Budget 2nd Fix Brad Nailers

[albaPhenom]

Are there any that’s worth the money for a one off job?

It’s the type of tool you wouldn’t pay hundreds of pounds for if you aren’t going to use a lot but it’s £75 to hire a Paslode or equal for the week.

Are any of those budget guns from Toolstation and the like up to the job of fitting skirtings and architraves?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Are any of those budget guns from Toolstation and the like up to the job of fitting skirtings and architraves?

Not really...

First things I'd say is that, taking a look at what Toolstation offer as an example, is that a lot of these cheap guns are advertised as "stapler/nailers" and only take 18 gauge pins. The problem with being a stapler/nailer is that the end of the drive "pin" has to be wide enough to drive not only an 18 gauge pin, but also a 6mm wide staple - so every time you drive a pin with a gun like that you get a 6mm wide ding in the surface of the material which has to be filled - a dedicated 16 or 18 gauge nailer makes a far less noticeable mark in the surface. Secondly they often only accommodate short pins, up to about 35mm, whereas you need 40 to 45mm pins to hold architraves in place, and often you need 50 to 65mm to hold skirtings in place - which really means using 16 gauge nails, not the 18 gauge these guns are. From what I've seen of these in the past they are also pretty gutless, so they will struggle to drive pins into hardwood, for example. Those are some serious limitations to my mind

If you want an alternative at under half the price of a pro nailer, you might want to consider getting a small portable compressor, like this Stanley from B&Q, this Einhell from Toolstation or this Bandit from Machine Mart in the £100 to £130 range, then add a decent 16 gauge 2nd fix nailer from a respected manufacturer such as Senco, Bostitch, Paslode, deWalt, etc. That puts your budget in the £200 to £250 range, but a small compressor has a lot of other future uses, e.g. tyre inflation, running a pneumatic drill, running a 1st fix gun for fencing (I had a cheap B&Q Rockwell compressor which did that for years), dust blow gun, etc. Still more than the cost of a week's hire of a 16 gauge Passy, though

 

[albaPhenom]

Not really...

First things I'd say is that, taking a look at what Toolstation offer as an example, is that a lot of these cheap guns are advertised as "stapler/nailers" and only take 18 gauge pins. The problem with being a stapler/nailer is that the end of the drive "pin" has to be wide enough to drive not only an 18 gauge pin, but also a 6mm wide staple - so every time you drive a pin with a gun like that you get a 6mm wide ding in the surface of the material which has to be filled - a dedicated 16 or 18 gauge nailer makes a far less noticeable mark in the surface. Secondly they often only accommodate short pins, up to about 35mm, whereas you need 40 to 45mm pins to hold architraves in place, and often you need 50 to 65mm to hold skirtings in place - which really means using 16 gauge nails, not the 18 gauge these guns are. From what I've seen of these in the past they are also pretty gutless, so they will struggle to drive pins into hardwood, for example. Those are some serious limitations to my mind

If you want an alternative at under half the price of a pro nailer, you might want to consider getting a small portable compressor, like this Stanley from B&Q, this Einhell from Toolstation or this Bandit from Machine Mart in the £100 to £130 range, then add a decent 16 gauge 2nd fix nailer from a respected manufacturer such as Senco, Bostitch, Paslode, deWalt, etc. That puts your budget in the £200 to £250 range, but a small compressor has a lot of other future uses, e.g. tyre inflation, running a pneumatic drill, running a 1st fix gun for fencing (I had a cheap B&Q Rockwell compressor which did that for years), dust blow gun, etc. Still more than the cost of a week's hire of a 16 gauge Passy, though

As you might have guessed I just persevered with the hammer and nail punch but this is a really good option to just have in the shed for future use... it's like you say, that compressor could come in handy for many things.

That's worth considering for sure.

 

[^woody^]

Hammer and a nail punch.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Hammer and a nail punch.

Yeah, but can it blow yer tyres up? Or blow up a plastic bottle?

Note: This REALLY isn't safe!

The only thing that's wrong with a hammer and nails for the OP's skirtings is that he has nothing behind them, so he'd need a few more tools, methinks, to cut and install the wedges. Now tahat's old school for you

 

[Gossamer]

Are you on any battery platforms?

 

[albaPhenom]

Are you on any battery platforms?

Just saw this, if directed at me then I'm on the Makita 18v platform.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Makita's 18 ga is an unloved and unlovely oversized overpriced monster (i.e large). No idea why they designed it that way. They were late to the fray (very late) with a 16 ga 18 volt gun - and that is overpriced against the rest of the market, too. And Makita still don't do a cordless 1st fix gun (7.2 volt gas guns don't count)

I'm on Makita LXT and have been for 14 or 15 years. In that time my trade nail guns have been deWalt 1st gen 2nd fix + Senco gas 1st fix, then DW 2nd gen (1st + 2nd fix) now Hikoki (1st + 2nd fix) because Makita haven't produced anything worth buying IMHO. I doubt they will do much in the near future, either

 

[Gossamer]

I'm on Makita 18v, and has been said, their nail guns are mostly ignored and also expensive. Even the staple gun.
I have a Ryobi 18ga gun and Hikoki framing nail gun. For second fix you might want 15 or 16ga depending on what you're doing.
Ryobi nail guns are good, and I believe they pioneered gas less nail guns. You'd get a new one with a battery for 200 quid.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Ryobi nail guns are good, and I believe they pioneered gas less nail guns.

I believe it was actually Porter-Cable in the USA who first patented the idea in the 1990s, well before Ryobi. Pity they had so many problems with their early guns - so much so that when B&D took them over they ditched the P-C design in favour of their own (deWalt) design. Another early adopter was Senco with their Fusion 2nd fix guns. What Ryobi did was to build lower cost, but more reliable guns (and a 1st fix gun, something P-C never did)

 

[Gossamer]

I believe it was actually Porter-Cable in the USA who first patented the idea, well before Ryobi. Pity they had so many problems with their early guns - so much so that when B&D took them over they ditched the P-C design in favour of their own (deWalt) design. Another early adopter was Senco with their Fusion 2nd fix guns

Everyday is a school day!

 

[Deleted member 174758]

For the life of me I couldn't remember the name of those P-C guns with the built-in compressor, so I messaged my cousin in California. He has just come back with a response (he's another tool freak! )- it was the Porter-Cable BN1200V and was an 18 gauge tool running on 12 volt NiCd batteries - and he says his was a pile of doo-doo (heavy, awkward to use and badly balanced). He thinks there might also have been a 16 gauge version, but he sent me these two photos of P-C cordless 18 gauge guns:

Basically a pneumatic nail gun with a fairly miniature compressor strapped on the back end - and could be used as a conventional air nailer if you had a compressor available, hence the pneumatic connector on top. And ugly as sin (almost as bad as the Makita 18 volt 18 ga pinner). I reckon the Ryobi AirStrike range is more elegant - despite the 'orrible lime green paint job

For second fix you might want 15 or 16ga depending on what you're doing.

Ever tried a 15 ga nailer? The nails are a lot more substantial than 16 ga pins, and the holes they make aren't much larger, but getting 15 ga nails in the UK is a PIA with very few firms carrying them (I have the 15 ga Hikoki). I reckon that for lightweight fencing jobs, though, they'd potentially be a good choice. Most 2nd fix I'll still stick with 16 ga, though - much easier to get the nails