 (PST), RonB wrote:
Snip



BTW, stay off the Rockler/WWJ mailing list or they will send you books and
DVD's you didn't order
then hound you to pay for them. Rockler/WWJ first pulled this stunt about
4 years ago, and did it
again last summer. They have not gotten a nickel of my money for almost 4
years and never will
again. There are ethical companies that sell the same products.

Regards,
Roy


I have never gotten any thing from them expecting payment unless I ordered
it. And I have been on their mailing list long before they changed their
name to Rockler. Actually they have better prices than Woodcraft. I did
however receive a DVD from a magazine company last summer, it went in the
trash but it was not from Rockler.

On Fri, 5 Feb 2010 12:25:57 -0800, "CW" wrote:


"Roy" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 5 Feb 2010 06:49:57 -0800 (PST), RonB wrote:

BTW, stay off the Rockler/WWJ mailing list or they will send you books and
DVD's you didn't order
then hound you to pay for them. Rockler/WWJ first pulled this stunt about
4 years ago, and did it
again last summer. They have not gotten a nickel of my money for almost 4
years and never will
again. There are ethical companies that sell the same products.

Been getting Rockler's sale flyers for at least ten years. That's all they
have ever sent me. They must like you.

Heh, yea, right. They must have thought I was more stupid than I look. Consider yourself lucky to
be below their radar. Maybe the other victims had once have had a subscription to woodworkers
journal, owned by rockler, rather than just being on the rockler mailing list itself? There are a
couple big threads in the archives about the first time they pulled this stunt. Threads start in
Feb 2005 and run through May. (search string is - woodworkers journal book - if you want to look it
up) One guy claimed he was being hounded by bill collectors they set on him.

I used to subscribe to their mag and buy a good bit of stuff from them and their local store.
Losing my business won't break rockler since I spend maybe a grand or two a year for tools, shop
equipment and hardware, but at least I know they no longer get a penny of it. As I mentioned
earlier, there are many ethical companies out there who would never stoop to a trick like this. Why
support the unethical ones? The then-editor of Popular Woodworking actually jumped into that
discussion (Feb 2005) to make those points. I still have a subscription to that magazine.


Have a great day!

Roy

On Fri, 5 Feb 2010 20:06:41 -0600, "Leon"
wrote:


"Roy" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 5 Feb 2010 06:49:57 -0800 (PST), RonB wrote:
Snip



BTW, stay off the Rockler/WWJ mailing list or they will send you books and
DVD's you didn't order
then hound you to pay for them. Rockler/WWJ first pulled this stunt about
4 years ago, and did it
again last summer. They have not gotten a nickel of my money for almost 4
years and never will
again. There are ethical companies that sell the same products.

Regards,
Roy


I have never gotten any thing from them expecting payment unless I ordered
it. And I have been on their mailing list long before they changed their
name to Rockler. Actually they have better prices than Woodcraft. I did
however receive a DVD from a magazine company last summer, it went in the
trash but it was not from Rockler.

I think your right, I deal with Rockler, and have subscribed to WWJ
but other then offers to reup no problem. I to got the DVD you
referenced, which I haven't seen yet and still seem to get mail from
them asking for payment.

Mike M

On 2/6/2010 12:07 AM, Mike M wrote:

I think your right, I deal with Rockler, and have subscribed to WWJ
but other then offers to reup no problem. I to got the DVD you
referenced, which I haven't seen yet and still seem to get mail from
them asking for payment.

Never fell for WWJ, but have been on the Rockler's regular, and Pro,
mailing list for years and have never received anything regarding any
magazines, books, DVD's.

I'd be ****ed if I wasn't on it ... too many good deals and discounts
that I wouldn't otherwise know about. AAMOF, Rockler gets much of my
small tool and expendable items money because of their proximity.

The only problem I ever had with any of their merchandise is their brand
name screws ... twisted a few heads off in critical applications and
that was enough of that stuff.

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

Roy,

Unless you signed up for some kind of subscription service where they
can send you materials that you are then obligated to pay for, it's my
understanding that if someone sends you something without you asking for
it or agreeing in advance to pay for it, it is a gift, and you are under
no obligation thereafter. If Rockler asks for payment, just say "thanks
for the gift!" I bet they stop sending stuff.

scritch